Why Transition: from Oil Dependence to a Resilient City

Why do we need to start working as groups of local people to build our own solutions?

By working togethr we can do things differenty, acknowledge what our needs are and work to creat those things that respond to our needs - not what someone else has decided we should have.

What makes this urgent now?

It is said by some that an "Oil Crunch" happens when the $ price of oil exceeds $100 a barrel for more than 2 months, Feb 2011the price is over $100). The consequences of an oil crunch?...economic recession. Is this just alarmism? The experience of the last 18 months suggests it is not.

The International Energy Agency, not noted for its alamist approach, in the latest World Outlook Report 2010 reaffirms this week that we are living through very challenging times and they are set to continue for the foreseeable future:

" "The energy world is facing unprecedented uncertainty”, Mr Tanaka (Executive Director of the IEA) said. ... “We need to use energy more efficiently and we need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels by adopting technologies that leave a much smaller carbon footprint”. " (http://www.iea.org/press/pressdetail.asp?PRESS_REL_ID=402)

The number of financial institutions predicting oil prices of $100+ in 2011 reads like a who's who of international exchange dealers. Lloyds are predicting a potential $200 a barrel by 2013. "The Lloyd’s insurance market and the highly regarded Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, says Britain needs to be ready for “peak oil” and disrupted energy supplies at a time of soaring fuel demand in China and India..." (http://www.liveoilprices.co.uk/oil/oil_prices/07/2010/lloyds-peak-oil-report-supply-crunch-200-oil-in-2013.html)

(Read more...)


Latest on Climate Change

If fossil fuel issues alone don't convince you that we need to start planning then you may also be feeling skeptical about climate change and the need to cut our carbon emmissions. Take a look at the Met Office web pages...

"The overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree on the fundamentals of climate change — that climate change is happening and has recently been caused by increased greenhouse gases from human activities.

The core climate science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was written by 152 scientists from more than 30 countries and reviewed by more than 600 experts. It concluded that most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in man-made greenhouse gas concentrations."

Or if you want a non-governmental source with lots of technical detail try

Skeptical Science or RealClimate:Climate Science for Climate Scientists web site for a detailed review of all the climate change scientific issues. You'll find links to the original IPCC reports and to many data sources...

"To those familiar with the science and the IPCC’s work, the current media discussion is in large part simply absurd and surreal."

One of my favourite sources of info is http://www.skepticalscience.com/

Become the solution by bringing your positive ideas for making Lancaster a resilient city. Come along to the Next Networking meeting or join a theme group (see what's on page). What ever you do START: be Positive, Practical, Local.

 

 

Current Level of CO2 Concentrations

The graphic below is from the http://www.co2now.org/ website where you can find all the details. It tracks the measured Atmospheric CO2 concentrations taken from Data Source: Earth Systems Research Laboratory (ESRL) / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Measuring Location: Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii.


ClimateInteractive Scorboard

Lots of countries have made commitments to reduce the CO2 emissions - but where are these commitments likely to take us?

The Climate Scoreboard uses the C-ROADS simulation to calculate the long-term climate impacts of proposals under consideration in the negotiations to produce a global climate treaty. Embedded Scoreboards automatically update as the deal improves.

Watch the video (top right corner of Scoreboard) for background and explanation of features or visit http://climateinteractive.org/scoreboard.