[WWO] Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you

The old world dies, and with it the old ways. We will re-make it as it  should be - must be! Immortal!
-- Lord Dread

Overview

In 1947 a group of men created one of the most poignant and lasting symbols of mankind's destruction,  the "Doomsday clock".  Set originally at 7 minutes, it has shifted 19 times in its history with the latest change - January 17, 2007, changing it to 11:55 PM.   Coupled with the omnipresent threat of nuclear annihilation; climate change has been added to the list of ways that humanity may finally manage to off itself.   Faced with still increasing demands with decreasing supply, it's fair to say that we'll move that minute hand a bit closer to midnight yet.  But that's neither here nor there - assuming we don't get button happy, we'll need to survive this charlie foxtrot of a mess we've gotten ourselves into.

We've all spent the past few months discussing survival.  Embracing the ideas of community is certainly a good place to start.   Community Supported Agriculture is another good win as it helps insure and stabilize local food production.  In general, conservation is good.   The greatest danger will be the marketing and feel good scams that convince people they are doing something good when in actuality they're still contributing or exacerbating the problem.  Akin to the plethora of diet fads that prey upon the desperate and lazy, the real solution doesn't require a $15/month plan or an appearance on Dr. Phil.  It does however require that you take some responsibility, exercise willpower, get off the couch, and stop eating so damn much.

Electricity Conservation

Lets ignore the infrastructure problems for the moment as they are large and varied and in part are caused if your state has separated  transmission and generation capabilities in a deregulation scheme.  What we will however focus on is some common things and how to address them.

1.  Turn your computer off when you're not at home.   In addition to the fact that its drawing unneeded power just sitting there, it is also generating heat which means that your air conditioner is going to kick in that much sooner.
2.  Replace your CRT with a LCD monitor.   CRT's on average use approximately 140 watts of power.  LCD's - 25.
3. The air conditioner is the enemy.   If you have your house set to 72 or lower, you are doing something very very wrong.  Try closing your blinds to block out the sun.  Try installing ceiling fans to increase air flow in a room.   If your problem is that you need the weight of bedsheets at night, look into   http://www.bedfan.com/ or some similar product.    As weird as they seem, my wife and I did pick one up last week and so far have been pleasantly surprised.  Your air conditioner is roughly 65% of your summer electric bill.  Anything you can do to reduce your dependence upon it is a BIG win to your pocket book.
4.  Bonus do-gooder points:  Look into green sources of power - http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/ available to you.

Transportation and Fuel

I'm a bit paralyzed here.   But it's time to bring up why I hate corn.  Corn quite basically, is evil.   It's bad enough that it's in 80% of EVERYTHING in the supermarket.    We have to investigate alternatives to oil.  Said solution will not be corn based ethanol, regardless of what Uncle Sam would like you to believe.    When we discuss fuel, it is critical to understand the concept of EROEI (Energy Returned On Energy Invested).  For something to be effective, we want the highest return possible on our investment.   Oil is rated somewhere around a 10:1 ratio (For every 1 unit of energy invested, you receive 10, thus a net gain of 9).   Corn Ethanol is somewhere around 1.3:1 and sugarcane based 6:1 (which is what Brazil uses).  Corn is a non-starter and there's no reason for us to continue to support it other than Iowa and the rest of the mid-west are holding politicians hostage.  

The biggest problem I have right now with hybrids (and lets not talk about the asinine concept of the Hybrid SUV) hinges upon this.   Sure, on first glance both Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCVs) are significantly more efficient than the current Internal Combustion Engine.  But what about the power required to create the batteries and fuel cells.  What about the pollution generated?  Are we simply shifting the pollution from the tailpipe to another area?   That's not a solution, that's a shell game, and in their rush to proclaim hybrids as the saviors of humanity a lot of people (including our government) seem to be forgetting to ask these questions.   With continued improvements in the chemical battery + regenerative braking/flywheel technology, my guess is that BEVs are most likely our best bet for the near term as improvements in public transportation are made.

Resources
Listed below are a few of the sites I've referenced or read in the past.   The list is by no means conclusive, nor should it be taken that I in fact agree with everything.   There's a lot of information on the Internet, some of it is good, some of it bad.  Even Wikipedia has a few articles that are little more than poorly referenced propaganda blogs.   

Energy In A Post-Peak World - http://www.321energy.com/editorials/simmons/simmons052207/show052207.html
Net Energy List - http://www.eroei.com/eroei/evaluations/net_energy_list/
Saving Electricity - http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/general.html
Biofuels - http://petroleum.berkeley.edu/papers/Biofuels/NRRethanol.2005.pdf
Response to Biofuel - http://www.biodiesel.org/members/membersonly/files/pdf/071305_Pimentel_Study_NBB_Detailed_Response.pdf
Rescuing a Planet Under Stress - http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB2/Contents.htm
My Gas Spreadsheet - http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pjxy8z40NhCVnmTePXkogZA&pli=1

Conclusion

There are no easy answers to what the future holds.  Conservation and sustainability must become a higher priority for those of us in the States; regardless of what alternative source of energy we find, none are as easily plentiful nor efficient as oil once was.  As part of these priorities,  a consolidated effort must occur to reduce food miles, though even that must be done with care and an awareness of the total environmental impact, not simply the ability to crow about a 25% reduction on a Powerpoint slide.  Focused research on alternative fuels and the means to implement the new infrastructure required will take time and money - money that must be spent quickly and wisely.  Protectionist tariffs, anti-competitive subsidies, and pork barrel politics must be dealt with for the benefit of the country as opposed to the protection of the status quo.  

Good luck everyone.  While 8TSOC must end, I do hope that your personal struggle does not.   I'm never quite sure where I stand on the phrase 'a single person can make a difference', - I tend to view it as little more than feelgood marketing. I do however most definitely believe in that the best person to make a difference in your own life is yourself.  Go out and make your life and your world better.