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Transition Decade 2010-2019

February 4, 2010 @ 23:49 By Gavin Webber 3 Comments

This decade will be the defining moment in human history.  Countries around the world are setting emission reduction targets that will be measured in the year 2020, so that means that a heck of a lot of action has to happen during the next 10 years.  We all have the power within to tackle the biggest issues that are now being presented to the human race, and unfortunately for us, they are all of our own making.

Whether you believe in man made climate change or not, weather patterns throughout the globe are shifting and the planet is heating up.  Dryer and hotter in some places and wetter or colder in others.  Extreme weather events are occurring more often and both poles are melting, the north more so than the south.  There are undeniable facts.  Just visit your meteorological bureau and look for climate change information to check how much the average temperature has risen in your part of the world.  Here is the link the climate variability and change trends at the Bureau of Met in Australia.  This change will affect us all in some way or another.

Climate change aside, we will be forced to deal with other global issues, such as the peak of oil production, population overshoot, water and food shortages, social cohesion, and resource depletion.  Just facing one of these issues is scary enough to deal with but to tackle all of them during the next 10 years and beyond is a daunting thought to say the least.  We will be facing change on a major scale, and this social and behavioural transformation will be felt all over the world, but more so in the so called developed nations.  A shock to the system, more likely!

Currently, the argument is for limited change, but without the loss of our current lifestyle.  Most governments are too gutless to commit to fair and binding emissions targets, and have yet to make the public aware of the other major issues.  I would argue that our current western lifestyle is not all that it is cracked up to be, and it is shallow and destructive.  However, I agree that we can transition to a more sustainable lifestyle without a massive loss of the current paradigm, however many people and corporations are hedging their bets on a series of ‘Techno fixes’, so that they can continue on with business as usual, for example Carbon Capture and Storage, or Ethanol as a replacement for transportation fuel.  In my humble opinion, I believe that we are kidding ourselves because we are too far down the rabbit hole.  Tipping points may have already been reached in the environment and with population growth.  The gap between the have and have nots widens every single day, and will widen as the price of oil continues to rise.

So what are we to do?  Well, we could just all party like it is 1999, or we can take individual action that becomes a groundswell of larger actions that actually make a difference.  So, lets take my families transition over the last 4 years as an example of what is possible without waiting for the development of a Techno Fix.  We have lowered our environmental footprint dramatically over that period, with a bit of determination, and a bit of research.

All the technologies that were required to assist us in our goals are still available today, and have been for many years.  Solar PV was installed to reduce our reliance on coal fired electricity, and we simply purchased GreenPower for the excess that we could not generate during the winter months.  PV is currently available in many countries with large tax credits or government grants to assist with the costs.  There are also feed-in tariffs available in many states and provinces now that will assist in payback costs of your system.  Same goes for Solar hot water, which has been available for many decades in Australia, but is now only just being fitted as standard to new homes due to building codes.  Wouldn’t it be a great leap forward for the planet if the government planners mandate that a small Solar PV system had to be installed on new homes during construction.  We produce 75% of our own electricity and most of our hot water is free with little natural gas being utilised.

Then there are what I call the “NO Tech” solutions.  What I mean is that you do not need any marvellous new technology fix to lower your eco-footprint with any great cost.  Some examples are collecting your own water off of your roof with rainwater tanks or water butts.  Once you have collected some water, then you can plumb to the toilet (or get a composting loo instead), and washing machine.  I personally exclusively use the rainwater to grow and maintain an abundant vegetable garden and fruit garden, all without increasing our consumption from the mains water supply.  Also, through water conservation, we have lowered our household water consumption by about 30%.

The next NO Tech solution is waste handling, and I always cite the 4R’s.  Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  Not only waste, but all material things or stuff.  We refuse products on the basis of needs or wants, refuse products with excessive packaging, reduce consumption of unnecessary stuff, reuse items we already have or fix them if broken, and if all else fails, we send it off for recycling.  Using this simple methodology we have reduced our landfill waste output by over 75%.  As for food waste, there isn’t any.  If we don’t eat it as leftovers, the dogs, chickens, or worms eat it.  Any garden waste goes straight into the 3 compost bins that I maintain.

