Peak World Articles

We are in a World of Decline...

07/02/08

Disappearing Bee Problem is Escalating - How to Help

12:29:30 pm, Categories: Water/Food Decline, Environmental/Weather , Tags: bees, decline, environment, food

The plight of the honey bee is steadily getting worse. While scientist have been able to give the problem a scientific sounding name of colony collapse disorder no one yet can definitively state what is causing the major decline in the bee population. Yes, they all have theories... but not one scientist has yet been able to prove that their theory is in fact what is causing the problem.

What I find scary is that now the problem is bad enough that it can be observed by 'Average Joes' such as myself. I'm certainly no scientist, yet I have been able to see the effects. Normally when I mow my lawn with my old fashioned reel mower, I have to be careful around my clover patches in my lawn. The bees used to love my clover flowers. My clover is in full bloom, yet when I mowed it... for the first time that I can remember I didn't see a single bee. Every time I go to my kitchen window I peek out to see if I can observe any bees, so far I've seen none.

The bees should love my clover, I use no petroleum based fertilizer or chemical weed killer on my lawn. The birds surely prefer my chemical free lawn to my surrounding neighbors. They have a buffet of 'organic' worms and grubs to choose from. So, why where did my bees go? Why don't they want my 'organic' clover anymore? Well, I'm sure they would enjoy my clover if they were around, but obviously they aren't around anymore to enjoy the clover.

When I was most struck by the problem was when I recently went to my local outdoor 5 acre nursery about a mile from my house. They have 5 acres of beautiful blooming shrubs, vines and various flowering plants. I have spent hours in there over the last few weeks picking out various plants. Normally, I would see many bees enjoying the wonderful array of flowers. But, this year you might wonder how many bees I saw. Well, you likely guessed it, I saw not even one.

So, what can we collectively do to help? Here's a few ideas that I have come up with. We should make our yards as bee friendly as possible for any remaining bees. My wife and I have planted many shrubs and ground covers that are high in amount of flowers and pollen. We've also staggered blooming times so that we always have some plants blooming between early spring up to winter. Of course if you have allergies I wouldn't recommend doing this. But, if flowering plants and shrubs don't bother you then go for it! Also, I would recommend not using harmful fertilizers or weed killers on your grass or bushes as this could cause problems for the bees. We noticed our local nursery carries bee houses and are considering getting one of those as a safe haven for any remaining bees. I'm no expert so I'd love ideas from you. Go ahead and share your ideas by leaving a comment to this article or starting a discussion in the discussion area of this website.

Discuss this articles here at Peak World

04/29/08

More Bloggers Are Waking Up To Peak World Theory

10:19:57 am, Categories: Peak Oil/Energy, Economic Decline, Water/Food Decline, Environmental/Weather, Wars/Terrorism, Constitutional/Human Rights, Social Decline, Conspiracy Theories, Biodiversity/DNA, Preparing, Misc, Health - Declining, Educational Decline

In an earlier article here at Peak World we discussed how more experts are learning about and discussing Peak World Theory. Most notable was an excellent Peak World article written by Richard Heinberg who is one of the world’s foremost peak oil educators. For those of you that haven't yet heard of the theory, it is the theory that yes, we are experiencing Peak Oil, but that Peak Oil is only one area of decline. We actually are in a Peak World, many more areas than just Peak Oil are in decline. Just to name a few we are in an environmental, human rights, biodiversity, health, economic, educational, social, and water/food declines as well.

Now that the peak oil experts are starting to awaken to the idea, we are also just beginning to see bloggers discuss Peak World Theory. Please note that since the concept is new, people aren't quite sure how to phrase it. Richard Heinberg calls the declines peak everything and the latest blogger to discuss this, Carolyn Baker refers to it as peak civilization. But, no matter what they call the declines it is refreshing to see more and more people realize that we have some serious problems in this world and that peak oil is just one of the many.

It takes quite some time for a new concept to gain world wide attention. Take Peak Oil for example, it has been talked about for decades and ridiculed by many. But, it wasn't until the evidence became utterly overwhelming, and word got out to public via the Internet that the mainstream media finally decided to start talking about it. I highly admire the Peak Oil bloggers and website operators for sticking with it and finally succeeding so well in getting their theory out to main stream audiences. Here's hoping that as more experts and bloggers begin to debate the Peak World idea that eventually the word will get out to a more main stream audience. Knowledge will help people prepare and be ready.

Carolyn Baker is a very gifted writer and I found her article to be intriguing. I would highly recommend you read her article as well as Richard Heinberg's. I have included links to each article in the references section below. And please... take a moment to tell your friends about Peak World Theory and peakworld.org !

04/12/08

Expert Discusses Peak World Theory

12:29:58 pm, Categories: Peak Oil/Energy, Economic Decline, Water/Food Decline, Environmental/Weather, Wars/Terrorism, Constitutional/Human Rights, Social Decline, Conspiracy Theories, Biodiversity/DNA, Preparing, Misc, Health - Declining, Educational Decline

"Richard Heinberg is one of the world’s foremost peak oil educators. He is a Research Fellow of Post Carbon Institute, a member of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and a core faculty member of New College of California where he teaches a programme on Culture, Ecology and Sustainable Community. He is the author of seven books including The Party’s Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies."

