RT's on Electric Cars, Peak Oil and Deconsumptionism

Well, I have been a busy bee the last week, even if I haven't posted here. I got myself interested in electric car technology (and there are a lot of ideas out there), then found myself wandering around a website called Peak Oil. There are a lot of new and interesting ideas to be found in all these areas so let's try and take them one at a time.

Starting with deconsumptionism -- which is really something of what Living The Carfree Life is all about. I surrendered my car and found a way to make my life work reasonably well without it. I saved money, saved the environment, improved my health and improved my mental outlook. Given the number of human being currently on the planet (> 6 billion) and the likelihood that there will be even more (upwards of 10 billion) in the next generation, it seems certain that as a world society, we are just not going to make it unless we start practicing deconsumptionism. Mass conspicuous consumption is just not going to cut it anymore.

Peak oil is a theory that somewhere back in 2005 or 2006 there came a time when the most oil that was every going to be pumped out of the earth has been pumped out of the earth and that from here on in, production is falling and will continue to fall, perhaps exponentially. Some peak oil theorists go even further and predict that a catastrophic reduction in the human population will necessarily occur -- together with attendant wars and such. I am not sure that I believe that this will happen, but clearly the pressure is on to find an alternative to oil for purposes of transportation. The problem is, that no currently available technology stores as much energy in as little space as hydrocarbon burning technology -- making transportation alternative energy a particularly thorny problem.

All of this came out of my investigation of the possibilities of an all electric car. Tesla Motors has a very interesting and high performance model that will allegedly be available for delivery in 2008, but the electric car concept still suffers from significant limitiations of range (less than 250 miles in the case of the high tech Tesla's Li-Ion battery pack and less than 50 miles in the case of almost all other all electric vehicles) and speed (less than 25 mph in most cases). Until the all electric car can show a range of at least 120 miles and a top speed of at least 50 (preferably 75) mph, it won't be palatable for even primarily city driving. (I plan to do a later entry on the differences between city and open road driving and the advantages of electric vs. internal combustion technology for each.)

Clearly there is a lot of information to sort out and a lot of decisions must be made. For now, I am happy to be personally Carfree, and my interest in all these alternative technologies is from a purely business, profit motivated perspective.

Compensation

Well, Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I am trying hard to focus on all the things I have to be grateful for, but I have a few negatives that want to dominate instead. I work in the mortgage finance industry -- perhaps soon I'll be saying that I used to work in the mortgage finance industry. I would like to consider this a positive move into a more fulfilling expression of my productive force, but some other people depend on my paycheck.

Anyway, that's all off the topic for today. Today I am thinking about carbon offsets. I know that there are a number of problems with offsets -- accountability for one and responsibility for another. The accountability issue means that you don't really know what these organizations are doing with your donations -- so how can you be sure? Then again, you don't really know what your local religious organization is doing with your donations either. The responsibility question means that we don't just want people buying their way out of pollution guilt -- preferably we would have them change their behavior, either voluntarily or through legislative fiat.

I don't know how to resolve these issues for others. I am thinking about the issue for myself, today, because I am hitching a ride with a friend to Las Vegas this weekend. Now in one respect, I suppose that I could justify doing nothing about this since the NetJet transport from Santa Monica to Las Vegas is going whether I go or not. But this Carfree life is not about rationalization and justification. It is about my own personal sense of integrity for me.

So if I fly to Las Vegas on NetJets, I want to take responsibility for removing an equivalent amount of carbon emission from the planet in some other way, to the best extent that I can. And my own personal choice for this, today, is the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF). SELF will offset your carbon usage by providing small community sized solar electricity systems for the rural developing world. Actually, not only do you create almost permanent, clean electricity, but you also save people from dying from inhalation of kerosene fumes from lamps used in closed quarters. They claim $10 offsets a ton of CO2. I have no way to verify this, but I am taking their word for it.