My favourite NO Tech solution is growing our own food.  What joy I get from watching a plant grow from seed and nurturing it all the way to harvest.  To feed the needs of the garden, I use the chicken manure from our 8 hens.  The chickens eat our kitchen scraps, make fertiliser and give us eggs as an added bonus.  Talk about very useful pets!  You can even keep meat birds if you like to supplement your diet, but I personally don’t do this as I have a very squeamish wife.

However, the easiest NO tech solution is energy efficiency.  It is so very often overlooked, and not may people realise that by leaving unused appliances on, they are driving demand for electricity generation that is simply not necessary.  In our state of Victoria, which has a heavy reliance upon Brown Coal for its electricity generation, each kilowatt hour you use equals 1.2 kilograms of CO2-e released into the atmosphere, along with particulate matter and mercury.  So every time you turn off an unused electrical item, you are saving money as well as our atmosphere.

Other NO tech solutions are riding a bike to run errands, buying second hand goods, buying local organically or bio-dynamically grown foods, making things for yourself.  Learn to cook for yourself instead relying on takeaway or process food.  Not only is it more nutritious, but quicker than driving to the golden arches in most towns I bet!  Even these simple acts will make a difference but will not lower your standard of living one little bit.  In fact, I am willing to bet my next zucchini that you will find that you will become a happier person and you will become more aware of the things going on around you.  Now that can only be an outstanding change in lifestyle for you and your family.

So, in conclusion, if my family and I can lower our environmental footprint by actually enhancing our standard of living, then others certainly can do so and embrace the transition neccessary to right the wrongs of the industrial age.  The action we all take this decade will shape the future of life on Earth for time immemorial.  In my view, if we don’t change something by the year 2020, then the graceful transition that might have been possible will all but disappear, and only a rapid decline will remain as our legacy.

If you care about learning what needs to be achieved in this decade, and you live in Victoria, Australia, come along with me and some friends to the Transition Decade Launch on February 14th at the Melbourne Town Hall.  For more info, check out www.t10.net.au.  It looks like a great event, and you might just learn a bit more than I have articulated here.  I don’t know all the answers, but collectively we do!

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Filed Under: activisim, Change, Sustainable Living, Transition Towns

Path towards Zero Carbon

August 17, 2009 @ 23:42 By Gavin Webber 10 Comments

This is a future scenario I have wanted to write for some time now.  Some ideas are not original and all of the technology exists today, however the basic story line is my creation and is centred around the state of Victoria, Australia.  I hope you enjoy my vision of a possible journey to zero carbon.


Spring 2021.

It is a lovely spring afternoon, and a special day it is, because Victoria’s greatly anticipated 11th annual progress report regarding the ‘Path towards Zero Carbon’ has just shown that we have achieved a 45% reduction in our states carbon footprint since 1990.  Twenty two years ago I would not have thought that this would have been possible.

The West Antarctic ice shelf is still melting and so is much of Greenland’s ice sheets, and sea levels are set for a meteoric rise by 2100, and the impact of climate change on the Murry-Darling basin and native ecosystems get worse every year.  However it is good to know that we are on the right path, and that Victoria is leading the way by demonstrating how life is possible and enjoyable in a low carbon world.  If the rest of Australia continues for follow our lead we will hit the legislated target of 95% reduction by 2035 which is fifteen years earlier than the climate scientists believed was necessary.

When people where hit with a double whammy in 2011 with the 15th year of drought in the Greater Melbourne area, and dwindling global oil supplies and rising prices, people finally began to realise that action was necessary.  Throughout Melbourne, people are busy in the gardens planting their spring vegetables and harvesting the last of their winter crops that will supply 70% of the cities fresh food needs for the coming summer.  When food prices began to rise dramatically, the government began supplying every home with free 10,000 litre rainwater tanks, with generous subsidies for plumbing connections, so over the next two years the city’s water storage problems began to subside.  Carbon Victory Gardens sprang up all over the suburbs to help feed hungry families, as commercial farming techniques began to fail due to expensive fertilisers.  With these systems so used to the addition of petrochemical pesticides and herbicides to control pests our soils were useless without them.  Organic gardening and Permaculture became the norm and people with these skills were highly respected and sought after for large community workshops.  Community gardens sprang up everywhere by mid 2012 and nature strips were planted out by local councils in 2013 with fruit, nut, and berries in an effort to help feed locals.  Roadside stormwater drains were configured so that these trees were adequately watered after every downpour.

