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Archives for October 2014

Only Human

October 30, 2014 @ 22:05 By Gavin Webber 11 Comments

A Reasuring LieYesterday I spoke my mind about Sleepwalking into the future.  I put my all into it.  I picked my words carefully, and I let it rip.

It is something that blog writers and podcasters often do, sometimes to their detriment.  Well maybe not that dramatic, as the post only received one comment, so I shouldn’t really form an opinion based on that alone.  However, the stats speak for themselves.  It was not the most popular post or podcast that I have recorded or written.  I just needed to get it off my chest.

I know that the podcast episode was a bit of a downer, I’ll be the first to admit it.  Some would rather have the reassuring lie than the inconvenient truth.  And that is what I did.

And do you know what?

I am okay with that.  Life is not a popularity contest.  In the scheme of things, this blog is not that popular.

However, I do know this about this blog, and all its readers.  We are a caring community and we are only human.  We care about our environment, we care about humanity.

It is the sharing makes us human.  It is the caring makes us human.  Telling it how it is makes us human.

If anything will get us through the next few decades, it will be the caring side of humanity that does it.  Friendship and mateship.  Looking out for one’s fellow-man and woman.  I for one love being part of this community.  It is one of the reasons I get out of bed in the morning.

That is what gives me hope.  That is why I have faith in humanity, and that we can turn this train wreck around.  When all looks lost and when it looks like governments and corporations don’t give a damn and are just in it for themselves, don’t give up.  Never give up.

Fight the good fight, and remember that we are all in this together.  And, thanks to the democracy we live in, we all have one vote each.  It is our voice.

Don’t waste it whenever you get the chance to flex your voting muscle.

It is far too precious to give away to those who don’t care.

 

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Filed Under: Blog, climate change, Gavin, Peak Everything

TGoG Podcast 088 – Sleepwalking Into The Future

October 29, 2014 @ 22:07 By Gavin Webber 9 Comments

Listen to the Episode Below (00:09:09)
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Sleepwalking into the future.  These are thoughts that have been mulling around in my head for quite a few years.  I have finally been able to put it down coherently so that I can share it with you today.

As this episode was read from notes I have a transcript for you to read.


 

Sleepwalking into the future

We live in the age of abundant energy, and we have a lot to be thankful for, but for how much longer, and what are we doing about it?

Humanity has reached a stage in its development where everything we now have is reliant on a source of cheap energy, in the form of fossil fuels. We have transportation that would shock an early 20th century person, as we can get from point A to point B with a minimum of fuss and travel distances in time-frames that would be unheard of only 50 years ago.

Way back then, only the rich could afford to fly, and the rest of us were stuck on the ground or traveled vast distances slowly via the oceans. However, whilst on the ground we spent this precious resource building roads and freeways that have cut the travelling time between cities in half (except for the odd traffic jam).

We have built magnificent cities from steel, concrete and glass (with the aid of oil) that glow in the night that can be seen from space. These cities house many millions of people throughout the world and consume resources from neighboring countryside.

We have a medical procedures that can replace most parts of the body when they get diseased or worn out, except for the human brain, but I am sure we are working on that as well. We live longer than any other time in human history and have the biggest population that increases by 1,000,000,000 people every 25 years.

All because of cheap energy in the form of oil and other fossil fuels.

So, on the down side, at this very moment we are on a plateau of energy production. Our demand for energy is now outstripping supply, and this demand grows with every single human born into existence. Prices rise because of supply shortages, and this in turn continues to feed the woes of the continuing economic crisis which is build on continuous upward growth.

However, with all fossil fuels and natural resources being of finite supply, our economic system is bashing up against natural hard limits. You cannot have a system that is reliant on growth when there is only so much of everything. You cannot change the laws of physics.

Not only fossil fuels are depleting, but things like fresh water with depletion in the form of ancient aquifers, phosphates for fertilization, arable land to grow food on, and global fish stocks.

We do not seem to be awake to the fact that many of the things we take for granted are depleting rapidly, we have no plan to implement a scalable replacement for our energy needs, which drives all other human activities.

Even with all our cleverness, much of humanity lacks the foresight to plan for a future with less of everything. Our population has grown alongside of energy growth, because we have been able to produce abundant surpluses of food. But only in some parts of the world. Over 5/7th of our species do not have a regular meal on the table, or access to clean drinking water.

Recent events do not fill me with joy or hope. Our governments will continue to talk until 2015, and then maybe do something serious about greenhouse gas emissions in 2020. We will be committed to at least 3 and a half degrees Centigrade hotter world in 2100. That is totally unpredictable.

It will only get hotter after that. This is already happening now, in our own lifetimes. Surely we can do better than this?

Now that we have hit the 7,000,000,000 mark in population, and that we are constrained by natures hard limits, and the threat of environmental disaster in the form of a changing climate, what are we to do? I ask myself this question every day, and wonder often ‘what happens next?’ How are we to cut emissions by 50-80% by 2050, and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels if it is predicted that the human population will be at 9 billion?

More people means more emissions and more resources. I believe that we will be too worried about feeding ourselves, rather than trying to stabilize the climate!

So many unanswered questions, and with little visible action from world leaders and governments, I am afraid I cannot think of any other outcome except a train-wreck. I may be wrong, but I think our civilization is moving too fast on the rails to slow down in time. But think of this train-wreck happening in slow motion.

We are at overshoot, and the only other result is a long slow decline. All because we have delayed action on alternative energy, changing our economic system, mitigating climate change, and population overshoot to feed economic growth and to fatten someones wallet. Whatever happens from now on in, it will not be pretty.

