[mididoctors]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('backstop', '
')
Midi-doctors -

Writing as one who became Aglet-free a couple of decades ago (leather bootlaces work better !) I'm rather in Killjoys position as regards the poll -

yes, with what most would regard as privation I could cut further, but I see no point in doing so
until people wake up to the need to campaign for a global treaty of the atmospheric commons,
whereby Jeavons can be permanently capped as regards global fossil energy usage.

regards,

Backstop

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('backstop', '
')Are you sure its legal in your state ?

[backstop]

Midi-doctors -

To be coherent, the questions should relate to the geological and meteorological imperatives -

and while the former is still wide open to interpretation, the latter evidently requires industrialized nations to cut their fossil-energy usage
by about 90% by 2030,
to avoid pushing the GW feedback loops into a self-fuelling escalation.

[CCS - carbon capture & storage, which is getting a lot of puff lately, may or may not prove a significant factor in cutting emissions].

Achieving this cut would of course also go a long way to resolving the problem of PO.

So perhaps a poll of aspirations to % cuts of average FF energy use within say a decade, might be a rational and educative approach ?

regards,

Backstop

[mididoctors]

how much are you powering down your use of fossil fuels this year?

a)already powered down to a tolerable bare minimum

b)powering down marginally

c)powering down drastically

d) plan on powering down in the near future to some degree

e) plan on no change in consumption unless forced

f) powering up

comments?

Boris
London

[strider3700]

Well I'm using way more energy then I normally would because I'm renovating as part of my preps. Eventually I hope to be using far less because of it. How would that fit into the poll?

[meekoil]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', '
')Oh and those shoelace thingies are called aglets.

[Doly]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', '
')And even if you could save energy by "powering down", all you accomplish is to lower relative energy costs, which helps to finance the expanding energy budget of others.

[Starvid]

I checked my power consumption. It has fallen from 5500 kWh in 1990 to 3500 kWh in 2005.

Must be all those low energy light bulbs, because I haven't really tried lowering my consumption.

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Doly', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', '
')And even if you could save energy by "powering down", all you accomplish is to lower relative energy costs, which helps to finance the expanding energy budget of others.

[MyOtherID]

Mindlessly citing Jevon is inappropriate. His theory relates to economics, but if the world were to face a severe energy crisis, this would become a political event of huge proportions, with usage laws coming into play, legislation to limit engine size and energy usage in all sorts of ways. There'd also be a gigantic shift in people's thinking on this issue, a move towards the Greens, a spiritual reawakening of monumental dimensions, a new sympathy with the earth and its fragility. I think many people would see profligate energy consumption as disgusting, and social mores would change to reinforce this. So simply saying that people will always consume all available energy is a true straw man argument and one of the weakest points in the Doomer thesis.

[thuja]

Yes and fairies would dance around singing hallelujahs as we usher in the new eco-paradise that erupts spontaneously. Old enemies would join hands and love each other. Everyone would drive hybrids powered by cow manure. Good times. Good times.

[MyOtherID]

Doomer sarcasm? ▲

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MyOtherID', 'D')oomer sarcasm? ▲

[eastbay]

Our family's consumption of oil and natural gas has declined quite a bit since re-discovering PO two years or so ago.

We went from keeping the house at a typical steady 78 degrees in the summer to no air-con at all. We went from keeping the house at a typical steady 68 degrees in the winter to no heat at all.

We now own a 36 mpg car and a 43 mpg car rather than the previous personal transportation which had 'typically lousy' fuel economy. My really, really, fast motorcycle has been replaced by a (used) 50 mpg BMW R1150R

We never use the clothes dryer anymore.

The propane powered BBQ sits no-longer-used, slowly rusting away in the backyard.

Yeah, we've cut back on fossil fuel use on a personal level quite a bit. But we're also well aware that it's only a drop in the bucket (chump-change) compared to what's wasted around us by the truck/SUV drivers. But it saves us lots of money too, which is nice.

[eastbay]

.... oh, and we now drive at 55 to 60 mph (90 to 95 kph) rather than the fastest possible, as most do on California freeways and as we once did.

[coyote]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'O')h and those shoelace thingies are called aglets.

[Omnitir]

I’ve reduced my car usage to –almost- zero. I’ve learnt to appreciate public transport.

However, am I to believe with Jevon’s paradox that the increase in fuel efficiency I now enjoy leads to further energy consumption? How can this be when I know for a fact that I am consuming less gasoline and spending less money?

[Doly]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Omnitir', '
')However, am I to believe with Jevon’s paradox that the increase in fuel efficiency I now enjoy leads to further energy consumption?

[MyOtherID]

The Doomer religion demands that they support Jevon to their dying breath. Without his Paradox, their argument falls apart. [ducks]

[strider3700]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MyOtherID', 'T')he Doomer religion demands that they support Jevon to their dying breath. Without his Paradox, their argument falls apart. [ducks]