AlienWorld Imposed

Making the Move

 Last Wednesday we finally made the move to the new house in the Hunter region of NSW.

As I detest moving house, I’m feeling elated that the heavy lifting part is over and done with. To celebrate, I took my son out for the morning and together we bought some more fishing gear, updating my humble kit for bream, flathead, tailor, whiting, luderick, snapper and tarwhine. All of which are found in Lake Macquarie, a two-minute walk from the front door.

 

 

The motivation for the move as most of you know, is peak oil. In the coming decades, regardless of when and how peak oil unfolds in our practical day-to-day lives, one thing is certain. The abundant, cheap energy paradigm we currently enjoy will change. That means less energy for more people, which translates to relocalisation.

As energy decline due to fossil fuel paucity begins to become apparent, the globalisation experiment will crumble. Many believe this process has already begun. When this occurs, we will witness a long, drawn out ‘shrinking’ of society. The huge international shopping centres will be replaced by local producers so if the mass produced electric car concept fails, those who live far from such producers will find themselves in a less than ideal situation.

The way we work and earn our living will change as well. It’s my belief those who work from home or live close enough to public transport should hold an advantage in the initiate stages of transition. Those who live far away from train stations, for example will have a major problem in the future. If you can’t get to work then you have no income. It’s simple to understand the consequences.

I want to keep this post uncomplicated and practical, concentrating on the key issues. Here’s my current situation, now that I’ve moved. Home is just under two kilometres from the train station. I can walk to the lake and catch fish if the trucks temporarily or permanently stop supplying the supermarkets. Within five kilometres of home, we have a choice of fresh organic fruit and veg produce grown locally on site at a number of farmlets.

In the very near future, we will experience another fuel spike. It’s my guess the price will break through any past resistance and reach levels we would probably think impossible at the moment. Unfortunately, this scenario is imminent due to the complete lack of attention we, as a society have applied to the peak oil problem.

When prices reach $200 or $300 a barrel or even more, the effects will be nothing short of catastrophic. The main area affected by such high fuel prices is transport. In this alone, our ability to get to work as well as obtain our food could be limited severely, thus these crucial areas should be the first one’s to be dealt with in any transition preparation:

*Make sure you’re resilient in earning your income by ensuring you can still get to work.

*Make sure you’re resilient in providing your family with food by ensuring you stockpile at least three months supply and further more, live close to local producers.

If you can manoeuvre your transition preparation in a direction that fulfils the above two points then you’re well on your way to practical resilience in the event of an energy crisis. It’s by no means the complete answer, if that indeed exists in this arena but it’s simple and practical, which translates in the real world to increased adaptivity. You know the old adage about survival of the fittest. Adaptation to the changing environment is key.

Given that something is better than nothing, the above is a great start in beginning your journey of transition. At this point I’d like to add that I’m just a common, ordinary Aussie bloke with a young family. I work a normal job, earn an average wage and am by no means some kind of survivalist Rambo or farmer Joe. To be honest, I have limited camping experience, have been fishing all of about ten times, lived in the suburbs all my life and have only just started learning about permaculture principles.

I’m no Colin Campbell, Richard Heinberg or Rob Hopkins. What I am, though is a person who understands the implications of fossil fuel depletion and is committed to making transition and resilience a way of life for myself and my family.

I often get asked, “What if it doesn’t happen? Isn’t it all just a waste of time?” To which I answer, “What if it does happen? You’ll wish you had wasted your time.” It’s better to be prepared for a probable situation than risk such horrendous consequences if such a probability materialises. Besides, even if it doesn’t materialise, my family will have learnt excellent new skills and in the process enjoyed quality time together camping, growing food, fishing, forming long lasting relationships in our community and developing an overall sustainable outlook on life, getting closer to nature.

 

Staying on the topic of transport, you can checkout ASPO-Australia and ASPO Sydney’s submissions to the Senate Inquiry into Public Transport at www.aspo-australia.org.au. It’s well worth reading both submissions for a more profound insight into the issue.

On my next post, I’ll share with you the supplies and equipment my family has stockpiled thus far. I’ll include some pics so you can see for yourself what a three month supply looks like.

The AlienWorld website is coming along well and should be ready sometime in June for launch. I will be adding the 10TQ page to the site (10 year Transition Quest), where you will be able to download a quarterly ebook style newsletter complete with pics and videos on our transition preparation for that specific quarter. It will be specific to my family so you can get first hand valuable information and tips on transition and resilience in an entertaining format.

