Not getting it

From ASPO (The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas):

The battle against climate change must not take precedence over the need to guarantee energy security, UK Industry Minister John Hutton was quoted as saying today, remarks that signal an apparent policy change. The government has often said climate change is the biggest threat facing the world.

"Of course we've got to tackle climate change, it's a real and present danger for used (sic)," Hutton told the Daily Telegraph in an interview on the newspaper's website.

"But we've also go to be absolutely clear that our energy policy has got to be figured first and foremost with a view to supplying Britain with affordable and secure energy it needs for the future." (see original post)

By secure and affordable energy is Hutton referring to a continued reliance on carbon? The carbon that is either peaked or is peaking? Take your pick: oil gas are peaking (or have peaked) and we certainly don''t have endless supplies of coal and uranium

Climate Change and Energy Security are intrinsically linked and to try to prise them apart and prioritise one over the other...well that scares me.

Salad

Just finished reading 'Not on the label' by Felicity Lawrence, it's an excellent start for anyone wanting the low-down on the food industry in this country (and anywhere else in the West I'd imagine).

One quote that jumped out at me from the section on bagged salad leaves was:

"Time was when we ate lettuces in summer and, following out northern European seasons, switched to root vegetables and brassicas in winter. But now, thanks to global sourcing and advances in packaging technology, we have got used to the idea of eating a variety of salads all year round" (p.29)

This struck a chord. It's only been this year that I've somehow remembered (I'm sure I used to know this, a long time ago) that food is seasonal, that salad leaves grow for a certain time of the year in the UK, as do apples, onions and everything else (excepting the good old hardy perennials of course).

This can't only be my particular foolishness, I'm willing to bet it's a blind spot for all my generation.

We have to learn all this again, how to eat seasonally (how to live seasonally)...one day in the not to distance future, we may not have a choice in the matter.

On a cheerier note, have a listen to Drink the Elixir, one of my favourite pop-songs of the 90s by Salad:

Meditation

I've been re-reading Mind at Ease by Traleg Kyabgon Rinponche, one of the best books I've read on Buddhism, Mahamudra and meditation. The book has awoken a deep need in myself to begin meditating again on a regular bases.

So much crap turns over in my mind, it drives me down and I feel depression lurking. Meditation, I feel, can help with this...learning again how to clear all that junk out, leaving behind...emptiness.

What a relief!

Here's a chart I found on the web describing the stages of Samadhi and Vipassanā, it is the former that interests me the most, at this point in time at least..

Ten minutes a day, morning and evening will be a good start.

The End of Suburbia

Just come back from seeing The End of Suburbia at a friend's house. We're planning to show this film at a public meeting in Ely this autumn.

The film is about how Peak Oil spells the end of this aspect of the American dream. The concept of suburbs was based on cheap oil, the ability to drive to and from your place of work, shopping centres, entertainment. All of this now threatened by the decline in easily available carbon-based energy.

And of course, this is easily applied to the UK.

After the film we retired to the excellent Prince Albert, a fine pub in the tradition of The Pineapple in the early days when it was the HQ of the the Tufnell Park Militia.

Over a few pints I talked to some new people who expressed an interest in getting involved with Transition Ely. Emails addresses were exchanged and slowly but surely we're connecting with others.

Here's the trailer for The End of Suburbia:

Coal is clean!

Heh, heh, heh

The Investigation - a major disappointment

I just listened to this week's The Investigation on Radio 4. Described as 'Simon Cox investigates the truth behind rising oil prices' it was a major disappointment.

Cox spends half an hour looking for the culprit behind rising prices. The usual suspects are trundled out for view, i.e: oil producers and futures speculators, all the time ignoring the elephant of Peak Oil standing in the middle of the room knocking the china all over the place.

Most of the programme is spent with Cox buying oil futures, getting nowhere fast.

The most interesting part of the programme is when he talks to Mike Wagstaff of North Sea oil drillers 'Venture Production'.

