Transcript www.eigenauer.com

Curtailment – A Solution to Peak Oil
Presented
by
Pat Murphy,
Executive Director,
The Community Solution
Modified by John Eigenauer
Taft College
The Sane Option – Curtailment
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Implies a radical transformation of society
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From High Technology to Intermediate Technology
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From Industrial to Sustainable
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From Machines to Tools
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Models exist today in the 3rd world: 82+ % of world population
 Cuba is a prime example
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US has experience
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Intentional Communities, Amish, organic farming
Curtailment Considerations
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May save the environment
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Allows for a sustainable planet
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Contrary to American “Way of Life”
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Only rational and moral way
Waste

World uses between 500,000,000,000 and
1,000,000,000,000 petroleum based plastic
bags every year.
(Source: reuseablebags.com)
On the beach in Hong Kong
Key Curtailment Categories
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Food
 Simplify eating habits  Reduce dependence on oil
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Housing
 Reduce extravagance  Reduce dependence on oil
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Transportation

Reduce consumerism  Reduce dependence on oil-based
transportation.
World Food and Energy Change 1900 - 2000
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Cultivated area increased by 1/3
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Harvest of edible crops increased by 6 times
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Fossil fuels and electricity use increased by 150 times ! !
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People per cropland acre increased by 2.7 times
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World Population increased by 3.8 times
Food Systems – Old and New
Current
Future
Manufactured Groceries
Local Food Processing
Industrial Agriculture
Agrarian Agriculture
Exotic foreign foods
Local foods
Reducing Food Energy
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Reduce frozen and packaged foods consumption
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Reduce food shipment distance from 1300 to <100 miles
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Eat 25% less – and improve health
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Eat organic food – eliminate fossil fuel pesticides/herbicides
Food Storage Energy
Meat Consumption
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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
Oil and Food
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Why Our Food Is So Dependent On Oil:
http://www.energybulletin.net/5045.html
Oil and Food
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“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.”
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http://www.energybulletin.net/5045.html
7 Deadly Myths of Industrial Agriculture
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Industrial agriculture will feed the world
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Industrial food is safe, healthy, and nutritious
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Industrial food is cheap
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Industrial agriculture is efficient
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Industrial food offers more choices
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Industrial agriculture benefits the environment and wildlife
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Biotechnology will solve the problems of industrial agriculture
Organic vs. Industrial Agriculture
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This is the fundamental choice
 Replace fossil fuels with labor
 Increase diversity
Housing
Housing – Current and Future
Current
Future
Big Homes (2400sf)
Small Homes (1000sf) (1950)
Single Glazing
Triple Glazing
2x4 walls
2x8 (or thicker) walls
Hot water heaters
Solar/flash water heaters
Incandescent lights
Fluorescent lights
American Appliances
European Appliances
No heat storage
Heat storage (hybrid house)
Reducing Shelter Energy by 4 to 1
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Decrease size (from 2400 sq ft to 1000 sq ft) – 1950 size
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Increase wall/roof thickness (from 2x4 walls to 2x8 walls)
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Change temperature range (from 70 to 60 (winter))
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Reduce number/size of windows (from 12% to 6% floor area)
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Replace incandescent lighting with fluorescent lighting
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Use energy efficient appliances (minimum 2 to 1 improvement)
McMansion
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5000-6000 sq feet
$800,000
Average new home in US – 2400 sq. ft.
Habitat for Humanity Typical Home
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Less than 1000 sq feet
$46,000
Average small home in the world – 500 sq ft.
Transportation
Transportation – Current and Future
Current
Future
GM Hummer (10 mpg)
Honda Insight (68 mpg)
Cars
Buses
Airplanes
Trains
Interstate highways
Bike paths
Reducing Car Energy by 10 to 1
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Make them smaller and lighter (from 20 mpg to 80+ mpg)
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Lower frequency of use (from 11,000 to 5,000 miles per year)
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Drive slower (from 70 mph to 45 mph)
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Give up solitary driving (from 1.3 to 2.6 passengers per trip)
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Emphasize public transportation over private cars
Honda Insight
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68 mpg
Available since 1999
DaimlerChrysler “Smart” Car
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It’s not technology – it’s culture
69 mpg
Volkswagen Lupo
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1999 78 mpg
Volkswagen Research Model
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Top speed under 70 mph
8 horsepower
235 miles per gallon
Two Different World Views
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Hummer mileage - 10mpg
Insight mileage - 68 mpg
Hummer Outsells All Hybrids
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Cars and values
Curtailment and Character
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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?
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It’s giving up possessions and the prestige that goes with them
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Requires a radical change in our value system
Curtailment, Energy, and Technology
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There’s no “new technology” to “save us”.
 Technology has caused the problem !!!!
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High technology is “Machines that burn lots of fossil fuels”.
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Energy is power.
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Intermediate technology means “more tools and fewer
machines”.
Intermediate technology is more empowering for people
Curtailment Summary
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Difficult transition
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Overcome the habit of consumption
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Waste
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Transportation
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Food / Agriculture
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Housing
Remember Albert Einstein
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"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.”