These simple changes brought on a wave of excitement within the community.  With the roads much quieter, millions have turned to all forms of cycling.  From trikes to rickshaws and carts, people have become mobile and children and aged citizens alike felt safe to ride the streets again.  Electric bicycles turned the hills in the eastern suburbs into an achievable journey, thus eliminating one of the biggest barriers to city cycling.  No longer are the streets of the city ruled by inconsiderated drivers, with the very same former drivers began to appreciate the plight of the cyclist in former years.

When the state government went into partnership with a small Victorian electric vehicle company in 2014, and funded the construction of 150,000 small electric vehicles in one year, people were shocked.  These new cars were exempt from registration and citylink tolls that other vehicles had to pay and the price included a government guarenteed 50% reduction in vehicle insurance due to the lower number of fossil fuelled powered vehicles on the road.  These incentives were an instant hit with consumers.  They were so quiet and pollution throughout the city reduced by 25 percent in one year.  To accomodate for the additional electricity required for these electric vehicles, strong legislation was passed to ensure that all street lighting was turned off by midnight and that heavy fines were imposed on any company found to leave office lighting and appliances left turned on in unoccuppied buildings after 10pm in the evening.  With an ammendment to the Premium renewable feed-in tariff in December 2009 to include business as well as residential and non-profit premises and a removal of the 5 kW cap, saw a rapid uptake in all forms of renewable energy across the state, all privately funded much to the governments delight.

In addition to the renewable energy boom, two geothermal power plants were constructed in 2015 near Geelong providing an additional 3500 MW of  baseload capacity to the grid.  Furthermore, ten 800 MW solar thermal molten salt power plants located near Mildura were finally completed in 2018 (8000 MW in total) saw the begining of closures of some coal fired power plants throughout the state.  All coal fired power plants have been legislated to be closed before 2030 thus ensureing the 95% reduction target set for 2035.  The molten salt solar stations, alongside wind, solar PV, and geothermal baseload provided all of the electricity needs for the state.  In 2019, Victoria began to export electricty via BassLink to Tasmania due to ever increasing water shortages in that states hydroelectric system.  Even some of Melbournes electric tram systems could be reactivated and changed back over from the horse drawn system necessitated in the early years of the crisis.  City gardeners were most diappointed at the reduction in free fertiliser!

It was not all beer and skittles in during the ‘Great Transformation’, which occured from 2010 to 2015, it was the older  baby boomers who found it hardest to adjust.  Born during the age of rampant consumerism, many valuable skills were lost and it was up to a dedicated few to help reskill the general population to avoid mass starvation as the oil supply dwindled and climate change began to really kick in.  Water conservation became a necessity and not a niceaty. 

The cost of flying rose dramatically with only the mega rich being able to afford this mode of transport.  During the Great Transformation over 90% of the worlds airline companies in existance in 2009 collapsed into bankruptcy.  International travel once more became dominated by wind powered ships, however they are much larger and comfortable than sailing ships of the past.  With the newly created renewable energy sources, more and more manufacturing was able to be relocated back to Australia to create meaningful jobs for those people not skilled in farming, energy production and transportation.  Some of Victoria’s industrial companies lobbyed and complained hard during the Great Transformation, however as carbon prices escalated and further incentives for renewable energy grew, the companies engineers found radical new ways to be vastly energy efficient and to begin to substitute with power from biogas, combined heat and power, and heat exchange technology.  As the price of oil and natural gas peaked in 2012 and began to rapidly decline, they sat back and watched their competitors struggle with the rising costs and congratulated themselves for being ahead of the pack.

Looking back, I believe that the greatest achievement has been the return of the overwhelming sense of community that arose mid way during the Great Transformation.  Of course there was looting and some chaos at first but martial law soon put a stop to that in the first few months of 2010.  I believe it was as people began to spend more time in their neighbourhoods, caring for their veggie patches, livestock and each other, upgrading their homes where they could and began brewing their own beer, wine and preserving excess harvest that this change happened. 

Some people still complain today, but most realize that something wonderful is happening not only to the state of Victoria, but all over the world.  While we are still very concerned about what the future may bring, we are also imensely proud of what we have achieved so far.