Surprisingly, Wagstaff talks about the 'end of cheap abundant energy', oil as a 'depleting commodity' and an industry with no spare rigs or engineers on tap for new drilling, all pretty much standard Peak Oil arguments.

All this is blithely missed (or ignored) by Cox who is happier playing the futures market and watching his investment take a dive.

This show could have been a big step forward, helping to bring Peak Oil into the mainstream, an opportunity missed, what a shame.

To make up for this, take a look at Matt Simmons, an energy insider bullishly making the case in the US:

Use your loaf

And presenting...my first home made bread in ohhhh....decades.

...and oh boy was it good! Well, Jo and Harry thought so and the loaf was polished off in 24 hours. This is a 'no-knead' loaf, no need to knead! Hurrah. I found the recipe via Miss B Heavens wildy amusing video blog.

We ate a good part of the loaf with my almost-as-excellent Spanish tortilla.

What a simple joy to make and bake a loaf, the taste, mmm, the crust...mmm, it all melts away in one's mouth.

Anyway, I'll stop going on about it now and leave the last word to The Nightingales singing their fab song 'Use Your Loaf':

Death to Queen!

Terrible news!  It all started in France.

Harry enjoyed sitting in our friend's car with his pal. His pal's dad had a bunch of CDs, one of which was Queen's 'Greatest Hits'.

So...last night, Harry walks into the living room bellowing out ''We are the champions, no time for losers" and then "Another one bites the dust".  Horror of horrors, enough to make even the Great Cthulhu weep.

What a nightmare, my six year old (nearly seven) likes Queen, one of the top three lousiest bands of all time (The Cardiacs and Coldplay being the other two, as you all know).

After all my diligent efforts, playing him The Ramones, Dead Kennedys, Rezillos, this is what happens!

So, what to do?  All out attack on this heresy is tempting but (I suspect) 100% self-defeating. Best just ignore it, it will go away, hopefully.

Yes, it will go away. I can remember thinking 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was the greatest thing EVER when I was 12.  And what happened?  I grew out of Queen, as sensible folk do.  Thank heavens for Johnny Rotten and punk rock, phew!

It’s the size of the tap...

I think it is really important to understand that Peak Oil is not about oil 'running out' (which, of course it will do one day, eventually). Rather, as the good folk at the Oil Drum like to put it it: "It’s the size of the tap, not the size of the tank."

Gail Tverberg states the case with clarity and precision:

"On a worldwide basis, the phenomenon of peak oil can be thought of as a crisis in resources needed to produce oil. It’s the size of the tap, not the size of the tank. As we deplete the large, easy-to-produce fields and move to ever-more-difficult fields, it takes more and more oil rigs, more petroleum engineers, and more investment dollars.

Eventually we reach a point where we are out of equipment, out of trained personnel, and the investment cost for expanding production becomes prohibitive. When production begins to drop because of all of these pressures, we reach peak oil'." 

I highly recommend reading the full article ' What is Peak Oil?'.

Chilli plant update

The first thing I did on my return from holidays was check-in on my holy chilli plant (kindly watered by our neighbours - thanks!).

And doesn't he look handsome!

Lots and lots of lush chilli peppers, what a bonanza. And what is that I see shyly peaking thorough the foliage?

Yes! Some red chillis, at long last...

And finally a look at the ones I left on the window sill to dry out...not long until you're all crunched up and on thrown upon my dhal, sweet ones!


Did I say how much I love chillis?

Back in the UK

Hiyah all, well I'm back home, though not yet in Ely.

At present I'm in the lovely village of South Petherton in Somerset. The village is thriving and includes a local butcher, fishmonger and grocers shop. The village also boasts a transition initiative, what a place! It is great to be in a somewhere where local produce is so plentiful, the whole place feels alive...

The holiday in Brittany and Dartmoor was great and I'll post more about all that when I arrive home at the end of the week. Aside from eating, drinking and the odd bit of climbing I also did a lot of thinking and writing. I'm coming home feeling enthusiastic and motivated...more about all this later.

Adios! Farewell!!