Curtailment – A Solution to Peak Oil

1. Curtailment – A Solution to Peak Oil Presented by Pat Murphy, Executive Director, The Community Solution Modified by John Eigenauer Taft College

2. The Sane Option – Curtailment • Implies a radical transformation of society • From High Technology to Intermediate Technology • From Industrial to Sustainable • From Machines to Tools • Models exist today in the 3rd world: 82+ % of world population • Cuba is a prime example • US has experience • Intentional Communities, Amish, organic farming

3. Curtailment Considerations • May save the environment • Allows for a sustainable planet • Contrary to American “Way of Life” • Only rational and moral way

4. Waste • World uses between 500,000,000,000 and 1,000,000,000,000 petroleum based plastic bags every year. (Source: reuseablebags.com)

5. On the beach in Hong Kong

6. Key Curtailment Categories • Food • Simplify eating habits  Reduce dependence on oil • Housing • Reduce extravagance  Reduce dependence on oil • Transportation • Reduce consumerism  Reduce dependence on oil-based transportation.

7. World Food and Energy Change 1900 - 2000 • Cultivated area increased by 1/3 • Harvest of edible crops increased by 6 times • Fossil fuels and electricity use increased by 150 times ! ! • People per cropland acre increased by 2.7 times • World Population increased by 3.8 times

8. Food Systems – Old and New

9. Reducing Food Energy • Reduce frozen and packaged foods consumption • Reduce food shipment distance from 1300 to <100 miles • Eat 25% less – and improve health • Eat organic food – eliminate fossil fuel pesticides/herbicides

10. Food Storage Energy

11. Meat Consumption • Deforestation and Grassland Destruction: The world’s appetite for meat is razing forests at an accelerating rate. In Central America, 40 percent of all the rainforests have been cleared or burned down in the last 40 years, mostly for cattle pasture. In the process, natural ecosystems where a variety of plant and animal species thrive are destroyed and replaced with monoculture grass. • Fresh Water: Water experts calculate that humans are now taking half the available fresh water on the planet—leaving the other half to be divided among a million or more species. Producing 8 ounces of beef requires 25,000 liters of water. • Waste Disposal: Waste from livestock production exceeds the capacity of the planet to absorb it. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that livestock waste has polluted more than 27,000 miles of rivers. • Energy Consumption & Global Warming: It takes far more fossil-fuel energy to produce and transport meat than to deliver equivalent amounts of protein from plant sources. This heavy use of carbon-rich fuels also contributes significantly to the emissions of global-warming gases. • Food Productivity of Farmland: In the U.S., 56 million acres of land produce hay for livestock. Only 4 million acres produce vegetables for human consumption, reports the US Department of Commerce. Such inefficient use of land means that food production will not keep up with population growth. • http://www.worldwatch.org/node/1670

12. Oil and Food • Why Our Food Is So Dependent On Oil:http://www.energybulletin.net/5045.html

13. Oil and Food • “Just how energy inefficient the food system is can be seen in the crazy case of the Swedish tomato ketchup. Researchers at the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology analyzed the production of tomato ketchup (2). The study considered the production of inputs to agriculture, tomato cultivation and conversion to tomato paste (in Italy), the processing and packaging of the paste and other ingredients into tomato ketchup in Sweden and the retail and storage of the final product. All this involved more than 52 transport and process stages.“The aseptic bags used to package the tomato paste were produced in the Netherlands and transported to Italy to be filled, placed in steel barrels, and then moved to Sweden. The five layered, red bottles were either produced in the UK or Sweden with materials form Japan, Italy, Belgium, the USA and Denmark. The polypropylene (PP) screw-cap of the bottle and plug, made from low density polyethylene (LDPE), was produced in Denmark and transported to Sweden. Additionally, LDPE shrink-film and corrugated cardboard were used to distribute the final product. Labels, glue and ink were not included in the analysis.” • http://www.energybulletin.net/5045.html

14. 7 Deadly Myths of Industrial Agriculture • Industrial agriculture will feed the world • Industrial food is safe, healthy, and nutritious • Industrial food is cheap • Industrial agriculture is efficient • Industrial food offers more choices • Industrial agriculture benefits the environment and wildlife • Biotechnology will solve the problems of industrial agriculture

15. Organic vs. Industrial Agriculture • This is the fundamental choice • Replace fossil fuels with labor • Increase diversity

16. Housing

17. Housing – Current and Future

18. Reducing Shelter Energy by 4 to 1 • Decrease size (from 2400 sq ft to 1000 sq ft) – 1950 size • Increase wall/roof thickness (from 2x4 walls to 2x8 walls) • Change temperature range (from 70 to 60 (winter)) • Reduce number/size of windows (from 12% to 6% floor area) • Replace incandescent lighting with fluorescent lighting • Use energy efficient appliances (minimum 2 to 1 improvement)

19. McMansion • 5000-6000 sq feet • $800,000 • Average new home in US – 2400 sq. ft.

20. Habitat for Humanity Typical Home • Less than 1000 sq feet • $46,000 • Average small home in the world – 500 sq ft.

21. Transportation

22. Transportation – Current and Future

23. Reducing Car Energy by 10 to 1 • Make them smaller and lighter (from 20 mpg to 80+ mpg) • Lower frequency of use (from 11,000 to 5,000 miles per year) • Drive slower (from 70 mph to 45 mph) • Give up solitary driving (from 1.3 to 2.6 passengers per trip) • Emphasize public transportation over private cars

24. Honda Insight • 68 mpg • Available since 1999

25. DaimlerChrysler “Smart” Car • It’s not technology – it’s culture • 69 mpg

26. Volkswagen Lupo • 1999 78 mpg

27. Volkswagen Research Model • Top speed under 70 mph • 8 horsepower • 235 miles per gallon

28. Two Different World Views • Hummer mileage - 10mpg • Insight mileage - 68 mpg

29. Hummer Outsells All Hybrids • Cars and values

30. Curtailment and Character • Suffering? • Cuba uses 1/20 energy per person • Same life span as US, same work hours • It’s giving up some comfort and some convenience • But these are “rights” – who are we without these? • Are we anyone without more goods? • It’s giving up possessions and the prestige that goes with them • Requires a radical change in our value system

31. Curtailment, Energy, and Technology • There’s no “new technology” to “save us”. • Technology has caused the problem !!!! • High technology is “Machines that burn lots of fossil fuels”. • Energy is power. • Intermediate technology means “more tools and fewer machines”. • Intermediate technology is more empowering for people

32. Curtailment Summary • Difficult transition • Overcome the habit of consumption • Waste • Transportation • Food / Agriculture • Housing

33. Remember Albert Einstein • "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." • “I believe that the horrifying deterioration in the ethical conduct of people today stems from the mechanization and dehumanization of our lives – the disastrous by-product of the scientific and technical mentality.”