Another offset group, Terrapass will calculate the approximate amount of CO2 emitted by various classes of private jets for you. I disagree with some of Terrapasses math on the linked page, but I think that our medium class NetJet, whatever the precise equipment, is probably going to emit no more than 6 tons of CO2 in the round trip to Las Vegas, consisting of 1 1/2 hours of total flight time.

Thus, I plan to donate at least $60 to SELF to compensate for the pollution caused by my trip to Las Vegas, and keep myself in a carbon neutral stance. I am going to follow up with SELF to see if I can get some accountability on where my dollars are going exactly and whatever I find out, I will post it here.

Offsets are a great way to compensate for my carbon usage and endeavor to balance out the environmental damage being caused by my lifestyle.

Compassionate Schadenfreude

I started this entry a few days ago. Actually, I thought I had finished it a few days ago and then the Google blogger software ate it again. I wish I knew how to "select text" all the way to the top of the page without going too far and losing the entire entry.

At the time I was feeling a smug sense of self-satisfaction every time I walked past the ARCO station with the ever increasing price of a gallon of gas posted prominently in front. Most recently the sign read 3.389 for the cheapest grade of unleaded gas.

Schadenfreude is a German word that translates roughly as taking joy in someone else's misfortune. I am not sure that Schadenfreude is what I was feeling as I watched the price of gas climb in the weeks since I committed to going carfree. I did feel happy as the price climbed but I wasn't necessarily happy about the plight of others. I was glad to be saving that additional dollar per gallon over recent price levels. And I was glad that others would be forced to confront their consumption habits.

I wonder how many people would drive how far if the cheapest cars cost over $100,000 each and gasoline was $25.00 per gallon. And if those prices would finally force someone to find an alternative to the personal, private, gasoline powered vehicle, could the specter of an planet unfit for human habitation provide even more motivation? I guess we have been trained very well if our greed for money is stronger than our survival instinct.

Then today, a walk to work day that is a minor holiday with light traffic, was so beautiful and perfect for walking that I began to feel sorry for my car addicted friends. They were never going to experiences the millions of nuances of blue in this morning's Santa Monica sky. They would be too busy rushing from one spot to the next to enjoy the cool breeze and the air that was a perfect temperature for a walk. Maybe a little chilly if you were just standing around, and maybe a little too warm for a jog, but just perfect for a morning walk down to the office.

It is becoming more and more apparent to me that the human body was designed to move around by walking and that our modern conveniences actually deprive us of a great deal of pleasure by convincing us that we don't have time to walk. If there is no time to do with our bodies that which they were created to do, what is there time for?

Baby Steps

After I posted my initial post in this blog, I got a number of responses from my friends and readers offering all sorts of excuses about why, even though they admired what I was doing very much, they could not take the leap and follow me into the carfree existence. "Too many kids' activities." "I have to wear a suit, it gets hot, and I get sweaty." "I live too far away."

I am flattered and somewhat surprised that people felt inspired to follow my leap into the carfree yonder, but I don't expect anyone to just toss their keys into the Pacific and take up the carfree life, all at once. I certainly didn't do it that way.

My first dabble in the carfree life came a little over four years ago when a medical condition coupled with a horrible local accident caused by a medically disabled driver, led my doctor to prohibit driving for six months. I sold the SUV that I owned then out from under my lease and got started commuting back and forth to the office on the Big Blue Bus. Today's busses are not what you imagine. They are bright, modern and roomy -- although they could still use a little more leg room if you ask a guy who is 6'3" like me.

After almost six months on the bus (I cheated), I got my last car, smaller and more fuel efficient because by that time, my friend Katayoun said "If you really want to stick it to Sadaam (or any other bad actor in the middle east) sell your gas guzzler." So I was inspired to cut back on consumption a little.

Then, as we have already seen, I gradual got back into walking this year. By the way, I sold the car this weekend, so now I am truly carfree! Anyway, my message to my apparently guilt ridden friends who feel complained to explain to me is to do a little something even if you can't make a grand gesture.

