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.