Peak Oil Panic: What can we do?

For starters, don't pretend that it's not happening. Monitor the situation. My concern right now is that it is accelerating very quickly, and there are already riots in Johannesburg. It's not impossible that this city, including the burbs and the work places where I will be, may be quite different at 5pm today. They might not be, but you and I need to monitor how things are changing, because right now, change is on course to be rapid and take us by surprise. And best to speak and learn from people who have seen this coming - I'm one. But there are plenty of resources that can offer intelligent advice about this: www.theoildrum.com, www.kunstler.com and No Impact Man are just 3 good one's.

Pay attention to what they are saying. Try to undertstand the systems at work. The bad news is systems will breakdown even further and this will happen more rapidly. The good news is we can start to form real communities now, and together, find ways to fend off the dark.

Today, right now, my advice is:

- monitor the situation
- evaluate your situation
- go to gym, get some exercise (I already have and it's 8:42am)
- speak to family and friends
- don't quit your job but start to consider an overhaul to your lifestyle - where you live, how you live, where you work, what you do, how you get there, how you're spending money, how much you're spending on food, and consider your family's interests
- right now you have to serious manage your money and your consumption, not just of things, but food
- start living healthy now, and try to contribute to the solution by using less of things you don't really need
- monitor your own stress levels; you need to stay strong and healthy in order to function, so get enough sleep, eat well, exercise, maintain a good balance
- be helpful and supportive towards others because we are going to need each other now more than ever
- finally, have some faith that the sun will rise tomorrow, and the next day, whatever happens

I am going to be blogging less, exercising and sleeping more, as I need to address the same balance I've mentioned above.

Urban Living Is Kinder to the Planet Than the Suburban Lifestyle

Inconvenient Truths: Get Ready to Rethink What it Means to Be Green

1: Live in Cities
2: A/C Is OK
3: Organics Are Not The Answer
4: Farm the Forests
5: China Is the Solution
6: Accept Genetic Engineering
7: Carbon Trading Doesn't Work

NVDL: Now pay attention:

8: Embrace Nuclear Power
9: Used Cars — Not Hybrids
10: Prepare for the Worst

NVDL: and (11) start building railways.

It's Not Just Carbon, Stupid: Dangers of Focusing Solely on Climate Change

To many Americans, ecological nirvana is a bucolic existence surrounded by wilderness. But the Thoreauvian desire for more elbow room has led to sprawl, malls, and cougar attacks. The edge-city upshot is a national cadre of 3.5 million "extreme commuters," who spend more than three hours a day in transit, many of them spewing carbon dioxide between exurb home and city office. Automobile exhaust in the US contributes roughly 1.9 billion tons a year to the global carbon cloud, more than the emissions of India, Japan, or Russia. Even worse are the 40 million lawn mowers used to tame the suburban backcountry: Each spews 11 cars' worth of pollutants per hour.

The fact is, urban living is kinder to the planet, and Manhattan is perhaps the greenest place in the US. A Manhattanite's carbon footprint is 30 percent smaller than the average American's. The rate of car ownership is among the lowest in the country; 65 percent of the population walks, bikes, or rides mass transit to work. Large apartment buildings are the most efficient dwellings to heat and cool.

And guess what high-speed means of transportation emits less atmospheric carbon than trains, planes, and automobiles? The humble counterweight elevator put into service in 1857, which has made vertical density possible from Dubai to Taipei.

From WIRED.com