The Big Green Picture - What This Site is About
This site started with a focus on conservation, tips for green living and growing your own food.
However, as I researched more and more into the real facts regarding environmental / ecological and natural resource issues, consumption, how society, politics and business work, my view of the situation grew more and more bleak.
On the other hand there are almost as many different views of the situation as there are people in the world, so which one is right and how is the future going to pan out? Of course, nobody knows for sure, although there are clearly visible, major trends.
Then along came the crash of 2008.
Again everybody has their own view of why the crash happened. Many economic experts say that “renewed economic growth” and “capitalism with better controls” is the answer. Other people say that uncontrolled, unsustainable growth got us into this mess in the first place.
My views sit in the latter camp. At the end of the day, it comes down to simple maths and physics. 6.5 Billion people living the way we do, can’t survive in the long term on this planet with its obvious resource limits, many of which we have now hit.
In the long term really big environmental and economic changes are almost certain to happen given the current trajectory of emissions and resource depletion, combined with slow progress on the environmental front.
Personally, I think changes are likely to happen sooner rather than later and 2009 is likely to be a year of societal and economic upheaval that will make 2008 look like easy street.
The reasons include:
- the era of cheap, easy energy is drawing to a close (even though oil is under $US 50 per barrel at the time of writing)
- the current economic and social model is based on everlasting, unlimited growth, which can’t happen (a) without cheap energy and (b) on a finite planet
- competition for basic resources such as food and water
- societal and political unrest as people begin to discern that the prevailing systems are not viable in a resource constrained world
Refer: www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net, www.dieoff.org, www.theoildrum.com, www.kunstler.com
At the end of the day though, you have to do your own research and make your own mind up and take the actions you think are appropriate for your own peace of mind and the wellbeing of yourself and your family.
Resources On The Site
You can categorise them into 2 basic groups:
- Tips and tales on how to live more sustainably at a domestic level.
- “Doom stuff” about what a mess we’re in at a global level. This is intended to be thought-provoking and provide an incentive for action, but ignore it if you can’t take too much bad news.
As I said above, you might be starting to wonder what the future brings and what steps you can take for the future wellbeing of yourself and your family.
The pay off in all this and the thing to bear in mind if you start your own journey to be more self sufficient, is that the planet and all of us win with every change you make, even if it’s small. You win too. and like every journey, it’s just one small step after another.
Good luck.