Thanks for stopping by!

Michael

It's a Little Girl!

It’s confirmed! The newest little member of our family is a girl. She’s due in the first week of September and we can hardly wait.

On Wednesday, doctors confirmed she’s healthy all round and the pregnancy is going perfectly. When she arrives in September, we’ll already be at the new house, in a more ‘peak oil’ friendly area so she’ll have a good head start in the coming transition.

 

Alexander is getting his head around the idea of another baby in the family and at two and a half years old, I think he’s starting to understand. The thought of two babies running around the house is a thrilling one for me. I just love being a Dad.

 

We make the move in around two weeks, so I’ll put a post up regarding the move, the reasons for it and why we chose the area in relation to peak oil and transition. Until then, take care and enjoy your family.

 

Michael

Short Film about the end of the civilization

Peak Oil, Global Financial Collapse, The Rise of Fascism, Resource Wars...Could this animated video be the face of the coming darkness?

It all sounds over the top, until it happens.

Michael

Broadening the Peak Oil Threat to Western Military Supremacy

They're already challenging the US dollar as the world's reserve currency. Now they're challenging Western military superiority. You'd have to be daft to assume a peaceful posture regarding the fight for remaining resources ahead.

Although all sides speak of diplomatic solutions, the US, Russia and China have proven many times in the past that where their national interests are involved, they're willing to sort it out with muscle. For the West, by the time peak oil forces the resource war hand, we very well may be outgunned. Should this happen, the coming crisis will be something out of our worst nightmares.

Watch this space!

Michael 

The US Collapse Of 2009 - This Will Blow Your Mind......

Joining the dots is beginning to produce a clearer picture of what's to come. Putting preconceptions aside of automatic positive outcomes, when it comes to the three pillars of Sustainability, Money & Energy, we are starting to stumble horribly. Here's a video dealing with the money pillar.

Michael

Urban Food Growing in Havana, Cuba

Here's a great little video dealing with the fresh and organic food solutions cuba has adopted since the fall of the USSR, which cut off all aid the country received prior.

Occupying the pillar of Sustainability, this video gives us a peek into our own uncertain future, with the interesting parrallel of a US collapse in the place of the USSR.
Take note Australia.

Michael

Applied Transition Philosophy in the Face of Peak Oil

Some of us are attentive of the forthcoming peak oil problem and the accompanying symptoms it will bring with it, when the time comes. In preparing for the challenge ahead, numerous intricate tests arise as anyone taking up the challenge will attest.

  

There seems to be a never-ending wave of obstacles to overcome, many of which cost time and money and demand courage, strategic planning and prudence. There’s no use in sugar coating this pill – transition preparation is far from easy.

 

Yet in the midst of the enveloping fog of adversity, there’s a wonderful opportunity to profoundly connect with yourself, your environment and friends and family in a life changing manner.

 

For many of us, this connection has been virtually dulled out of existence via a lifestyle resembling a quest for the plastic grail of meaningless consumerism, vicious debt slavery and hours of bumper-to-bumper traffic on our way to and from our hollow cardboard Camelots in mortgage hill suburbia. Is it any wonder we look at the reflection in the mirror and know not who we see?

 

As relocalisation begins to tighten its grip on our reality, our connection to the food we eat, the water we drink, the paths we travel, our neighbours, skills, work and sense of community will need to be re-established in a way conducive to a post peak framework. Everything in our lives will shrink back to local centres without the magic of the black goo. Of this, we can be sure.

 

This current concept and future reality of relocalisation will first and foremost impose the need for all of us to look within ourselves to find the answer to the new riddle of survival ahead. In the process of finding the answer within, will be the communal awakening of cooperation on every level as the one and true key to success in transition.

 

The current ideal of every MacMansion as an individualistic island bubble is a product of absurd abundance. It will have no place in our not-too-distant reality. What will occupy a place is the clan. For the clan will be responsible for it’s own food, water, protection, trade, peace and prosperity, all within a 20km radius of home. This is the future, folks.

 

It takes little imagination and consideration, however, to realise the impacts the above will have on a substantial portion of the population, especially those who fly into a fit because they are unable to get their hair done at the mall next weekend. Its not too difficult to conclude that those who have not been strengthened with adversity, will have to learn in less than ideal circumstances or lose their mind in the process. Such is what we have become.

 

As individuals, we need to embark on a great journey within, to seek and find our centre once again. This does not have to be a hocus-pocus combi-van concept. The first steps of this journey materialise in a set of simple and practical, real world tactics.

