Tragedy of the Commons

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Hypermiling Update: 5/30/08

Another tank eclipsing 27mpg...I seem to be reaching a plateau of what the ol' Blue Bullet is capable of - without going too crazy. One thing I have been realizing...there are diminishing returns after a while. The initial increases are easy to come by, but each increasing mpg is harder to get than the last.

One note about the actual total savings of hypermiling. You will save a lot of gas by driving at 55 rather than 65. However, it will also obviously take a lot more time to get to your destination. It is up to you to decide if your time is worth more than the gas you are saving. One of the keys that makes my hypermiling more economical is that I am mostly in stop-and-go city traffic, so my actual time differential is not that much, perhaps 5-10 minutes per day. If I had a mostly highway commute, the time difference might be much higher and thus less economical. And if I actually got paid for the short amount of extra time that it is taking me per day, I would not be coming out ahead...10 minutes per day X 250 days/yr = 2500 min = over 40 hours = a week's pay = more than I'm saving in gas.

Unfortunately, I do not get paid for every hour that I am alive. And there are more savings than just the money that I do not have to expend. And gas prices are still increasing. So I will continue to hypermile...but I won't be driving 50-55 on the interstate much anymore, just to increase my stats. On the other hand, I won't drive 75-80 either. It is up to the individual to find the balance.

Friday, May 30, 2008

The Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook

The Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook: Community Solutions to a Global Crisis, Greg Pahl

As conventional energy sources begin to dwindle, we will need to rely heavily on renewable and alternative sources to provide the basic services we once took for granted. Researching and employing these sources can be a daunting task. This book provides a basic tutorial on many of these sources as well as strategies for adaptation for individuals, small businesses and communities. As the title suggests, it is geared heavily for small communities, so many of the projects highlighted are at a larger scale than the individual homeowner. Still, I found it to have some good information.

The first chapters recap reasons why we desperately need alternative energy sources, namely peak oil. The author references The Long Emergency as an inspiration for this volume, however takes a more optimistic tack than Kunstler. While Kunstler goes out of his way to denigrate every possible alternative source, Pahl details how each of these sources are being used right now...and what the future may hold.

The book covers the following topics: solar, wind, water, biomass, liquid biofuels and geothermal. Each topic is viewed from a small community point of view, with many examples of current projects. Unfortunately, the book does not delve much into cost analysis, only showing projects in the most positive light. If these projects are cost efficient or not is left up to the reader to research for himself. In the author's defense, cost benefit analysis varies greatly on a case by case basis, and has many variables to consider.

For the casual reader, this book is not a must read. It does, however, provide a strong background in the majority of current alternative energy sources. If one is contemplating alternative sources for a small business, farm or community...I would recommend it. Also it would benefit local governmental leaders; mayors, city councils, home owner association boards, school boards, etc.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Money and Kids

Here is a duo of articles from MSN concerning the growing financial ignorance of Americans. Considering the average American has negative savings, one could wonder about the message that sends our children. One also wonders about the lessons of large amounts of mortgage over-extensions and subsequent foreclosures. The first article mainly looks at ways for the public school system to increase financial acumen; which I applaud, but find lacking. I, for one, know I learned very little about basic economics from public school. I must have picked up my (for lack of a better term), shrewd, outlook on finances from family influences as a child. (I do remember reading a Consumer Reports-type magazine a lot as a youngster and putting my summer earnings in a passbook account.) Anyway, I think it is very important for parents to instill basic financial skills (money management, budgeting, work ethic, time value of money, basic investing concepts, etc.) at an early *yet age appropriate* time. Anything else is doing them a disservice which will have ramifications for their entire life. Money may not buy happiness, but not having it can surely bring a ton of grief.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/RaiseKids/WillOurKidsBeDumbAndBroke.aspx

The second article examines ways several sets of families (with different sets of circumstances) attacked the problem. I think the best solution will be different for everyone. Drawing a balance between working, consuming and saving is a constant battle that most people have to face everyday. Passing on your values to your children will most likely happen whether you intend them to or not; I would argue it is better to shape the discussion on your terms.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/StockInvestingTrading/Canyouteachkidstoberich_article.aspx?GT1=33011#pageTopAchor

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Bevy of Biofuels

Here is a great slide show synopsis of many of today's current and potential feedstocks for biofuels:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/05/0508_biofuels/index_01.htm

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Radiohead

Radiohead, hit band & leader in the environmental community.

"The band has called the digital giveaway a "one-off" experiment, but they've also re-examined other ways they conduct business. They last year commissioned a report from the company Best Foot Forward to judge the carbon and ecological footprint of their touring.

Any adjustments are in the early stages, but the band has posted messages on their Web site urging fans to car pool to concerts. They caution that music is at the heart of any new endeavors."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/27/music.radiohead.ap/index.html

Tired of gas prices?