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Filed Under: climate change, Electric Vehicles, energy efficency, food, Gardening, Locavore, natural gas, Peak Everything, Permaculture, Solar Power, Sustainable Living, Transition Towns, Wind Turbine

We Are Oil Junkies

March 2, 2009 @ 23:52 By Gavin Webber 4 Comments

Did you get your daily dose of oil today?  You didn’t? 
Well, just between you and me, I think that you may be in denial and you have had a hit of some of the “black” stuff today.  Let me show you what I mean and how oil permeates the very fabric of current our civilization.
Oil is all around us
Did you brush your teeth this morning?  Guess what? Most commercial toothpastes are derived from oil based products, as is most shampoos.  Not to mention the plastic containers they came in and the toothbrush you are brushing with.  The water that washed your mouth out with was transported to you by infrastructure made by machines powered by oil in the form of diesel or petrol.
Did you turn on the light to see what you were doing?  Powered by coal fired generators, you say.  That’s not oil.  Too right it is not, but how do you think they dig it out of the ground.  That’s right, with machines powered by diesel.  The transmission line infrastructure is repaired by people driving vehicles powered by oil and keep the energy flowing.  But I have GreenPower I here some of you say.  How were the wind turbines made?  At least some of the manufacturing process used some form of oil based material and in the transportation of the turbine to its current site.  You just can’t get away from oil.
Did you have breakfast this morning?  Did you buy the cereal or bread from the supermarket?  How did it get to the supermarket shelves?  That, right friends, it was transported by oil powered vehicles, with your cup of coffee probably travelling many kilometres from some exotic location on the other side of the planet.  How far did your milk travel?  At least 200km I’m betting.
How did you get to work?  Beside the obvious use of petrol/gas in your car, somewhere along your journey, you would have used oil to get there.  Even your bike has plastic parts that are oil based!
Not convinced yet?  I shall continue.
Did you use your computer today?  If you are reading this, you must be.  Loaded with oil based plastics and components.  No oil means no PC’s, and no PC’s means no Internet.  Oh dear.
What was for lunch?  A nice salad sandwich maybe?  Those lettuces and tomatoes (if not home grown or organic) would have been grown with the assistance of natural gas based fertilisers and kept pest free with petroleum based pesticides and herbicides.  They would have been transported long distances to your plate via truck or train all driven by oil.
Do you need to take a daily medication.  There is a good chance that the pharmaceutical company made it from a hydrocarbon derived from oil.
I could go on forever, but in the interests of not shocking you any further, I think I have made my point.
Oil = Civilisation as we know it
So now that we know that “Oil = our current way of life“, what happens when we can’t get enough of the stuff?  Yes, I am talking about Peak Oil.  I am not talking about going cold turkey, but a slow and probably bumpy decline in cheap energy.  We can still get our daily dose (for a while), but it will get very expensive, very quickly as oil prices begin to rise again and demand outstrips supply.  Some experts believe that global oil production has already peaked in 2007, but others believe we still have a few more years.  Either way, there is no fuel known to mankind that can rapidly replace oil as a cheap energy source in such a short space of time.  
Civilization as we know, it has become so reliant on the stuff that the only way to wean ourselves off will be by way of a sudden shock to our collective system.  What sort of emotions do you think the average global citizen will feel when they find out that there is not enough oil to go around like the glory days.  Duped, I reckon, and possibly very angry.  So much so, that civil unrest may become the norm.  I bet this issue is not on many peoples radar.  Most are just coming to terms with Climate Change, let alone another king hit like this one.  The video below might describe it better than my attempt at documenting the issue.
Transition Towns
How can we prepare ourselves for this issue?  Some say we can’t, and that we should stock up on food, guns and ammunition.  I personally believe that is crazy talk.  The “Survivalists” as they are known, will survive of course, but only for a while.  History has shown that humans survive better in collective groups and have more meaningful lives (unlike our current state of affairs!). 
I believe that a community that lives locally has far more resilience than those individuals who go it alone.  A single person or family cannot possibly learn all the skills necessary to survive for a long period of time without outside help.
So, building local community is probably the best way to combat the onset of an energy decline.  One proposed way of preparing ourselves is via a Transition Town initiative.  According to the TT site, a Transition Town kind of begins like this;
“It all starts off when a small collection of motivated individuals within a community come together with a shared concern: how can our community respond to the challenges, and opportunities, of Peak Oil and Climate Change?
They begin by forming an initiating group and then adopt the Transition Model with the intention of engaging a significant proportion of the people in their community to kick off a Transition Initiative.
A Transition Initiative is a community working together to look Peak Oil and Climate Change squarely in the eye and address this BIG question:
“for all those aspects of life that this community needs in order to sustain itself and thrive, how do we significantly increase resilience (to mitigate the effects of Peak Oil) and drastically reduce carbon emissions (to mitigate the effects of Climate Change)?”
So building resilience in our local community, we have to embark on a social experiment on a massive scale.  The creators of the transition process are convinced that;
  • if we wait for the governments, it’ll be too little, too late
  • if we act as individuals, it’ll be too little
  • but if we act as communities, it might just be enough, just in time.
I believe that they are spot on.  Reskilling for the future is what will be necessary.  Cuba were forced to do it after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s.  They survived Peak Oil, by changing they way they did everyday things, but now they are getting hammered by nearly every hurricane that enters the Mexican Gulf each year.  Have a look at this clip from the documentary “The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil”.  It is simply amazing what a determined community managed to achieve.
As you know I am very vocal in this blog about both Climate change and Peak Oil.  How do they go together?  Well think of it this way;
  • Climate change makes this carbon reduction transition essential
  • Peak oil makes it inevitable
  • Transition initiatives make it feasible, viable and attractive
I like the sound of TT so much that I am attempting to gather a few good people in my local area to kick it off.   If there are any local readers who are interested in helping to start up a TT initiative in Melton, Victoria, please drop me an email.  I am meeting with some people from our shires Environment & Sustainability department in the next few weeks, and am going to ascertain what their reaction is.   With a lot of determination we can all have a go in our own towns, villages, or cities and become resilient against these two major problem that we have brought upon ourselves.  We don’t want a repeat of these behaviours, now do we?
Let just hope we can all act fast enough. 

