IDEAS21

The Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO) South Africa in collaboration with EcoDoc Africa produced a three part video documentary on Peak Oil and South Africa - Impacts and Mitigation. Presented by Jeremy Wakeford of ASPO South Africa, the presentation outlines what the phenomenon called Peak Oil is all about, and what it means for us here in South Africa.

In Part 1, Jeremy outlines our “addiction” to oil, and details three assumptions that we have about oil — namely business as usual will prevail, that there is plenty of oil left, and markets will solve the problem of depletion. For each assumption, Jeremy provides a reality check.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooXpYkLzLCQ

In Part 2, Jeremy continues to detail our erroneous assumptions about oil and its substitutes, and shows us how we are heading for a reality check mate. This is followed by an analysis of the global and South African implications of Peak Oil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d719QRRPC-A&feature=related

Part 3 focuses on how we can respond to the challenges of Peak Oil. Jeremy argues that our society must urgently embark on a ’sustainability mobilisation’ that revolutionises our energy, transport and industrial systems, underpinned by a shift in values to reflect environmental realities. He suggests practical responses that can be taken by government, businesses and individuals. He concludes with a reminder that Peak Oil is NOW, that the impacts will intensify, and that proactive mitigation can ease the inevitable transition to sustainability.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEqOK5FaTSU&feature=related

This summer our two-year drought finally broke. We got 100mm of rain in October, 70 in November and 50 in December. The summer was quite mild in January and February, with futher falls totally about 25 and 38mm. The spring rains were sufficient to fill up all the dams in the area, including the large Duiwenhoks and Korentepoort dams, which had both been down to about 25% of capacity.The farmers in our area are very happy, and have been able to plant crops again.

At the household level, we have benefitted a lot from the rain. For one thing, our grazing has held very well through the summer, so we haven’t yet had to give the horses supplementary feed. Before the real rains arrived, I changed the guttering system on our cottage so that one half of the roof feeds the 1500 litre tank and the other half feeds a 2500 litre tank, which I previously always filled from the stream (using a petrol pump). Today I pumped water into the larger tank for the first time since October - for five months the rainwater was sufficient to keep us going. We use the smaller tank exclusively for drinking and cooking, while the larger tank supplies water for bathing (in a small tub), washing clothes and flushing the loo.

Previously, on average I pump-filled the 2500L tank once a fortnight - so we are very frugal with our water usage. We also recently instituted a urine bucket system, whereby we empty our phosphorus-rich urine on a compost heap once day. This recycles a critical nutrient and also cuts down on water used for flushing. We use our bathwater for flushing too.

Harvesting rainwater saves costs (a 1500L tank cost about R1600; rain is free!) over time and gives one some security against municipal water infrastructure breakdowns or service interruptions. It’s a no-brainer!

Society as a whole needs to use the remaining extractable oil and other fossil fuels to build the infrastructure for sustainable energy and to prepare for the energy descent. At a personal level, one way I am doing this is to bring wood (as a future source of fuel) onto my farm. Conveniently, there is a sawmill about 15 kilometres down our road; the operator dumps pine offcuts in a huge pile and burns it once a week. Anyone is permitted to cart off as much of this discarded wood (which sometimes includes very nice, usable planks) as they like. So every time I pass by (usually on my way back from the nearby Korentepoort dam), I load up my bakkie with free wood. It takes just a few litres of petrol to transport this wood to my farm - but consider the effort involved to cut down and transport that amount of wood by non-motorised means!

Free wood

Conserving fuel while driving is easy to achieve and brings several benefits:

•  it saves money;
• it conserves depleting oil reserves;
• it reduces pollution and CO2 emissions; and
• it helps to increase safety on the roads.

  There are many simple ways to increase fuel efficiency and conserve fuel:

• use a bicycle or public transport where possible;
• plan trips to combine activities and so eliminate unnecessary driving;
• reduce driving speed;
• try to avoid traffic as much as possible;
• inflate tyres to correct pressure;
• use appropriate gears;
• avoid unnecessary idling;
• buy a more fuel efficient car (if you really need to buy a new car).