Perhaps you should check into a summer home in Venezuela...the home of the cheapest gas in the world. At 12 cents a gallon you can fill your tank for less than the cost of one gallon here. But as always, there's a bit of a catch...

In Venezuela, cheap gas is considered more a right than a privilege. Several governments, including that of Chávez, have attempted to raise prices in the past. Those moves have often been met by riots and demonstrations, forcing successive presidents to back down. Hundreds, if not thousands, died in riots in 1989 when the government of former President Carlos Andrés Pérez was reported to be considering a gasoline price increase that would have also raised public transportation costs. Faced with mounting bloodshed, Perez quickly backed down.

It looks like they will kill folks just for talking about raising the price. My question: who is going to get holding the bag on all the accumulating debt that this policy is creating? The article alludes to international lenders holding a large portion.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/may2008/db20080523_344156.htm

As a bonus: Business Week has a slide show of gas prices around the globe...and some interesting data to contemplate...

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/05/0524_venezuelagas/index_01.htm

Monday, May 26, 2008

Hanging Gardens - 5/25/08

Plant update: A little over-zealous fertilizer application claimed the life of the cantaloupe and singed the leaves of the cucumbers. They seem to be doing OK now, though. Here is also a picture of a shallow tray of mixed greens...they are nearly ready.

Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare

It looks like some folks have begun to drink the kool-aid...

Convinced the planet's oil supply is dwindling and the world's economies are heading for a crash, some people around the country are moving onto homesteads, learning to live off their land, conserving fuel and, in some cases, stocking up on guns they expect to use to defend themselves and their supplies from desperate crowds of people who didn't prepare.

http://green.yahoo.com/news/ap/20080524/ap_on_re_us/environmental_survivalists.html

It makes me ask myself, though...how ready am I?

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Solutions, Part III - Alternative Energy

The true test of our transition from fossil fuels will be the availability and price of alternatives. As I stated in Solutions, Part II, conservation is admirable and necessary, yet limited. When the oil is gone, we are going to need something else...and this post will attempt to compile the majority of current favorites.

Before I begin, I'd like reiterate a point about alternatives. The cost matters. All current alternatives are just that... because of the sticky little fact that they cannot currently compete with fossil fuels. Either they cost more money, have less than desirable performance, cannot be produced in sufficient quantities or a combination of these factors. Being of the mind that you must weigh all the costs, however, they may have less external costs. They may cause less harm to the environment, they may not be controlled by evil people, and they may be virtually infinite. The costs and benefits may also shift as technology progresses. All of these costs and benefits must be weighed...and weighed carefully. Unfortunately, the free market and human nature tend to weigh some costs to the detriment of others. Hence, government steps in...for better or for worse. Anyway, on to the list, sorted by 3 main sectors of need...

Transportation

Electricity Production

Wind
http://tragedy-of-the-commons.blogspot.com/2008/05/wind-could-provide-20-of-nations-energy.html
Solar
Nuclear
Hydropower
Geothermal
Biomass
Fusion

Space Heating

Alternative Electric
Solar (passive/active)
Biomass
http://tragedy-of-the-commons.blogspot.com/2008/06/home-biogas.html
Geothermal
Shared bodily warmth

As always, feel free to amend the list...hopefully there will be new breakthrough technologies that can truly change the game.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Everything Falling Apart

WASHINGTON—Officials from the Institute for Somehow Managing to Hold It All Together warned that, despite their best efforts, everything appears to be falling completely apart and "getting way out of hand," according to a strongly worded report characterized by panic, frustration, and numerous typographical errors that was released to the American public Monday.

"The country today faces a number of pressing issues, including potential economic collapse, the continued threat of global warming, and the decaying national infrastructure," ISMHIAT chairman Kenneth Branowicz said during a press conference to announce the study's findings. "And we just can't keep it together anymore."

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/everything_falling_apart_reports

What if Gas Hits $10 a gallon?

It might not be the end of the world, just the end of the world as we know it. The article claims it may be good in the long run...I do not agree. I think the best thing in the long run would be a slow transition from oil. One that does not have any large price shocks and depressions. Depending on how quickly we find economical alternatives and how much worldwide demand is affected by rising prices, I feel this is possible. We may not have much of a choice in the matter, however.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/WhatIfGasCost10DollarsAGallon.aspx

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Malaise, July 1979

In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose.

The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us. For the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. The productivity of American workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Americans to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the Western world.

As you know, there is a growing disrespect for government and for churches and for schools, the news media, and other institutions. This is not a message of happiness or reassurance, but it is the truth and it is a warning.

These changes did not happen overnight. They've come upon us gradually over the last generation, years that were filled with shocks and tragedy.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carter/filmmore/ps_crisis.html

It seems as this speech could be ripped from the headlines in the near future.

