All the hype about LiveEarth on 7/7/07

In a way I think it is great that millions or billions are united against climate change. On the other hand I have to ask myself. Is this really true? People come to an event like this for different reasons. They might like the music. They might think it is cool. Just change your light bulb. That is all OK. But we should not be blinded by numbers.

Those who do want to change the world to be a better place are still a few. Those who are mostly or completely ignorant are still the majority.

There is s low train coming

Lets hope it gets faster and those who just jump on the train are getting serious about it all. I thought I put up a list of what everyone can do to make a start if they care.

1. Buy local food and vegetables
2. Buy organic food, inform yourself what really is organic and what is just a marketing trick
3. Use your bike or walk instead of using the car
4. Build community, get together with like minded people, share resources
5. Become a better person, value all life, be kind to those you encounter, give a helping hand, share a smile
6. Quit your job. Find a job that is fulfilling, for your soul, for the environment
7. Eat balanced and healthy
8. Connect with God. Find a way to have a spiritual life. Are you a body with a soul or a soul with a body?
9. Be compassionate. Don't expect that everyone is doing what you do. Make room for growth. Allow differences.
10. Speak out. Don't take all injustices without speaking up. Speak up for the environment, for those who need your help.
11. Fly less. Or don't fly at all. This is the most destructive way to travel.
12. Enjoy the simple life. Find joy in nature, in the birds around you, the children or anyone you come in contact with. Celebrate the mystery of life.
13. Give things away. Give away what you don't need. Goodwill or Salvation army. Or to the recycling center
14. Recycle. Collect your trash and recycle what you can
15. Upgrade instead of new. Use your computer longer, get more ram to make it last another year or so. Donate your old computer to a school when you have to buy a new one.
16. Compost and garden yourself. You can get a lot of satisfaction out of gardening. Start small and simple.
17. Read more. Turn the TV of. Read something. Talk to people about what you know. Share your thoughts, concerns, dreams
18. Research. The Internet is full of gems. Find a documentary. Use google video. You would be surprised what you can find.
19. Donate. Give something to a higher course. Other people do lots of things to help the world. Give them your support.
20. Buy second hand stuff. Cloth or any other things.
21. Use nature as example. Let vines grow on the South side of your house, make natural shade. Use more natural cooling and heating.

I am sure I missed lots of things and some things are easier for one person and harder for others. Just start somewhere.

more on peak oil

Melting Himalayan glaciers

Crisis, what crisis?

The Earth's temperature has climbed to levels not seen in thousands of years, warming that has begun to affect plants and animals, researchers report in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Earth has been warming at a rate of 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade for the last 30 years, according to the research team led by James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York.
...

"If further global warming reaches two or three degrees Celsius, we will likely see changes that make Earth a different planet than the one we know. The last time it was that warm was in the middle Pliocene, about three million years ago, when sea level was estimated to have been about 25 metres higher than today," Hansen said.

Canadian PressPublished: Monday, September 25, 2006

Gas Prices Rise High

We haven't seen anything yet. The prices like in some parts of California where you have to pay $4.04/Gal is nothing compared to parts of Europe where you pay almost $6.00/Gal (1.38 Euro/Liter).


Crude Oil was trade at $73.50 yesterday and there are predictions for a rise to $100.00 and more.

Peak Oil - Curse or blessing in disguise

Many people don’t believe that a world wide peak oil scenario is on its way, and how it will affect our lives. But I can assure you that it will come and it will come rather sooner than later. There are lots of researchers out there who know what they are talking about, and they show clearly that a peak oil scenario is near.

If you look at the documentary ‘The end of suburbia’ and many well written books it will open your eyes to how deep we are already in trouble.

But why would that be a blessing in disguise?

We as the inhabitants of this earth are heading towards destruction with high speed. And all this is fueled by fossil fuels, like oil, gas, and coal. Once these resources are goneor limited global warming scenarios would slow down as well. Of course this is a over simplified view, I must admit. But what else does the 'resonsible' people make think ahead?
If someone wants to get the DVD or video documentary ‘The end of suburbia’, try your local library or I can help to get a copy of it.

And last but not least I want to provide this link to Orion Online Magazine which gives a series of video interviews with Jim Kunstler, an expert on this subject, talking about peak-oil.
http://www.oriononline.org/pages/oo/curwis/index_Kunstler.html

Some booktitles I can recommend:

Richard Heinberg, Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World and The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies
James Howard Kunstler, The Long Emergency: Surviving Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-first Century
Kenneth S. Deffeyes, Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak and Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage

Birth of a new Ocean?

According to a BBC report scientists say they have witnessed the possible birth of a future ocean basin growing in north-eastern Ethiopia that could split the african continent.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4512244.stm

On this BBC site you can see some basic information about how earthquakes happen.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4126809.stm