My experiences

Hi

I’ve just read ‘The Great Disruption’ by the ex-Greenpeace director Paul Gilding.

He makes the point that we are not heading for Climate Change – we are already there. And if we press on as we are now to 9 billion people – millions will suffer + if the climate collapses, so will out economies.

Jock Wishart & his team rowing  to the North Pole from Canada last week, seems an indicator. Hurricanes in Wall Street – what’s next?

The ‘enemy’ or target is the 1 degree war – 2 degrees of temperature rise & the consensus is that much of humanity will be seriously effected. Previously a group or an individual have got us together to battle the ‘enemy’ of the day – Churchill? Today I sense our leaders are too busy looking over their shoulders at balance sheets & opinion polls – & like the Arabic countries ‘dominoes’ , the change will come from the ground up – from the people – & the Internet. That’s you and me.

I don’t totally agree with all of Paul’s list of actions below, that we need to take to avoid this – what do you think & what would you  suggest? – why not email this to your list of contacts & your MP? After all we put them there to design our future – they need to know our thoughts, they are hardly psychic!

Paul Gilding:

1    Cut deforestation & other logging by half

2    Close a thousand dirty coal power stations within 5 years. (The Chinese are already doing it)

3    Ration electricity. get ‘dressed’ for war – add insulation, solar water heaters hi eff lights

4    Erect solar power or a wind turbine in every town of > 1,000 people.

5    Retrofit 1,000 coal power plants with carbon capture & storage

6    Create huge wind & solar farms in suitable places

7    Let no waste go to waste – reuse it like in WWII.

8    Ration use of dirty cars – cut transport emissions by half.

9    Prepare for bio power with combined carbon capture & storage

10    Strand half the world’s aircraft by 5 years time.

11    Capture or burn ethane

12    Move away from carbon unfriendly protein

13    Bury 1 gigaton of CO2 in the soil. Grow loads of plants

14    Launch a government – & community – led “shop less, live more” campaign

What are WE doing? – looking for a site up in the hills to put a 10 star efficiency compact bungalow – (with a spare room!) with zero fuel, electric or water bills. Maybe convert Margi’s son’s old Lancer to electric & power it off the solar panels. Maybe grow our veg (chemicals free!) & Barramundi there in Aquaponics tank s. Trial an old 2 stroke scooter – to see how far it goes on a cylinder of compressed air -  then if OK have a new camshaft made for the Bristol to make it a 2 stroke& fill its boot with carbon fibre compressed air cylinders ( > V16  & more torque – boys toys!). If it does the equivanlent of 27 mpg that will be 50% better & renewables powered… Convert a trailer sailor Tri to compressed air to make it self erecting & with an air outboard.

Looking for Fiat to make a Punto 6″ lower & maybe a monocoque like the old Rochdale Olympic but of epoxy: carbon, with maybe a 1L engine to get 90 mpg? on 100% vegoil (free injector swops ea 20km…)?

Pressing on to try & find Joint Venture partners – somewhere! – for www.windways.com.au & www.waterboatman.com.au.

“Just plus, up & tomorrow” – little to be gained by looking back now. As they say in the west country “Worry don’t work, so work don’t worry!” Lets get stuck-in.