First, take one day a week as bus day. Pick a day that's convenient for you and leave your car parked for the day. Choose a day with a minimum of required travel -- maybe your Sabbath, or maybe just a day when back and forth to work is all you have to do. It doesn't have to be the same day each week, but try to make it once a week. Imagine if we cut down the number of cars on the road by 15%?

Then make a list of everyplace you ever go that is a half mile or less from your house. Don't ever drive to one of these locations. It not only wastes gas and pollutes. It wastes time. Walking a half mile or less is time efficient over driving. Gradually stretch your circle out toward a mile if you can. You'll be amazed at how good walking feels if you just try it out for a while.

Doing just these two small things will suffice to give you a taste of the carfree life. Some of us, having once tasted the sweetness, want even more. Maybe someday you'll find yourself looking at your formerly beloved car and wondering, "Why do I even need you? What did I ever see in you? Do I even feel like supporting you anymore?"

Then maybe you will join me, experiencing the carfree life.

In the meantime . . . baby steps. Baby steps. Baby steps to a cleaner planet, thinner waist, clearer head.

Neighbors

Being a regular walker on a regular route is a great way to get to know your neighborhood . . . and your neighbors. You may never be able to put a name to a face but at least you begin to recognize the faces you see every morning and evening on your strolls.

I pass two elementary schools on my way to work each morning and there is always plenty of activity as parents are dropping their kids off for a day of learning about the same time that I am heading down to the office for a day of earning. About half the parents walk the kids in and almost all the other half drive them in. There is a very small minority of bikers, including this morning an amusing mother and pre-school son couplet with the youngster safely enhelmeted, but his mother not setting a similarly good example.

The schools are a place of learning for me too. Did you know that almost all the newer mini-vans (whatever vintage is being driven in Santa Monica and newer) have remote control automatic doors these days? I sure didn't. I am also amazed at the high percentage of drivers who use their drive time to talk on their phones. However did we cope before Sprint and Verizon?

The air outside the schools in the morning is thick and polluted with the exhaust of the idling mini-van caravans, much to the annoyance of all the walkers -- the walkers who have business at the school (dropping off the offspring) and the walkers who are just passing through like me.

But I don't waste too much time focusing on the annoying parts of life these days and soon my attention rises to the beautiful gray clouds in the skies, the moist feel of the suddenly humid air in Southern California and the amazing contrasted blue where the clouds are breaking up in the sky to the North and West of where I am.

Our earth is indeed a wonderful and beautiful place and I, for one, consider myself immensely lucky to be here right now!

Zones

There are only so many places I regularly go, so I thought I would divide my small world (places I usually go) up into zones.

First of all, if it's within a half-mile, I'm always going to walk. Lots of the places I go -- Santa Monica Yoga, Bob's Market, The Counter, Mrs. Winston's and my acupuncturist -- are less than a half mile from my front door. It takes less than 10 minutes to walk that far, and by the time you find the keys, start the car, back out into the street, risk your life trying to enter traffic on Ocean Park Boulevard, drive to your destination, park your car and go in, you are probably over 10 minutes or at least it's a wash. So when driving won't save time, and it will increase cost, and the possibility of an accident (have you ever tried to enter Ocean Park Boulevard from one of the minor side streets where parking ALWAYS obstructs your view?), why drive? Walking is best.

Next, for those trips of more than a half mile, and less than a mile, I almost always walk. All the same arguments apply, and the fact that you probably use 10 more minutes walking a mile than driving it does not really weigh heavily in favor of unnecessarily driving. The risks and costs associated with driving simply outweigh the extra 10 or 20 minutes that I might save. If it's pouring rain or something, I might take the car. But even then, umbrellas and macintoshes are not just for school kids. Being outdoors in weather is one of the joys of childhood that adults rarely allow themselves to experience.