 I have a 1998 model Toyota Corolla 160i that I use mainly for trips from my farm to Cape Town (on the N2 highway). I always check my tyre pressure before leaving Heidelberg. I now limit my speed to no more than 100km/hr and use the air-conditioning as little as possible.  I have taken to free-wheeling down hills when there is little or no traffic. I used to get an average of about 12 kms per litre on the open road. By implementing these driving habits, I have raised my mileage to over 14 kms/litre - a 17% increase - on the national road. This translates to a R70 saving on a 50 litre tank of fuel. I also feel considerably safer driving at 100kms/hr instead of 120kms/hr.

We’ve been on our farm for 11 months and have not turned on our hot water geyser (except once briefly to do a warm wash of clothes). Last summer, I enjoyed cold showers until about April when it started getting a bit chilly. We also acquired a bulky twin-tub washing machine, and had no other place to put it other than in the shower cubicle. So since then we’ve been bathing in a tub, using water boiled in the kettle for efficiency (we use about 4 litres of boiled water for two adults and two kids). Admittedly, in the depths of winter this felt rather spartan.

Today I decided to rig up an outside shower to harness solar energy directly - a simple coil of black pipe. The most convenient place to hang it was on the geyser, which appeals to my sense of humour!

By not switching on the geyser, we are saving at least 60% of what our electricity bill would otherwise be, and are limiting our carbon dioxide emissions. So it’s good for the pocket as well as the conscience.

Water is our most precious resource. The average human being cannot survive without it for more than a few days without perishing. In many places in the world, fresh water is becoming dangerously scarce at an accelerating rate, due to a combination of factors including population growth, climate change and pollution.

 When my wife and I were searching for a rural property to buy in the Western Cape, a clean, perennial supply of water was our top priority. Thus we confined our search to the southern side of the Langeberg mountain range, as this area - according to the statistics - had amongst the highest average rainfall (600-800 mm per annum) in the province, and indeed in the country.

The farm we eventually bought has a perennial stream flowing through it, providing potable water that comes straight off the mountain. We also harvest rainwater from the roof of our cottage.

As it turns out, our area of the Western Cape is experiencing a severe drought. Our neighbour says it’s the drought over the past two winters and this summer has been the worst he has experienced since moving here 16 years ago; he is convinced it is a result of climate change. According to the local estate agent, some farmers are saying it’s the most severe drought in at least 30 years. Some have resorted to trucking in water from further afield for their livestock.

Since we moved here in mid-January, it has rained perhaps half a dozen times - but in most cases lightly and/or for a very short period of time. To my amazement, our rainwater tank has remained almost full - thanks to our very frugal use. We use the rainwater for drinking, washing dishes and about one or two kettles full a day for bathing in a tub; probably about five litres per day in total. So far our grazing has held up, but it certainly is taking strain and we have had to supplement our five horses’ diet with some lucerne.

We use river water (pumped to a storage tank) for the toilet and for my cold showers (which are rather brief!). Pumping one tank full of 2500 litres uses about half a litre of petrol; a tank lasts us about three weeks.

For watering our newly planted trees we generally carry buckets up from the stream. At some point I will install another tank to provide water for our planned vegetable garden.

So far, aside from the petrol consumption for the pump, our usage of water appears to be sustainable even in the midst of a fairly severe drought - thanks to minimizing consumption. Also, all the water we use for washing and flushing returns to the land via soak-aways, so nothing is wasted. We are extremely grateful for our elixir of life!

Trained as a conventional economist at the universities of Cape Town and Cambridge, over the past several years I have awoken to the patent unsustainability of the global economic system and Western consumerist lifestyle. My research into the various aspects of this unsustainable growth path, which includes human over-population, environmental degradation, resource depletion and climate change, prompted me to become something of an activist. I have published a couple of dozen articles in newspapers and magazines, delivered papers at academic conferences and given presentations to a number of companies and community forums, all under the broad banner of sustainable development.

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