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Culture, Community and Home - Open Evening Report
Open Evening Report: Culture, Community and Home – speaker: David Fleming
On the 15th November, David Fleming, developer of Tradable Energy Quotas outlined his Practical Guide to Energy Descent to an audience of over 200 people in St John’s Church, Bridgetown, Totnes.
The premise for his talk was: “Around 2009 or 2010 we will run out of fuel.”
A self-confessed pessimist on the problems facing the planet, David’s outlook was bleak: The rise and fall of civic society is a cyclical event, which has happened 25 times before in the world. This time, however, it is different because now the civic society is a global one and this fall has the potential to turn the whole world into a desert.
As civic societies break up there is a sharp decline in population and technology; the road system and cities will become defunct; there will be no higher level education; and society is danger of dissolving.
David offers two solutions: Firstly changing the way we consume and think about energy by:
- Applying conservation technologies like insulation, and reducing our consumption by changing the whole way we think about oil.
- Producing things where they are used, reducing transport use worldwide.
- Using renewable energy.
- Using tradable energy quotas – an electronic rationing system that works by dividing up the total amount of energy available between individuals and organisations.
Secondly, David emphasised the importance of community, and outlined a strategy of transforming the UK into many self-sustaining communities of around 150 people. “We need to work at the level of the community and develop a real sense of community and common purpose.”
He summarised by saying, “It’s the culture that comes first. What it’s really about is starting now to build localities that ring with creative vitality and which we can call home”.
What Oil Peak? – speaker: Ron Oxburgh
We were fortunate to have Ron Oxburgh, another teacher on Schumacher College’s Life After Oil course in the audience to present a counter viewpoint. Previously chairman of Shell and Chief Scientific Advisor to the Ministry of Defence in the UK Government, he does not think that there will be a collapse in society because of an oil peak. “Once oil gets to $60 a barrel we will start making oil from other things such as coal and what we can grow. There is going to be lateral substitution”, he said. “I don’t think we are going to see a collapse of the oil supply on which society depends.”
Local Solutions to a Global Challenge? – speaker: Richard Heinberg
More than 350 people packed into the Totnes Civic Centre to hear Richard Heinberg speak at the latest Schumacher College open evening, held in conjunction with Transition Town Totnes on 22nd November.
Richard set out his case for an Oil Depletion Protocol and the great task of getting the world off its dependence on fossil fuels. If the world adopted the Protocol, global consumption of oil would decline by 2.6 percent per annum with both importing and exporting nations commiting to the reduction. This would contribute to stabilising prices, preserving stocks, and reducing competition for scarce supplies. If we failed in this task then planetary survival was at risk – so energy transition must be our primary concern.
In explaining the theory and science of Peak Oil Richard related why he views the transition as inevitable, focusing concern on whether or not we can manage the transition proactively. A sobering message but one that clearly resonated with his audience, who demonstrated the growing commitment among many to address the energy transition process at an individual and community level.
www.oildepletionprotocol.org
www.richardheinberg.com
Schumacher College is part of the Dartington Hall Trust, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and as a charity (company no. 1485560, charity no. 279756). Registered office: The Elmhirst Centre, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EL, UK.