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TGoG Podcast 088 – Sleepwalking Into The Future

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

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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

Eco Documentaries That Changed My World View

March 24, 2014 @ 23:08 By Gavin Webber 30 Comments

Eco Documentaries - An Inconvenient TruthEco documentary directors and producers want to change the world, or at least their little part of it.  The only trouble is that they must have an audience willing to watch them.

The good news is that I love watching eco documentaries, and many have influenced my thinking.  In fact, I have watched so many of them, that I want to share a few of my favourites that influenced us the most.  I have only posted the trailers of each documentary, but I am sure with a bit of searching you could find the full version on-line, or source the DVD at your local library.

An Inconvenient Truth

This was the doco that blew me away.  It was life changing for me and my family.  It was during this documentary that I had my well-known green epiphany, and vowed that I would no longer be part of the problem, but be part of the solution to tackling climate change.

The End of Suburbia

This doco opened my eyes to the way our suburban living arrangement is heavily dependant on resources that are dwindling, for example oil and natural gas.   It has an US focus, but very relevant to the unsustainable sprawl of suburbia that we have here in Australian cities.

The End of The Line

A good friend (Hi Sim!) recommended this documentary to me in early 2009.  It is about how we are overfishing the oceans.  After I had watched this, I wrote a series of posts about overfishing, and what we can do to prevent the further collapse of our fisheries.  It changed the way I look at fish on my plate, and we now look for sustainable seafood options only.

The Economy of Happiness

This particularly good documentary opened my mind to the effects of mindful consumption and localization as an alternative to the consumer culture and globalisation.  It is very enlightening.

Garbage Warrior

This doco is brilliant. I have met Mike Reynolds who stars in this tale, and he is just like he is in real life. It is a story of his struggle to build sustainable housing in the US, and create a model of architecture that could be followed the world over. Enter the Earth ship!

What Would Jesus Buy?

If you want to have a laugh at today’s consumer culture, then this is the doco for you. I couldn’t stop laughing at some of the antics that Rev Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping (a bunch of activists) got up to, just to prove a point. They are on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse (the end of humankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt). It really makes you think about your consumption habits.

Age of Stupid

What if you could look back at today from a point in the future and ask “why didn’t they do something”. Well this doco does exactly that. I saw this one with friends at the Australian premier held by the Climate Action Network Australia. It was hard-hitting, and made me even more determined to spread the benefits of living a more sustainable lifestyle.

Food Inc.

After watching this, you will never look at food in the same way again, unless you grow your own of course. Shocking, hard-hitting, and eye-opening, this is the documentary that inspired me to get my own chickens, and double my food production here at home. This movie is the one that brought Joel Salatin into the spotlight for his common sense farming methods.

 

Well that is about it. There are a few others, but these eight eco documentaries had the biggest impact upon Kim and me.

We realised that the truth is out there, we just had to open our eyes and see.

Has your world view been influenced by any of these, or can you add another to the list?  I think you can embed video into the comments if you like, or just paste in the YouTube link if you can find it.

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Filed Under: climate change, economy, Education, Fish, food, Happiness, Media, movies, Peak Everything, Sustainable Living Tagged With: Documentaries

Pip: Permaculture Magazine

February 11, 2014 @ 10:30 By Gavin Webber 6 Comments

What we desperately need now are solutions.  Solutions and examples of how to live in harmony with our environment, how to provide for ourselves in a sustainable way within a steady state economy.

Pemaculture principles, which is not just about gardening, lends itself to provide many of the solutions that we seek and need in these troubled times.

That is why I am fully behind Robyn Rosenfeldt of Pip: Australian Permaculture Magazine who is crowd sourcing the delivery of the first issue.

Learn about what it is all about in this promotional video.

 

From the Pozible page;

“As David Holmgren; the co-originator of permaculture says “The most powerful thing we can do to change the world is to create the world we do want rather than trying to stop the world we don’t want.”

The aim of this magazine is to share stories, ideas and inspiration about how to create a world that can survive into the future; showcasing people and groups who are doing great things around the country and beyond to live more sustainably as well as offering practical advice about how to implement permaculture into your life.”

I like the sound of that.  To that end, I have personally pledged A$50 to the cause, because as you well know, I am a solutions kind of bloke.  Practical and action oriented.

I am proud to support this great initiative.

If you think it is a worthy cause, you too can help fund the first issue here; http://www.pozible.com/project/175807

Well done Robyn and team for getting this far!

 

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Filed Under: Peak Everything, Permaculture

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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've crowed about Gavin's podcast before but I just have to recommend it once again - I love that he shares his learning as well as his successes - it helps the rest of us try try try again! Thanks Gavin!

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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

  • Green Living, inspiring and practical
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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

  • Morning motivation
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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. :)

  • Passionate Advocate
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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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    Like you we are having winter here in Chile—brrr! Every bit we can save on heating we will.

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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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