permaculture

[lbsaltzman@aol.com]

Rising energy prices and the talk of global warming have been threatening 
people and scaring them. Some of the more extreme media (Limbaugh, Colter, 
etc.), joined by some who work for think tanks funded by Exxon/Mobil and 
other energy companies, have carefully developed rhetoric full of 
semantically loaded terms and are using it with some effectiveness to 
discredit those who are warning about global warming and peak oil. I have 
heard claims that Al Gore has started a new religion around global warming, 
that those taking action on global warming are fascists etc. etc.  Just 
yesterday I was listening to a radio documentary on Rachel Carson and found 
that she was attacked with similar irrelevent, but effective language. They 
called anybody concerned about the dangers of pesticides as "food faddists" 
etc.  Demonizing and denigrating the opposition is an old tactic.
 
-----Original Message-----
From: lfl@intrex.net
To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Mon, 14 May 2007 4:57 AM
Subject: [permaculture] "Green fundamentalists"


BBC tossing this new term around as Limbaugh uses "Environmental wackos"
Good article but why attach the word fundamentalist to the environmental 
movement?
 ><
    
Last Updated: Monday, 14 May 2007, 10:01 GMT 11:01 UK
8am: Shower. Save the water. Save the planet
By Robert Greenall
BBC News Magazine

Light switch
Craggers use natural light

Would you switch everything off and rely on natural light to save the planet? 
It's the only answer for the families 
going to extreme measures to cut emissions.

Most families get up in the morning, switch on the lights and start their 
ablutions. The Robinsons do not.

The Robinsons get up, leave the lights off and open the curtains a crack so 
some 
light gets in but little heat escapes.

This is the world of "carbon rationing".

The term may fill some people with horror - conjuring up images of wartime 
austerity measures and queues for bread and 
sugar.

Using the streetlamps and other tips

For others it may suggest green fundamentalists forcing us to swap our 
central 
heating for woolly jumpers and run our 
cars on chicken dung.

A recent poll suggested only 28% of Britons thought the idea of setting 
mandatory limits on individuals' carbon 
emissions - raised by Environment Secretary David Milliband - was socially 
acceptable, even though most feel lifestyle 
changes are needed to reduce the impact of climate change.

    
Peter Robinson
It's not draconian, you're not leading the life of a monk
Peter Robinson

But the term does not trouble Peter Robinson, and dozens like him around the 
country who have signed up to voluntary 
groups whose aim is to substantially reduce the CO2 their members are 
releasing 
into the atmosphere.

These Carbon Rationing Action Groups advise their members, known as Craggers, 
on 
how to minimise energy use.

The Robinsons have eagerly set about finding ways to cut their personal 
energy 
use, many of which have also proved 
financially beneficial.

"It's only when you stop and start looking that you realise that you do waste 
a 
lot of energy, not out of spite or just 
being lazy or anything, it's just your normal lifestyle," Peter says.

    
PETER'S ENERGY SAVINGS
Lightbulb
Use jug to collect hot water in shower for shaving
Open curtains a fraction instead of switching on light
Walk or cycle to school/work

"Our lifestyles were very energy-rich whereas now... there are things you can 
do 
in your life that don't stop you having 
a really nice time... but you can still make really substantial savings.

"It's not draconian, you're not leading the life of a monk, it's just stuff 
that's really easy to do."

The 36-year-old school administrator may not think it is draconian but there 
are 
some who would raise an eyebrow at the 
prospect of using only the upstairs bathroom during the hours of darkness and 
relying on ambient light from streetlamps.

But Peter has been an enthusiastic "cragger" since joining his local Crag, in 
Worcester last year.

Though he, his wife Sarah, and children Jacob and Molly, have been actively 
trying to reduce their carbon footprint for 
some time, he believes being members has helped to focus their minds on the 
task 
in hand.

"Being involved in the Crag... has really made a difference - monitoring how 
you 
produce your carbon... is what really 
has driven me and enabled us to look at what we do, how we live our lives, 
make 
those savings," he says.

    
RISE OF THE CRAG
Currently at least 23 groups throughout the UK
Each group sets individual targets, but most going for 4.5 metric tons per 
person for 2006/7
In some Crags, a financial penalty for those who exceed limit
Aim is to reduce personal footprints by about 10% a year, to achieve a 90% 
cut 
by 2030

It is easy to see the Robinsons as driven. They do not watch television, but 
for 
reasons that have nothing to do with 
the environment. Their children are allowed to watch DVDs at the weekend but 
the 
brightness control has to come down.

Developing habits is the key, Peter says. He described how he once visited a 
prison with a group of psychology students.

"One thing you notice there is that each time any of the prison staff went 
through a door they would close it and lock 
it, it becomes second nature. And when I started going round at home turning 
lights out it reminded me of that routine."

Most of the family's savings have come from using less heat (turning it off 
altogether from April to October and 
restricting its use at other times), less light and turning off electronic 
equipment at the wall. Peter has also pledged 
not to fly this year.

He says they reduced their personal carbon emissions from 12.7 metric tons in 
2005 to 10.9 in 2006, well below the 
national average. He is hoping savings this year will have knocked another 
10% 
off their emissions by December.

Financial penalties

Frustratingly for him, his local Crag has not offered any guidance or 
reduction 
targets. But in nearby Hereford one of 
the first groups to be set up recently finished its carbon "accounting" for 
the 
year April 2006 to April 2007.

It set a limit of 4.5 tons per person. Some Crags have elected to impose 
financial penalties for those who exceed the 
limit, but Hereford decided not to.

Carpenter Steve Ball, 36, who joined Hereford Crag last year, found a 
combination of his car use and a flight to 
Slovenia had pushed him well over the limit to more than seven tons.

Peter Robinson puts in energy-saving lightbulb
Craggers do not like energy-hungry tungsten bulbs

But although he had never previously calculated his footprint, he believes 
changes he has made have already cut deeply 
into his emissions - for instance, converting his car to run on a biodiesel 
mix 
and resisting regular calls by friends 
to fly off to Tallinn or Prague.

Like Peter, Steve has taken small steps across the board - like using a small 
motorbike for some journeys or insulating 
his converted loft.

He plans to insulate his floor as well, but his dream is to build afresh.

"Renovation is quite a hard thing to do, to make an old house efficient 
energy-wise, but I'm looking into building a new 
house," he says.

Both Peter and Steve have made massive changes and are prepared to go 
further. 
But they both seem wary of the Crags' 
ultimate aim - to reduce personal carbon emissions by 90% by 2030, which the 
movement says is necessary to avoid 
dangerous and potentially runaway climate change.

"We would struggle as a family to get 90% cuts," Peter says.

"If it's do-able, then great idea," says Steve. "We can strive for it, but 
whether or not it's realistically possible I 
don't know."

One thing is sure. If anyone can do it, it's the Craggers.

_______________________________________________
permaculture mailing list
permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
-go to the above link to subscribe to or unsubscribe from this list-
________________________________________________________________________
AOL now offers free email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from 
AOL at AOL.com.