both ends BURNING ….

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John Martyn died yesterday , January 29th 2009

I was privileged to have seen the great man play a couple of times, once in the 80’s at Cheltenham with his band, and once in a sublime duo performance with Danny Thompson at the Huntingdon Hall in Worcester, which I think was the last tour he did before the amputation of his leg. Once you heard JM’s incredible guitar playing and famous slurred vocal, you couldn’t forget it. If you ever have the need to stay up late and just think with a glass of whisky, you need to play either JM’s “Solid Air” or Joni Mitchell’s “Blue”.

John was one of the players to whom the word ‘original’ truly applied. The musical world is a lot poorer now JM and his great mentor Davy Graham have left us within the space of 6 weeks.

Bless the weather that brought you to me
Curse the day you go away
Bless the weather that brought you to me
Curse the storm that takes you away

Go and have a listen and raise a glass to Johnny Too Bad.

Danny Baker’s programme from BBC London on 29th January which became a tribute to John is here for a while, and is available as a torrent here.

Or here …

Here’s John playing “Spencer The Rover” in 1977.

Rolling Stone Obituary

The Word

The military invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli Forces bears a direct relation to the control and ownership of strategic offshore gas reserves.

This is a war of conquest. Discovered in 2000, there are extensive gas reserves off the Gaza coastline.

Article by Michel Chossudovsky…

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHO20090108&articleId=11680

David MacKay, a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge has released a new e-book on Sustainable Energy. “Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air”

It can be downloaded for free in a variety of low and high resolution formats from

http://www.withouthotair.com.

The book has a number of notable endorsers, including Sir David King, Tony Juniper and Lord Oxburgh.

Professor Mackay’s site also features a number of relevant downloadable presentations and talks.

The US election result seems to have been desired by the whole planet, and not just the US population. An extraordinary poll reveals that 87.3% of 868,144 voters from 213 countries wanted Obama to win. Of course, in 1997, we felt the same way when Tony Blair was elected …….

http://www.iftheworldcouldvote.com/results

Rob Hopkins at Transition Culture does a great job of summing up the election result.

Not everyone is happy that Obama is in….

A new report from the newly-formed UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security is the first multi-company alarm bell to be sounded on peak oil. It sets out a series of practical recommendations for Government, including action to grasp the significant economic and environmental opportunities from a step-change in investment in renewable energy and sustainable transport.

http://www.peakoiltaskforce.net

The Financial Times has leaked (28/10/08) the results of the International Energy Agency’s long-awaited study of the depletion profiles of the world’s 400 largest oilfields, indicating that, “Without extra investment to raise production, the natural annual rate of output decline is 9.1 per cent.”

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e5e78778-a53f-11dd-b4f5-000077b07658.html

(It should also be noted that the IEA have responded to the news of the leak)
http://www.iea.org/journalists/arch_pop.asp?MED_ARCH_ID=477

There are several Peak OIl / Oil Depletion type movies that have become staples of the PO/Transition community. Films For Action has collected several of these and seems to allow anyone to see the full versions for free. Here’s a few for starters :

The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.
http://www.filmsforaction.com/film/?Fil … d_Peak_Oil

A Crude Awakening.
http://www.filmsforaction.com/film/?Fil … _Awakening

The End of Suburbia.
http://www.filmsforaction.com/film/?Fil … f_Suburbia

Lots of other good stuff on the same site.
http://www.filmsforaction.com/

“Wake Up, Freak Out – then Get a Grip” is a short, animated film about climate change by Leo Murray.

Wake Up, Freak Out – then Get a Grip from Leo Murray on Vimeo.

More information and the transcript is available at Leo’s website at :

http://wakeupfreakout.org/

You can find references to new ‘Marshall Plans’ at many spots on the Internet. George C. Marshall’s famous 1947 programme for the rebuilding of Europe is ingrained as a byword when someone needs a simile for a ‘grand plan’ to get big results quickly.

I’m not below stooping to using it for this little essay. Since becoming involved in the ‘Transition’ movement, I have been struck by the apparent gulf between those people who ‘get’ the concept, and those who don’t. I began appreciating (and it has been mooted before in many environmental forums) that we need something on a ‘Marshall Plan’ scale that will involve everyone in the Transition groundswell. Marshall’s words still ring true today .

“I need not tell you that the world situation is very serious. That must be apparent to all intelligent people. I think one difficulty is that the problem is one of such enormous complexity that the very mass of facts presented to the public by press and radio make it exceedingly difficult for the man in the street to reach a clear appraisement of the situation.” Original speech transcript and mp3 here.

So here it is

Times are uncertain. It seems likely now that whatever our medium to long term response to the twin challenges of Peak Oil and Peak Oil is, we are in for some difficult years ahead. The Transition initiative offers a positive approach, that has the potential to get a percentage of the UK population through a ‘Powerdown’ period following an energy crisis. Hopefully, in the long term future, by employing the principles outlined in the Transition Handbook, we can secure a sustainable future.

At the moment, it seems to me that we are experiencing a strange phenomenon. We are faced with almost certain upheaval (of some kind), and yet the majority of the UK population, (and its Government) seem determined to attempt to maintain the consumer-led status quo. Awareness of Climate Change and Global Warming is almost universal, with a minority waking up to the shorter term threat of Peak Oil. However, although a growing number of the population are extremely worried about the consequences of these environmental and economic changes, hardly anyone is doing anything about it.

The possible consequences of a major crisis are clear : widespread hunger , social and economic breakdown, political unrest and looming chaos. Whether you believe in Climate Change or Peak Oil or not doesn’t really matter, what do YOU need to really set your mind at rest?

