Rob Olason's Blog

Carbon Neutral Home in England

This video is a "walk-through" of a carbon neutral home built as a demo. It doesn't really provide a lot of space to store one's accumulated junk. Maybe that's part of the point.

The Cube

Added by Rob Olason on May 24, 2011 at 8:57am — No Comments

Little Bellingham is # 10 in the nation for bike-to-work riders!

Portland is ahead of Bellingham for total percentage of workforce that commutes by bike. But not by much!

Ride on!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/01/boulder-colorado-leads-na_n_747261.html#s148813

Added by Rob Olason on October 6, 2010 at 9:10pm — No Comments

People's Climate Summit Coverage on oneclimate.net

You can view a live video feed from the Bolivian People's Climate Summit April 20-22nd.

http://www.oneclimate.net/bolivia

Added by Rob Olason on April 21, 2010 at 8:03pm — 3 Comments

Eco Shock Podcast well worth listening to

I'm glad I listened to this podcast. The first segment is with Shaun Chamberlin, author of "The Transition Timeline." He discusses the Transition Movement in Britain and does a great job summarizing the positive aspects of transition.

The promo for the podcast:

DARK OPTIMISM How do we handle Peak Oil AND climate change? Shaun Chamberlin from UK Transition Towns, energy writer Kurt Cobb, plus

Richard Heinberg on renewable hope, with Lester Brown.

You know we are…

Continue

Added by Rob Olason on March 29, 2010 at 2:36pm — 1 Comment

"Capitalism-A Love Story" now available on dvd

Many of you are most likely already aware of Michael Moore's latest documentary, "Capitalism-A Love Story."

However, if you missed it during its theatrical run, I suggest you will be well rewarded by viewing it on dvd. The reason for saying this is not just the value of looking at our capitalistic economic system with "fresh eyes," which you will get with Moore's trademark humor (and cynicism), but also for the extras contained on the dvd that… Continue

Added by Rob Olason on March 13, 2010 at 8:53pm — No Comments

Life after Growth

In this fascinating article, Richard Heinberg summarizes his forty year journey of discovery that led him to become a persistent voice of warning that our endless growth economy was nearing its conclusion. After the failure of the Copenhagen talks, he says he's done warning, now is the time to create a new future.

"We must assume that a satisfactory, sustainable way of life is achievable in the absence of fossil fuels and conventional economic growth, and go about building it. This… Continue

Added by Rob Olason on March 5, 2010 at 1:22pm — 1 Comment

No Money Man

Can you go a year without spending any money? A man in Britain, Mark Henley, decided to give it a try and a Guardian reporter followed him around for a day, witnessing fire building, dumpster diving and brushing snow off the solar panel.

Take a look...

Added by Rob Olason on February 2, 2010 at 1:59pm — No Comments

European Nuclear Power Grows Long in the Tooth

No matter what nuclear power fans say on the other side of the Atlantic, French power plants are not aging well.

New Nuke Plants are the Answer!

Added by Rob Olason on January 17, 2010 at 10:25pm — No Comments

Feeding Whatcom County for a day.

How much food is consumed in Whatcom County in a day, a week, a month, a year? We know that the commercial farms in Whatcom County produce an abundance of milk, fruits and vegetables, more than can be consumed by our country residents. But how much food is produced in backyard gardens by gardeners who grow food to be consumed locally by themselves and others?

As we look to a future economy where imported food becomes impossibly expensive due to high growing and transportation costs,… Continue

Added by Rob Olason on January 17, 2010 at 3:02pm — No Comments

Even the worst days on the farm are better than the best days in a factory.

Gene Lodgson has written a wonderful tribute to the often ignored tree. For a breath of fresh air, read his essay...

Harveting Tranquility

Added by Rob Olason on January 7, 2010 at 7:19pm — 1 Comment

Future Hunger

"We are facing a problem that literally has never been faced in human history - we don't have enough people who know how to feed us to keep going foward. And for the most part, we're not even fully aware of the problem. We have no plan going forward. And our children are being taught that farming is unworthy of them. This, folks, is a crisis."

This article uncovers a huge challenge to future food supplies.