Look, I didn’t mean to bring everyone down, but we do live in troubled times. It is just that many of us cannot connect the dots, or even want to talk about these big issues. We only have one habitable planet in this neck of the Universe, so we have to clean up the mess we made. What is needed is a call to arms, and where we start talking about these issues on a daily basis. The more we talk about it, the more thinking we will do, and we may even come up with some real solutions for the climate or an effective way to power-down during energy descent.

However, until such time that we really start talking seriously, we will just keep things as business as usual. The only problem is that business is starting to get bad!  We are sleepwalking into the future.

I will leave you with this thought

Vision without Action is merely a dream, and
Action without Vision just passes the time, however,
Vision with Action can change the world!

 

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Filed Under: climate change, Peak Everything, Peak Oil, Philosophy, Podcast, Resources, Sustainable Living, TGOG Podcast

Kale, Kale, and More Kale

October 28, 2014 @ 22:30 By Gavin Webber 6 Comments

There you go.  I said it.  Kale.  Once totally foreign to me, it is a very welcome vegetable in our food garden.

We have tonnes of it because Kim insisted that I plant some more seedlings after the others had grown very large.  I did what I was told of course 🙂 and put in another six Kale seedlings.  We have at least a dozen very large Kale bushes in the front garden bed right now.

In fact, we have so much of the stuff, we are scouring the net for recipes to use it all up.

Kim picked a bowl of flower heads yesterday to cook as sprouting broccoli, and a swag of leaves for dinner.

Kale flower heads

Kale flower heads

We steam these flower heads.  They are simply delicious, and so glad that we tried them, because the sprouting broccoli went to seed about four weeks ago.  Not only do we love it, Kim said she had to fight off the swarm of bees just to get at them.  They love the flowers too.

The leaves are so colourful, from whites, purples, light green, to dark greens, the leaves are all of various shapes, some obviously thicker in texture than others.

Kale

We strip out the tough centre vein and just used the leaves shredded in most meals.

So what was for dinner.  Well, Kim cooked up Spicy Kale and Garlic Spaghetti.  It was delicious, nutritious, and full of flavour.  I’m talking amazing flavour.

I will share a few more Kale recipes this week.  Tomorrow night I am cooking Bean soup with Kale and rustic garlic bread.  We are looking forward to that one, however I think I will spice it up a bit and modify the recipe that I found.  If it turns out okay, I will post it on the blog.

We like Kale so much that we will definitely plant these cultivars again next year.

Kale plants

Even though the punnet of seedlings were labeled as ornamentals, there is no reason why you cannot eat this amazing Brassica.  We certainly have, and will be for the next few weeks.  These colourful varieties are only a few of the many different types of kale that you can grow.

The great thing about Kale is that when it goes to seed, it is still very edible.  The leaves don’t toughen like broccoli or cabbages do, or goes woody like cauliflower.  It is just a great all-rounder.

So do yourself a favour, and get some kale in the ground when you have your cooler season.  Super food or not, it is a great vegetable to have in your food garden.

Oh, and the Kale chips are to die for.  We can’t get enough of those either!

Who else planted and ate Kale this season.  Was it your first time, and what amazing meals did you use it in?

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Filed Under: Gardening, vegetables Tagged With: Kale

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About Gavin Webber

An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

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    I can highly recommend Gavin’s podcast ! I have followed Gavin’s blog since the very beginning and have loved to see his journey unfold. Gavin has a lovely speaking voice so this podcast is always very easy to listen to. Gavin has a very authentic approach to his green living lifestyle. He shares the ups and downs but always provides motivation and practical steps that we can all implement.

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    This is a great podcast if you want to improve your life in so many aspects and become a more sustainable person. I love the soothing voice, the good pace, and it contains lots of useful information. Recommended!

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    This is a great podcast if you're looking for practical info on saving money by living more sustainably from someone who's made that journey over the last few years. Told in a nice, easy conversational style

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    Thanks Gav for sharing what has (and hasn't) worked along your journey for living a greener lifestyle. Inspiring and achievable for anyone, I look forward to this podcast weekly.

  • Local food equals less waste
    December 27, 2014 by allotmentadventureswithjean from Australia

    Another brilliant podcast from Gavin Webber encouraging us, and showing us how, to cut down on food miles, growing our own food, and cutting down on food waste. Gavin is a really interesting speaker, showing us how to eat better, growing our own food and how to live more sustainably.

  • Honestly australian
    December 15, 2014 by HodgepodgeOz from Australia

    Fantastic podcast, with a wide variety of well thought and researched topics. Gavin is a honest, forthright pod aster with a genuine interest in helping others get green. Like a day alongside is a day wasted, so too is a week without listening to Gavin. Highly recommended for people starting out, or those in the midst of their new lifestyle. Keep it up Gavin, wish there were more great reviews! Kimberley

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    Gavin has a great passion for living this greener lifestyle that motivates others to do the same. The podcasts are always interesting and informative. :)

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    Gavin's enthusiasm and passion for creating a more sustainable world is nothing short of contagious. Thanks Gav, you are my weekly source of motivation for living a sustainable life! :)

  • Gavin speaks from the heart
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    Gavin's podcasts are required listening for anyone planning to live a more sustainable life. He doesn't preach, but tells you his story from the heart. You'll laugh, smile, share in his concerns and along the way you'll pick up some great tips on living a simple life.

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    This is a wonderful podcast. Not only does Gavin talk knowledgeably on a range of sustainability topics from gardening tips all the way to the issues facing humanity as a whole, but he does so in such a wonderful voice, it's like listening to my Dad, love it!!

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    Gavin & his guests make this green journey lots of fun.

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    Gavin is a great down to earth, tell it like it is aussie with a passion for sustainability and growing food and making cheese

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