Unfortunately for Carter, folks didn't take to well to the bad news...and a little over a year later ushered in Reagan on a charter of hope and optimism. Much of the problems he noted were temporarily resolved by increased oil production in Alaska and the North Sea, slight conservation initiatives, as well as drastic tax cuts. Over two decades of extreme growth ensued, encompassing the fall of Soviet Russia and the explosion of the personal computer. The question now becomes, what will save us next time?

Monday, May 19, 2008

www.EatWild.com

Here's a website that provides listings of farms that produce organic foods. You can find organic produce and grass-fed meats near you.

From the site:

Eatwild.com is your source for safe, healthy, natural and nutritious grass-fed beef, lamb, goats, bison, poultry, pork, dairy and other wild edibles.

http://www.eatwild.com/

Also see Local Harvest for a great resource for farmer's markets, CSAs, and other local foods.

In Defense of Food

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, Michael Pollan

Could you stand to lose a few pounds? Perhaps just concerned with eating right for health reasons? Have you ever noticed that it seems just about everyday there is a new 'breakthrough scientific study' that claims to have found the holy grail of nutrition? Perhaps it is a low-fat diet...or low-carb...more antioxidants...maybe we just need more omega-3s? Does it seem like a lot of this information tends to contradict previous findings, which in turn, is contradicted again? I found this book to be an eye-opening look into why this has been occurring for over the last century. The author examines the origins of 'Nutritionism'...the phenomenon of applying science and technology to essentially replace our ancestor's food chain with The Western Diet.

Beginning in the early 19th century, scientists discovered the basic building blocks of food: Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat. A little while longer they discovered a few basic nutrients (vitamins) and proclaimed they had solved animal and human nutrition. Soon after, the first baby formula was created (consisting of cow's milk, flour and potassium bicarbonate). Nutritionism was on its way. Unfortunately, doctors began to notice that babies fed exclusively on this diet did not fare especially well...undeterred, the food scientists forged ahead, looking for the magic formula for human nutrition. The author continues to explore the Age of Nutritionism, from the advent of processed grains to the low-fat phenomenon of the late 50s-present to the low-carb craze of the turn of this century. He highlights that current scientists, in some respects, are just like the early ones. There are just far too many things that we just do not know about how the human body utilizes food.

Out of The Age of Nutritionism was born The Western Diet. Highly processed foods, shelf stable and able to be transported around the globe. A plethora of foods sources were distilled into about 4 monoculture grains (corn, soy, wheat, rice) and 3 protein sources (beef, pork and chicken). These staples were then bred for maximum production at low cost (a worthy goal when there are poor, starving people), however this came at a cost of nutritive value and flavor. The author then describes the after affects of the adoption of The Western Diet. After industrialization, native peoples quickly began to contract 'western' diseases (hypertension, diabetes, cancer, etc.) when previously they had very low rates. Pollan describes a study of modern aboriginals who had a wide range of maladies simply disappear after returning to a bush diet for several weeks; foraging for plants, grubs and wild game.

As you may know, the U.S. has very high rates of obesity, hypertension, cancer, and heart disease. Much of the increases in life expectancy have come from preventing infant mortality, not actually extending life spans. In the near future, we may actually see a decrease in life expectancy. Much of this, Pollan argues, is due to our diet. Food scientists can break food down into parts, but it has a harder time putting it back together. And even if they could, do we really know the optimal configuration? Perhaps someday we will...but until then?

What can we do? Must we return to a hunter/gatherer existence to save ourselves? Fortunately, no. The author suggests only simple, basic guidelines: Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants. Out of these basic guidelines, there are some sub-bullets I would like to highlight.

Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food
Avoid food products that make health claims
Shop the peripheries of the supermarket, avoid the center aisles
Eat well-grown food from healthy soils
Don't look for the magic bullet in traditional diets
Eat meals, at a table
Cook...and plant a garden

I highly recommend this book. It has really affected the way I think about food. I have always subconsciously been in the nutritionist frame of mind...the body is a machine and food is its fuel. This book sheds light on a counter-claim; that food is actually a relationship between many things, both living and not. I invite you to investigate this yourself.

I would caution that while our diets constitute one portion of our health, it is not the only determinant. Our ancestors also had much different activity levels than we in modern societies do today. I am a strong believer in the power of exercise, which is not in the scope of this book; but in my view, cannot be left out of any discussion of health. I also am an optimist in regards to science. While our scientists may not currently hold the keys to the universe...does that mean we should not implore them to keep looking?

Hypermiling Update: 5/19/08

Two more tanks above 27mpg...overall FE is 26.2mpg. I have now saved around 50 gallons of gas at an average price of $3.09 for a total savings of $154. Unfortunately, the rising gas prices are continually eating into those savings. Regular unleaded E10 increased by $0.20 in the 9 days between fill-ups. Here's a chart of the fuel prices:
Does anybody think we'll ever see sub-$3.00 gas again?

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