Transition excitement

We are set to attend the Transition training on the 4th-6th of November in Sautee GA. They've got us a free place to stay that will let us bring Annie the dog and are being extremely helpful. We've also got another awareness raising presentation on the 13th of November and are busy publicising that. Additionally some folks in our neighborhood seem excited about it. WooHoo! At last we are underway with Transtion Hickory or Transition Catawba or whatever it ends up being.

For more info in Transition check out Transition US and or the Transition Network

A personal relationship with Jevons

I listened to a wonderful interview with efficiency guru Amory Lovins on Science Friday recently and was so impressed with Mr. Lovins techno-optimism. With the effects of Peak Oil becoming more obvious on a daily basis we clearly need to pursue energy efficiency at all costs. However we need to do all we can to avoid the pitfalls of the Jevons paradox, whereby the increased energy, money, time etc available to us are not reinvested into pointless consumerism and wasteful energy, money, time etc expenditures, thereby cancelling out the gains from efficiency. Here is the Wikipedia definition of the Jevons paradox:

"In economics, the Jevons paradox (sometimes Jevons effect) is the proposition that technological progress that increases the efficiency with which a resource is used tends to increase (rather than decrease) the rate of consumption of that resource.^[1] In 1865, the English economist William Stanley Jevons observed that technological improvements that increased the efficiency of coal-use led to the increased consumption of coal in a wide range of industries. He argued that, contrary to common intuition, technological improvements could not be relied upon to reduce fuel consumption.^[2]
The issue has more recently been reexamined by modern economists studying consumption rebound effects from improved energy efficiency. In addition to reducing the amount needed for a given use, improved efficiency lowers the relative cost of using a resource, which increases the quantity demanded of the resource, potentially counteracting any savings from increased efficiency. Additionally, increased efficiency accelerates economic growth, further increasing the demand for resources. The Jevons paradox occurs when the effect from increased demand predominates, causing an increase in overall resource use.
The Jevons paradox has been used to argue that energy conservation is futile, as increased efficiency may actually increase fuel use. Nevertheless, increased efficiency can improve material living standards. Further, fuel use declines if increased efficiency is coupled with a green tax that keeps the cost of use the same (or higher).^[3] As the Jevons paradox applies only to technological improvements that increase fuel efficiency, policies that impose conservation standards and increase costs do not display the Jevons paradox."

So as we pursue more sustainable lifestyle choices it is important to reinvest in sustainability rather than consumerism. Examples might be; purchasing rainwater harvesting equipment instead of a new flat screen TV,  going solar instead of going nuclear or fossil (a choice you can make at home), repairing that old car rather than buying a new one (even if it is a more efficient one), choosing to work less for money and thus have more time to grow food or hang out with family (and also pay less taxes),  designing car free days into your schedule to reduce energy use while also encouraging fewer shopping trips, etc, etc.
In short, we need to develop a personal relationship with Jevons.

Check out the second half of the Radio Ecoshock Episode I've posted in the audio above for more on these ideas. Or you can click here for that audio file: http://www.ecoshock.net/eshock11/ES_110629_Show.mp3

The deck takes shape

basic framing, with portal for tank access, step stringers, and some trex installed

cross bracing and notched post attachments

attaching Trex step treads to stringers, note temporary post and insulation 

notching the real post

Getting Annie used to the new surface, the hatch over a tank is just perceivable

The deck over the rainwater tanks is coming along nicely. Due to a problem with supply of quality black locust and the extra expense involved we opted to build the main frame out of treated pine and cover it with Trex, a  95% recycled plastic and wood chip product. The arbor and shade structure will be, hopefully, out of black locust. This deck will not only shade the rainwater tanks but the attached shade structure will shade the southeast facing wall and windows while providing a climbing surface for kiwi's and grapes. It also gives us back our east steps and entrance as well as access to the eastside rainwater diverter and first flush device for clean out.

Transition, cool weather and car free days

It's gotten quite cool here in Hickory, down into the 40s at night and only in the 70s during the day. We even used the wood stove this week, both for heating and cooking. We had a couple of car free days out of the last seven and it's looking like tomorrow will be car free as well. I'm mostly working on the deck, notching and putting in the posts, and I have to get the new porch timbers sealed in preparation for installing the new windows. Jacq has been very busy processing loads of basil into frozen pesto, clearing tomato beds, laying new soil and mulch before planting fall crops, and completing the glazing order. We have to get the windows in before winter. I spent some time today shoving recycled styrofoam all around the back of the rainwater tanks in preparation for freezing temperatures. As they get full sun in the morning, I hope that insulating the backs and tops will keep them from freezing this winter. We have been using a lot of rainwater for washing clothes as well as the garden. I also used it to mix concrete footers for the deck posts.
The really big news this week is that we had our inaugural Transition Hickory awareness raising presentation. The turn out was about 23 folks with limited publicity. Currently there are three more possibilities for talks as well. We hope that soon we will have folks stepping forward to be on the Steering committee. If you'd like to know more about Transition check out Transition US or watch the video above.

