Peak oil

Kathy · Peak oil

Lots going in the news at the moment. What changes do you think are needed at a local and global level, if any. Does anyone think it's all scaremongering?

This is a long article but a good read, lot's of interesting stuff.
http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

nanny-now and forever

wht gets my goat is that there is so much speculation in the market so that the price gets pushed ever higher in this country

my mom in the states is livid that she should have to pay £1.70 a gallon

we would be over the moon with delight

we try not to use the truck now more than twice in every 7 days and that is mostly for local shopping uses not the days out we used to have....

luckily my brother has opted for a train trip to and from heathrow for his visit in august....we reckoned it would be at least £200 in diesel to go and collect him with an extra tenner for the severn bridge each way as well

we are pleased to let the train take the strain ....the downside being that it will take him probably 8 or 9 hours to get here from heathrow by train where as it COULD techically take only 4 hours by car provided there are no holdups...........but then there are always holdups....

lloyd

I feel very apocalyptic about the whole business. It's becoming time to put our money where our mouth is, and become more self sufficient.

Libby

We have 3 cars Rolling Eyes

a diesel 1.9, petrol 1.4 and petrol 998c. We have worked out mileage on the 1.9 and 1.4 and theres a 1p difference between them.
Hubby has to work and leaves at 7am in the morning to do a 22 mile journey by car. The earliest bus from our village leaves is at 7.30 to get to the local town for the 8am bus which would get him into swindon at 9am he then would have to get a bus out to his work probably another 30 mins including waiting. So would not be in until 9.30 at the earliest.
He would need to do the reverse to get back home but the only problem is the last bus back into the village from the town 6 miles away is 5.30am which means he would need to leave work at 3.30pm super for us but not so super for the paypacket!!
Public transport needs a major overhaul, if it could sensibly replace the car then we would use it. K is always using her student railcard and gets some good prices on trains but you do need to do a bit of research to find the best fares and routes and book in advance.
I would happily use my bike for the little necessities but the physio has banned me.
As to the self sufficiency that LLoyd mention, I would love too, but my garden is too small, I grow what I can but we are big veg eaters! The nearest allotments are on the other side of the local town which is over 9 miles away Confused

so would mean another car journey.
They don't make it easy for us!

When we moved here 21 years ago this wasn't a problem, now because the petrol costs it is making life very difficult.

Kathy

It's not just about using cars though is it. Britain seems to be woefully lacking in sustainable solutions. Wind farms are refused planning, the price of solar panels are prohibitive, in fact anything "greener" is out of most people's price bracket.
If you read that article it lets you see just HOW much we are oil dependent. All our major industries are now dependent, all movement of goods for shops etc are oil dependent. Our water treatment plants depend on oil to run them.

It's not as simple as becoming more self sufficient. What about all the people who live in concrete jungles. Coco has a friend from London who had never seen a sheep till she went to Wales uni, used to spend hours looking at them.

The oil will run out, there are different opinions as to when, not if. So what happens to public transport then:?

Our world is changing don't you think?

lloyd

I accept the Government response that they will not subsidise fuels, as we need to adapt and change, but why then don't they make public transport more attractive, more accessible and more tailored to the needs of its future customer base. Why do we not have a Government subsidised provision of alternative fuel supllies, be it LPG, biofuel, subsidies for solid fuels, handouts to landowners to raise fast growing wood as fuel, greater use of sugar cane for alternative plastics and fuels, etc.

These would all offset the impending crisis.

Kathy

Sometimes I wonder if plans are already in place but the "big boys" want to wring every last penny out of the consumer before the oil runs out. Wouldn't suprise me, there's lots goes on behind closed doors we never get to hear about.

lloyd

Inclined to agree, Kathy. Like the truckers strike where they wanted 7% but got 14%.

Nothing to do with the TUC withdrawing its funding of the labour party then...............

Bovey Belle

If we had public transport around here, I'd be delighted, but as it is we'd have to walk 3 miles to the nearest bus stop and the buses are very infrequent. The Govt. can't expect people to walk everywhere - you have to set up a decent system of public transport - it is vital in rural areas (as are POST OFFICES) but don't get me started on that!

It would make sense to use railways for transporting goods instead of always hauliers on roads too.

I hate to think of the set ups behind the scenes which we aren't privy to. I am currently reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which is about living a simpler life, being self-reliant, buying local produce and supporting local farmers and small companies (something I try to do more and more of). What she writes about Monsanto is scary.

As for our surplus gas being sold abroad in summer because we lack the storage capacity, and then we are over a barrel come winter, when it is sold back to us at some incredible rate of inflation. Perhaps I'm dumb, but is there any reason why we can't increase our storage capacity? Or is that too simplistic?

Kathy

I've read a fair bit about Monsanto over the years, very scary what they get away with. Behind the scenes the people in power have big shares in this company so pretty much anything gets through the red tape. Aspartame is a good example of this, it's a poison, but a change in the US administration and the sacking of the guy who stopped FDA approval and it's now in 90% of soft drinks and many other foods.

A simpler way of life would suit me fine. Most of the dried goods I buy for the house are imported but I'd soon adjust to eating what could be grown locally plus, I'm sure we'd all be much healthier.

Aqui

I definitely think the lack of use of renewable energy is down to the share holders in the oil companies putting a stop to it. In fact I'm pretty certain that the committees looking into renewable energy in the US have the CEOs of Shell, etc on them. No wonder nothing is happening!

But I'm going to be good today and put my money where my mouth is and switch us to renewable electricity and carbon offset gas. i've been putting it off as I worry that it'll be a lot more expensive, but I've just looked at the prices and it's not that much more.

We try to do our best. i know a lot of people don't bother at all (so many people don't even recycle!) our neighbour's security light was on all day at the weekend. grrr. Even if they don't care about the planet, surely they must worry about their electricity bill.

This beautiful planet is not here to be pillaged and plundered. Where are we going to live when it's all gone?

I was reading Monty's Around the world in 80 gardens book the other night - when he went to Cuba (missed that episode). It's fanscinating there. When the Soviet union collapsed, they were left with no fuel, food or money. So they set up a wonderful system of growing food on all available land within the cities. It's all grown organically (no oil to make fertilisers etc) and sold locally. now 90% of the food sold in Havana is grown within the city and sold within minutes of being picked. I bet no other capital city on the planet does that. (although of course they have many other problems!) Sounds like the way forward to me.

Kathy

That sounds good to me Aqui, the land and resources we do have in Britain are so mismanaged it beggars belief.

Kathy

So what's going on with "peak oil" since last year then, not very much in the news. Anybody have any inside stories?

morlan578

it,s not about the world we live in it,s all about profit and things people need
luxury items dont carry huge levies it,s all about what we use on a day to day basis .
Mark my words you watch the price of LPG increase as more and more vehicles get converted
Deisel was the eco fuel a few years ago and as more and more people used deisel engined cars as the technology improved the deisel prices came closer and closer to petroleum
It,s not a green issue its just an excuse to hike prices people dont really use their transport any less when the prices increase they just grin and bear it
Its a sad situation really compare it to cigarettes and alcohol i remember hearing the phrase "when fags hit a pound a packet i,m giving up"but few people did
Its all down to corperate and governmental greed
There is always an excuse for high prices if you are concerned about the environment you would reduce your energy consumption regardless of price dont you think.
They dont want us to use our cars so much OK lets hike fuel prices oooohh drinkin and smoking is bad for you lets hike the prices and who does it actually effect not the people involved in supplying such things i can assure you
Sad