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Filed Under: Peak Everything, Peak Oil, Transition Towns

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About Gavin Webber

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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Podcast Reviews

  • Always inspiring and entertaining!
    August 4, 2016 by floriographer from Australia

    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!

  • ms
    July 22, 2016 by Ketaea12 from New Zealand

    I really enjoy listening to Gavin, he has a kind lovely voice. He covers some great relevant topics for the everyday greenie. With lots of tips or how to or what not to do. Thanks Gavin, love it!!

  • Well worth your time to tune in
    October 23, 2015 by A Vision Splendid from Australia

    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.

  • very good
    June 28, 2015 by Scared pax from United Kingdom

    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!

  • opened my eyes
    May 25, 2015 by Gorn4lyfe from Australia

    A wonderful show!

  • Inspiring
    April 30, 2015 by Alan Whelan from Ireland

    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
    January 8, 2015 by EliseMac from Australia

    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
    December 8, 2014 by Bunnyworm from Australia

    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
    October 18, 2014 by BoomOpGirl from Australia

    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
    October 13, 2014 by Green gavin from Australia

    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.

  • Green thoughts, so well iterated
    October 9, 2014 by Kwasikwami from Australia

    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!!

  • Easy listening inspiration on being green
    September 24, 2014 by Broomedy from Australia

    Gav knows how to share his journey to a more sustainable life in a manner that shows just how easy it really is. Not to mention healthier, economically beneficial and generally rewarding. The podcasts are an easy way to absorb Gav's great lifestyle. I recommend to anyone.

  • Thanks Gavin!
    August 31, 2014 by Honeywoodmilk from Australia

    Great practical advice for a greener lifestyle. This podcast is for anybody interested in growing their own food in suburbia, saving electricity, brewing beer, making cheese, all that wonderful business and most of all, saving money! Thanks Gavin, love the podcast mate!

  • Enjoyed those ideas for staying warm
    August 15, 2014 by enduringdragon from United States

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

  • Green Podcasts
    July 26, 2014 by Carneu from Australia

    Excellent podcasts, which are full of information to help get started on a sustainable lifestyle.

  • Practical ideas and inspiration
    July 19, 2014 by HeathrowHeath from Australia

    I highly recommend Gavin's podcast and blog. Down to earth, entertaining and inspirational. Thank you.

  • Interesting & easy to listen to
    April 27, 2014 by Velocity3 from New Zealand

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

  • Great green listen
    April 18, 2014 by Obscurenickname from Australia

    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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