World Car Free day

Well, we failed at going carfree on World Car Free day. But we went car free yesterday and for the last 2 weeks we've had 2 out of 7 days in each week car free, so I don't feel so bad. We try to have at least one car free day each week which really isn't so hard to do if you just put your mind to it. I think as oil prices continue to rise over the long term we will see more and more people finding that making their lives more car free really is worth doing. The thing is, we already have a really good reason to drive less,  climate change. So why wait?

Wrapping up the summer garden. Winter seed ordered. Finally!

At last we have placed our order for our winter seed and bulbs from Territorial, Multiplier Onions (somewhat of a perennial way to grow onions apparently), Elephant Garlic (to add to the two other types of winter garlic already due for shipment in October), shallots, two kinds of fava beans (an edible nitrogen fixing cover crop that will also grow tall enough to function as a privacy screen when almost all else is bare), an ancestral purple carrot, broccoli, and rutabaga. We've already planted lots of brassicas (collards, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts), parsnips, turnip, turnip greens, beetroot, radish, and a fresh crop of mammoth red clover as a cover crop on a new layer of soil in the experimental bed. We also found more blueberries, grapes and kiwis on sale at Lowe's garden center which will need to go in the ground before frost as well as a tea plant and a fig tree. There is parsley, stevia and chamomile to prepare for the greenhouse. Recently we've dried basil, mint, lemon balm, stevia, and the tobacco is drying upstairs. We've canned over 20 quarts of tomatoes in addition to having eaten at lest that much fresh, frozen two quarts of tomato sauce, and are halfway through eating three quarts of salsa. We've frozen about a quart of pesto and there are heaps of basil left in the garden. The garlic, onion and leeks were extremely successful but are almost gone now. The pumpkins are harvested early due to the stink bugs (the little buggers left us with only one butternut squash!) we've 3 or 4 watermelons left to eat and a few more still growing. We've eaten about 6 big and delicious cantaloupes and there is one more still growing. The grapes were tasty but not prolific, the nettle, lambs quarter, NZ spinach, sorrel and chard were prolific but under utilized. All our fruit trees are still too young to bear and the blueberries too only produced a handful as they are still small. With lots of green beans to eat and lots blanched and frozen, we have fab greens for winter usage. Also frozen are several bags of cabbage and collards which produced surprisingly until the end of July! So all in all the spring and summer planting was successful. A beautiful six foot turmeric plant is in flower as shown in the photo! We will probably leave this in the ground hoping that after the winter it will sprout again.

Another two out of five car free days

Had a car free day today, that's 2 this week again. It feels really good to just leave the beast alone. I guess it helps balance off all those weeks we had without a single car free day.

Dual Personal Sustainability quote of the day

"When we examine our body, word and mind, we try in vain to find anything permanent there. The concept of an individual person is only sane and valid if we consider it to be one single aspect of global interdependence" - Matthieu Ricard. I really like this quote as it reinforces our oneness and the importance of cooperation rather than competition as well the completely ludicrous pursuits of satisfying the non existent self via consumerism, a pursuit which is not only bound to fail but is literally destroying the conditions upon which our physical nature depends. This leads to the second quote, "Renunciation contains an element of joy, struggle, enthusiasm, and freedom: it is the relief of finally being freed from dissatisfaction" - Matthieu Ricard. The pursuit of increased sustainability has brought joyful renunciation, primary of which is any type of paid corporate American television service. And now every time I am in contact with this pernicious form of propaganda I am extremely dissatisfied and can't imagine anyone being willing to pay for it. Why not spend the money on good organic seeds, rainwater harvesting equipment, anything to increase your personal sustainability.

Personal Sustainability quote of the day

We do not become angry with the stick that hits us, but with the one who wields the stick. But the one who wields the stick is impelled by hatred, so what we should truly hate is hatred itself. - Shantideva As we move forward in creating a more just, sustainable and resilient culture we must not fall prey to divisiveness and blame. It is so easy to exclude those we think are most responsible for creating the problems we face in the first place. But we in the developed world are all complicit. Hatred will get us no where.

Personal Sustainability quote of the day

Confidence is closely linked to how well our perceptions match reality - Matthieu Ricard

Sustainable Living Video and 3 car free days!

Stoked that the last 4 days have featured 3 car free ones. In that spirit here is a video looking at a possible solution on the grand scale.

A new resident

Jacq leaned over to rotate a large pumpkin and found her nose to be a few inches from this golden orb weaver. This is the first one of these we have seen in our garden, perhaps due to the recent eradication of about 10 wasp nests in the old poles on the porch as we replaced them with new wood. Apparently, wasps particularly like to feed spiders to their young. In any case, she is welcome.