 

1. Do your job well. Earn your money. Spend less than you earn
2. Spend only what you earn. Forget credit and free your body and mind
3. Consume less and produce more
4. Move close to a train station and your local producers
5. Go for walks, ride your bike and go camping with your family and friends
6. Try saying hello to your neighbours
7. Spend more of your money with your local butcher and fruit and veg store and spend less at the multinational supermarket
8. Put some effort into the above points. Take some pride in yourself and look at these simple steps as a spiritual wakening of sorts. Give your kids a big hug and your wife or husband a big kiss. Hold hands on your walks and laugh a little, even if its at yourselves and how ‘crazy’ you're becoming
9. Understand that life will go on for better or for worse. So it’s best to be prepared for the worst
10. Start saving money 

Seems so simple does it not? For the 1% of you out there in blog-land that attempt to actually carry out the above ten points, the first three paragraphs of this entry will take on a whole new light. All this inner journey stuff will start to make sense. Hell, you may even become a better person in the process.

 

For the rest of you – I hope you enjoyed this post. Keep coming back to visit and tell your friends about this blog.

 

Michael

    

Transition Towns Interview with Rob Hopkins

Rob has a positive and optimistic outlook on Transition and Peak Oil. He published the Transition Handbook. Well worth a read.

He's certainly cemented a leadership role in the global Peak Oil movement.

Enjoy the video!

Michael

Cantarell’s Ominous Warning Overlooked

Recently, a proposal of the Obama energy plan outlined incentives for injecting captured industrial carbon dioxide emissions into oil reservoirs in order to improve recovery.

 

These incentives, taking the form of tax credits like those introduced in 1980 in The Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act of the same year, are designed to increase domestic production of non-conventional natural gas and crude oil.

 

In the original incentive of 1980, under Title II of the abovementioned Act, tax credits applied to the production and sale of natural gas produced from geopressurized brine, Devonian shale, coal seams or tight formations, all of which are considered unconventional gas. Put simply, this means it’s more expensive and difficult to extract than conventional gas.

 

By introducing this Act, the U.S increased unconventional gas recovery from less than 100 billion cubic feet per year prior to 1980, to 3 trillion cubic feet per year by 1990.

 

Under the current proposal, captured carbon dioxide emissions would be injected into depleting oil reservoirs in order to improve recovery. By implementing this strategy, pressure is increased and the actual crude oil more easily moves to the producing wellbore, meaning more oil comes out at a faster rate, under higher pressure.

 

With the political issue of carbon storage and capture running hot at the moment, it seems like a great idea to use this captured carbon, injecting it into depleting wells thus producing more oil. Kills two birds with the one stone, as they say.

 

Only six or so weeks ago, however, it was revealed that Mexico’s Cantarell supergiant field experienced a depletion rate of 33% in just one year. Such an astonishing rate of depletion naturally took everyone by surprised. Now take a guess at what is being blamed for Cantarell’s quicker than normal depletion rate? You guessed it! They’ve been using carbon dioxide injection and horizontal drilling for years.

 

I remember watching Colin Campbell last year on a DVD explain that the better we get at extracting oil from the ground, the faster we’ll deplete the reservoirs. It made sense then and Cantarell is the proof of the pudding now.

 

Considering Mexico is a very important supplier of crude oil to the U.S and the negative impacts the Cantarell depletion rate will have on future supply, why would the U.S domestically encourage the same kind of recovery methods that caused a 33% depletion rate in just one year?

 

Am I missing something here? Does the logic I’m presenting make sense to anyone else? Mr Obama, it sounds to me like you desperately need new energy advisers in a hurry because your current flock are off with the pixies.

 

The current financial environment and the price of crude have seen new projects in the energy pipeline put on hold and general investment in the industry come to a grinding halt. By implementing tax incentives now, involving carbon dioxide injection, we will see a short term increase in supply and flow that will make the current situation look miniscule, followed by vicious global supply shocks, if other countries were to follow suit.

 

What we need is the longest possible time to sort out this rapidly approaching liquid fuel crisis we call peak oil. By giving a green light to carbon dioxide injection by way of financial incentive, we walk a path to known destruction. We have a precedent in Cantarell. The last thing we need right now is a short cut.

 

Michael

 

Julian Darley of Post Carbon Institite on the Relationship of Money and Energy

Invest an hour and twenty minutes to watch this video and educate yourself further on the coming Transition. Your comments are most welcome.

 

Take Care,

 

Michael