The Archdruid Report is the vehicle for some very interesting thinking about our future. Reading it regularly keeps the thinking man or woman in mind of the state of the planet and our likely fate - and what to do to in preparation for what's bound to be a very different world.
Here's a clip from a recent post, though any visit there at any time provides excellent food for thought.
"There are good reasons, some historical and some pragmatic, to think that the major source of mechanical energy in the post-abundance future will be what it was in the pre-abundance past, that is, human and animal muscle, amplified by a variety of clever tools. If anything, some of the more ingenious inventions of the last few centuries make muscle power even more useful now, and in the centuries ahead of us, than it was before the first steam engine hissed and groaned its way into a new age of the world. The extraordinary efficiency with which a bicycle converts muscular effort into movement is a case in point. The relatively simple metallurgy and engineering needed to build a bicycle is very likely to survive into the far future, or to be reinvented after some more or less brief interval, and the sheer value of a technology that can move people and supplies a hundred miles a day on decent roads will hardly be lost on our descendants. It’s far from unlikely, for example, that wars will be won in the post-petroleum era by those nations that have the common sense to equip their infantry with bicycle transport."
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
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8 comments:
His best yet I reckon:
"If we are willing to concede that the global industrial economy will not last through the 21st century, then, while it is still possible, we can put together technologies and designs appropriate for the post-industrial age, and set in motion forward-looking projects with the goal of creating enough momentum, in the form of strong local traditions, institutions, practices and skills, to carry them through periods of economic disruption and political dissolution. Future generations will have to learn to make do with much less of everything, and with much less research and development in particular. Working in the twilight years of the industrial era, we could offer them a great service by leaving behind a few designs that they will actually be able to build and use."
Yeah, but do you know anyone who's actually doing this Nick :-)
The Archdruid is extremely good reading in an inspirational sense. He probably connects more with the older generations of preppers with his reflections of what might have been if a different corner was turned in the 1970's / 80's.
Nonetheless, he has the ability to pare the path forward down to basic essential pith statements; "there is no bright future", "learn to make do with less", or "the designs of the past offer guidance for the unfolding future".
As to who's actually doing any of this, I concede the list of practitioners in the western world is not long. But, there are those that have arrived at the decision to reshape their lives in truly unconventional ways like living off biomass, passive solar and 50 Watts of electrical power. There are also remnant communities such as the Amish, Mennonites and other new world Anabaptists that practice a traditional low energy lifestyle.
In a similar vein, I really appreciate the series of articles featuring past low energy technologies by Kris de Decker on the Energy Bulletin. The articles are practical examinations of wind, water, or human powered technologies that were rapidly overtaken by the petroleum age and we thus need reminding about.
One of the core components of the Transition Town movement is 'reskilling'. We need to acknowledge that generally speaking those alive in New Zealand have next to none useful skills for a post fossil fuel world, compared to even the 1950's. So for example grafting a fruit tree, learning to preserve food, repair a bike, build a wind turbine are all skills that will have real value in the years ahead.
We're going to have to be able to do better than [i]that[/i] Jonesy!
Turn a car axel into a tine, it's leaf springs into chipping hoes, it's wheels into two-wheeled tractors. "Lay out an acre of food today ma'boy, by hand!" will be the call.
They're in for a shock.
Yes Nick, there will be some who will acquire practical engineering skills. And there will be a repopulating of rural areas for food reproduction. But given our population numbers there will be specialization of skills. Not all skills have been lost, just gone over to being arts and crafts like quilting.
I don't know if people will be in for a shock, there is a great deal of satisfaction in physical work.
There is a great deal of satisfaction to be had from physical work Jonesy, though the evening of day one can be a little sobering - blisters, aching shoulders and deep tiredness are the badges of honour for thoswe who have avoided the good graft for many years (especially if it was you who was in the harness, rather thasn cracking the whip!)
Clydedales will become extremely valuable.
At one time Jonesy, I had a collection of hames, collars and swingle-trees. Sadly and because of the mass of other 'speculative stuff' I had collected, it was decided that I should sell them, which I did. Mind you, I'm not a horsey person, despite having owned a hack for two years. We didn't get on. Or rather, I didn't get on often enough to become confident.
You?
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