Finally, there is the universe out to about 3 miles from the front door -- like my office. Once again, I usually walk. It takes me around 50 minutes to walk a mile, but I am rarely in such a hurry that the extra 35 minutes makes a difference to me. I simply plan ahead and take it easy, making sure that I have enough time to get to where I need to be by taking the natural, walking, route.

More than 3 miles and the combination of time and effort involved gets me looking for a bus schedule. Unless it's a weekend appointment, and I have the leisure to take a long and usually pleasant stroll.

Walking is pleasant, much more so than driving. So I try to relax and enjoy the journey whenever I can.

How it all began . . .

Credit Al Gore with inspiring me. I saw his movie, An Inconvenient Truth, and I was motivated to do something, anything, that I could about the problem of Global Warming. Don't start yelling at me that warming has not been conclusively linked to carbon dioxide emissions. I am not an environmental scientist . . . in fact, I am not really even much of an environmental activist. What I did take from Gore's movie is an understanding that the Earth is warming up . . . for some reason. And, being a "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me" sort of guy, I decided to do whatever I could, by myself, without convincing or motivating anyone else to in anyway change their life, about the problem.

Meanwhile, I had a few other motivations to leave the car parked and walk (or ride) instead. I recently turned 50 and my waist was showing it. I used to run marathons (15 years ago), but my body's vociferous objections to my former training regimen coupled with my "all or nothing" mentality was keeping me flat out sedentary. Finally, I decided that if I couldn't run, at least I could walk. So I started walking the three miles from my house to my office a few mornings each week.

I did what I could at first, but from the beginning my goal was to walk both to and from the office each day for a total of 6 miles daily. This would match my former running program with much less stress, strain and impact on my joints and muscles.

I also had financial motivations. The combination of lease payments, auto insurance and fuel was taking nearly $700/month out of my pocket. Living and working in one of the good weather capitals of the world, Santa Monica California, it seemed a little silly to spend over $20 a day on transportation that wasn't really necessary, nor especially convenient.

A strange thing happened as I began my walking program. I noticed that my mood was amazingly elevated as I stayed out from behind the wheel. I am not sure what the explanation for this is. I know that some people think that exercise floods the body with "feel good" endorphins. But this elevated mood was different from anything I had experienced before. And keep in mind that I had done a lot of heavy duty training as a runner. My current theory is that driving has a negative effect on my mind. Operating the car my mind is constantly "on alert" and aggressively competing with other drivers for space and time. Walking, I have all kinds of time to process information and I also have the sidewalks practically to myself.

Now, I have to admit that there are some things that make my carfree lifestyle easier on me than it might be for some others. First, as already mentioned, my office is only three miles from my home. Second, we are not a carfree family. My wife still has her car, and occasionally she lets me borrow it to run an errand -- mostly going to the grocery store, where I would have quite a heavy load to carry if I were to walk it both ways. Third, I am located in a climate that is often ideal for walking. Santa Monica is almost never hotter than 80 degrees F nor colder than 50. Finally, Santa Monica is home to the Big Blue Bus, one of the finest, nicest and most convenient bus systems on the planet. Almost anywhere I want to go, the Big Blue Bus can take me there and usually it takes only a few more minutes than driving myself.


So . . . as of today (October 25, 2007) I have been living the carfree life for about a month and a week, although my car sits parked in my drive as we attempt to sell it. I am walking (or running) at least 6 miles a day now (with almost no aches or pains) and I usually ride the Big Blue Bus if I need to go somewhere that is too far to walk. Once or twice a week, my wife and I go out somewhere (movies, gatherings of friends, etc.) together, and when we do, I typically drive.

I'm not sure how often I'll post, but I hope to put up two to three updates on the carfree life each week. Most of the posts will be much shorter than this -- just observations or impressions of life without a car. Maybe I'll be more motivated because I am now thinking that I'll train for the 2008 LA Marathon that is run the first Sunday of March each year. Anyway, that's it for now so see you next time on Living the Carfree Life.