Added by Rob Olason on January 5, 2010 at 10:25am — No Comments

PROJECT FOR A REVOLUTION IN PHILADELPHIA bywriter/financial analyst Gregor Macdonald

"Here is my thesis: were all US cities to decide collectively that energy transition on an urban level had to commence at once, the embedded advantages of Philadelphia would suddenly become glaringly obvious."

Echoing Transition thinking, Macdonald argues that innovative responses to energy decline needs to happen at the city level. He believes that a mayor of a city in major economic decline is the likely candidate to propose bold new approaches. And such a mayor, and such a city… Continue

Added by Rob Olason on December 30, 2009 at 9:14am — No Comments

"The Political Ecology of Collapse, Part Three: The Bomb at the Heart of the System," by John Michael Greer

"Let’s walk through the logic. The most reasonable estimates suggest that, given a crash program and the best foreseeable technologies, renewable sources can probably provide the United States with around 15% of the energy it currently gets from fossil fuels. Since every good and service in the economy is the product of energy, it’s a very rough but functional approximation to say that in a green economy, every American will have to get by on the equivalent of 15% of his or her current income.… Continue

Added by Rob Olason on December 29, 2009 at 10:06pm — No Comments

What It Looks Like When a Local Authority REALLY Gets Transition...the Monteveglio story...

Italian Community goes "transition"

Added by Rob Olason on December 12, 2009 at 9:00pm — 2 Comments

How Many Cyclists Does It Take To Power A Hairdryer?

The BBC tackles reality programming in a documentary that measures how much electrical energy a family uses by the number of pedaling cyclists required to supply the electricity.

The shocking take away: 80 long distance riders can't keep up to a family of four.

One Long Ride

Added by Rob Olason on December 5, 2009 at 1:28am — No Comments

Incredible Edible Todmorden-a community committed to growing their own food

From the homepage of their website:

"Incredible Edible Todmorden aims to increase the amount of local food grown and eaten in the town. Businesses, schools, farmers and the community are all involved. Vegetables and fruit are springing up everywhere. Public flower beds are being transformed into community herb gardens and vegetable patches."

This is a really interesting holistic approach to involving a community in "resilence building" around food production.…

Continue

Added by Rob Olason on December 3, 2009 at 8:30pm — 1 Comment

Australian Senate: Peak Oil motion defeated 31:6

This is an interesting posting in the RSS feeds on the Whatcom Transition ning site, that I think is very telling about the level of political will to name the elephant in the room, let alone do something about it.

I think the size of the opposition on this vote reveals that the traditional politician has a huge learning curve on the upcoming "Story of the Century." I also think that when the paradigm shift regarding peak oil and climate change become undeniably avoidable for even… Continue

Added by Rob Olason on November 23, 2009 at 2:53pm — 1 Comment

Good Food-Documentary on local NW food production on KCTS Channel 9 Thursday Night at 10 pm

KCTS public television is broadcasting "Good Food," a documentary on local food production in the Northwest. It is being shown at 10 pm Thursday 11/12/09.

The preview looks like it would be well worth watching. I am attaching a link to the film's website. I noticed the video is for sale ($275) or rent ($95), so catching the broadcast tonight is the way to go.

Good Food Website

Added by Rob Olason on November 12, 2009 at 9:33am — 2 Comments

Local Media looks at "Peak Oil"

In the Monday October 112, 2009 edition of the Bellingham Herald on page A3:

"Peak Oil" talks set in Denver (AP)

DENVER-Proponents of the "peak oil" theory are in Denver to discuss the impacts of what they say is the quickly fading supply of world's oil.

Subscribers of the peak oil theory say the world is at or near its maximum oil production and that demand will soon eclipse supply levels.

Oil industry executives, financial analysts and peak oil… Continue

Added by Rob Olason on October 12, 2009 at 12:56pm — 1 Comment

Rich countries 'must slash living standards' to fight climate change

From the London Times Online: "Living standards in Britain and other rich countries must fall sharply over the next decade if the world is to avoid catastrophic global warming, according to a leading climate research centre."
More...

Added by Rob Olason on October 9, 2009 at 1:15pm — No Comments

Rob Olason's Blog (21)