A plan.

That’s it in a nutshell – what you or your family need is a concrete plan, an idea of what you are going to do IF one of these potentially horrible futures does show up in the next few years (or sooner). We all need a plan. Once we have a plan, we can think more clearly about the living choices that we will need to make for a real sustainable future. The UK needs a plan to give us some kind of certainty, so that we can be assured that we will be around to see beyond any future crisis. What should this kind of plan look like?

• It should apply to YOU and YOUR circumstances.
• It should ensure that you/your family/your neighbourhood can exist during any times of recession.
• Ideally it would be a plan that embraces some features of sustainability so that it could help us move forward after a ‘crisis interlude’.
• It should be easily understandable, and include clear directions on what YOU should do.
• It should be rolled out quickly to everyone, so that preparations can be made as soon as possible.
• It should involve a minimum of material outlay, and should involve (where necessary or desirable) your neighbours or local community.

So what are we talking about ? We need to find out what bare essentials we need to carry on during hard times and make provision for any gaps that currently exist in our personal lifestyles. These are the things I think people will need to think about. There is information that needs to be distributed to ensure that everyone knows what they need to consider. In writing this, I am assuming that the fabric of everyday life might have degraded to such a point that life has become fundamentally home-based and not dependent on transport to the workplace.

1. Potable Water (or at least water you can treat to make it fit to drink).
Find a local source of water that you can get to and transport to your home without using a vehicle. This might be from a river, a stream, a lake, a canal or could be from stored rainwater. Centrally distributed information should advise on the volumes you need to collect. As well as the water, you will need a reliable method of long-term purification – probably some kind of physical water filter.

2. Space to grow/produce vegetables and fruit.
You may have garden or allotment space, or you may need to find it. If you have a large amount of land, you will have to share it with neighbours or community members who do not have land. Urban communities will have to be especially resourceful in indentifying green spaces where food production can occur. Cultivation should begin as soon as possible. Indoor cultivation may be a possibility.

3. Heating / Cooking/Lighting.
You will need some method of generating heat in cold weather, and also to cook food and boil water year round. This is likely to employ some kind of combustion of biomass fuels (wood predominantly). Obviously this will mean you need to identify a fuel source. Low technology lighting of some kind.

4. Waste.
You will need some means of collecting and treating your waste (urine and faeces) if the central treatment networks are not functioning. This may be via latrines or humanure composting in some areas. Again, centrally distributed information will aid decision making.

5. Other.
Communication (Wind up radio). Waterproof shelter. Warm robust clothing.

THE PLAN

So, what I’m talking about here is a nationally initiated, but locally implemented plan for the UK that should identify the bare minima described above for every individual, family unit or household.

It should have the following aims.

1. It should be nationally initiated, but locally implemented.
2. It should aim to give every individual and family a working plan for sustainable survival through a ‘powerdown’ transition event.
3. It should promote peace of mind once implemented.
4. It should be mandatory and legally (or maybe morally) enforceable.
5. It must actively promote and lead to a sustainable future for the UK.
6. It should promote the principles extolled by the Transition Town initiative and strive to integrate those principles into local communities and neighbourhoods.
7. It should be advertised via all national media outlets.
8. It should be designed, implemented and completed within 5 years at the longest.
9. It should be a directed scheme, giving simple practical advice. “A plan”

HOW COULD IT WORK?

1. National media saturation to educate the population about the threats of Climate Change and Peak Oil.
2. Announcement of the intentions and aims of the plan via media.
3. Data gathering via the census network. Every household asked to fill in a ‘Transition Census’ to determine their own local resources and requirements. Each household to determine land availability, water source, prospects for waste treatment, heat and power. Each household to determine requirements that they lack (e.g – no local land, no local water source).
4. Collation of data at national level and rapid dissemination to local centres (Transition towns to act as hubs?) Identification of community blocks, neighbourhoods etc. that can work together.
5. Identification of resource abundant and resource depleted areas / households. Pairing or teaming of resource depleted households with resource abundant households. OR identification of possible resources that can be shared – i.e. green spaces in city blocks.
6. Dissemination of information and resources. Each area to be given locally relevant lists of vegetables/fruits to be planted with schedules. Resource guides on water and waste treatment and low technology heating and lighting. Recipes for simple meals based on nutrional analysis. Local champions and experts in each area to be utilized to help with local planting/building etc.
7. Central step up in production of low cost, low tech water purification equipment, waste treatment (composters etc.) and heating/lighting equipment. Identification and promotion of seed banks.
8. Continual reinforcement of message over 2-3 years as land starts producing produce.
9. Financing of the above – as always this would be the problem. An individual party may choose to take this on as an election theme, but it is unlikely. I think it would have to find a major investment from private sources OR, if the cost per household could be determined, better would be if the UK population would pay for it themselves through voluntary taxation schemes?

I feel that once the population had made these kinds of preparations, we, as a nation,  would be much better off psychologically to cope with whatever the next few years might bring. This would allow us valuable thinking time to move towards a full and long lasting ‘Transitioned’ culture. What I’m proposing is 5 years of frantic ‘digging for victory’. A national project of this kind could take our focus off consumerism and forearm us for eventualities, no matter how unpalatable they might be.

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil and Gas (APPGOPO) heard from BP Special Economic Advisor Peter Davies on 16th January. Mr Davies believes “there is a realistic possibility that world oil production will peak within the next generation as a result of peaking demand” His views were challenged by Jeremy Leggett who suggested that “the risk of an early peak in global oil production was much greater than BP believed.”

A podcast of the meeting is available for download at the APPGOPO site.

http://www.appgopo.org.uk 

(APPGOPO press release)