Richard gave a wonderful presentation entitled 'Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines'. It is refreshing to hear Peak Oil scholars expand their views to more than just Peak Oil. In his presentation he mirrored the views of Peak World Theory.

Many are familiar with the concept of Peak Oil, but the concept of Peak World Theory is now just beginning to become more widely known and understood. It is the theory that the world is experiencing many more peaks than just oil and energy. We also are experiencing peaks and subsequent declines in areas such as food, water, human rights, health, healthcare, education, biodiversity, economics, and the environment to name a few.

It took awhile for the concept of Peak Oil to become widely known and understood. Now, with scholars like Richard awakening to the concept of Peak World Theory the word will finally start to get out to the public so they can begin to prepare for the coming declines.

04/01/08

Prepare for a Peak World by Reducing

12:09:04 pm, Categories: Preparing, Misc

Lets not fool ourselves, we have no one to blame for a Peak World but ourselves. Our modern lifestyle puts a heavy toll on this earth and our health, now we are starting to see the results. While we may not be able to reverse every area of our Peak World there are many areas that can be helped or at least we can start to slow down the decline. One area that can help our planet and your own personal finances is to redefine how much 'stuff' you need in your life. By making a few changes in this area of your life you can help slow down the process of global warming, water pollution, overflowing landfills, reduce energy/oil use, and greatly improve your financial bottom line. Being in a sound financial position as we head into a Peak World is one of the best steps you can take to prepare.

About two years ago my wife and I learned about the concept of Affluenza. We read several books on the topic and watched the PBS documentary regarding the idea. It really got us thinking and made us want to make changes in our lives. We are far from perfect and always have room to improve, but we have made several changes that as a result have helped the environment, reduced our energy usage, and has made a huge positive impact on our family budget.

The location of your house is a major factor if you commute to work. We originally had purchased a house too far away from our jobs. We did so for cheaper housing, and a more rural lifestyle. Fact was, we were too busy commuting to enjoy the rural lifestyle and the 'cheaper housing' turned out to be more expensive when factoring in the cost of commuting. It took us a while to work up the nerve to deal with another move and the costs associated with moving and selling/buying houses. But, finally we did and we have never regretted it. We have more time for other things besides driving and in a year and a half in our new house we have completely recouped all expenses from the move and sale/purchase of our homes. Our monthly payment is slightly higher, but our gas expenses have gone from $450 per month with careful car pooling, to only $60 per month for odd trips. The majority of our commuting is done through biking or our latest favorite of riding the bus. We quit buying new cars and now only need one car. Our second car is currently sitting in the driveway, broke down... and we certainly don't need to fix it. We likely will one of these days and give it to the kids. But, my point is that being closer to your work not only saves gas, it could save the cost of an additional car which is huge. We are hoping to possibly someday not have any cars, but we'll see if we can pull that off with time. Maybe with one of those car share programs for odd trips.

The size of a house is another major factor. Its crazy, we had some neighbors in our old neighborhood that had a 4200 square foot home and they couldn't park their cars in the garage. The garage was overflowing with 'stuff'. There were only the two of them that lived in that huge house. Large houses take more materials to produce, take more energy to live in, require more furniture and stuff so they don't look sparse, and have higher taxes. Also, if you need to put in new carpet, paint, or roofing your expense will be twice that of a house that's half the size. We moved from a modest 1700 square foot house to a 1200 square foot house for a family of four. The house is laid out so well, that it really doesn't feel like much of a difference to us. Even with such a minor difference in square footage our energy costs have gone down. On the plus side, we spend less time cleaning too.

So far I've talked about major things like housing and transportation. For many of us these are our biggest expenses. But, even if you aren't in a position to move or ride the bus you can still make a difference. Many people buy way too much 'stuff', the latest and greatest thing that they just can live without. But, a few months later it lays forgotten in a box in the garage. People wonder why they are in debt up to their ears and feel too cramped in their house. These problems as well as environmental problems can be lessened simply by reducing the amount of 'stuff' you buy. Huge amounts of energy are used to create and transport 'stuff'. Unfortunately, most of the things we buy end up in a landfill in short order. This doesn't mean you have to live like a pauper, but really think about how much use you will actually get from a product before you buy it.

These are just a few ideas to help you reduce the 'stuff' in your life. I would love to hear comments from you on things you have done to help reduce your consumption. You can either leave comments directly at the bottom of this article or move the discussion to our discussion board if you prefer. If we work collectively on this we can make a difference. Every change made no matter how small does have a cumulative impact.

03/30/08

Peak World Adds a Video Section to Our Website

01:32:37 am, Categories: Misc

Just a quick note to the users of Peak World. Today we added a video section to our website. The web address is below. Many of you are using RSS News Readers to access the articles we write at Peak World. As we find videos that we find interesting and that relate to the Peak World Theory we will add them to this section of our site. So, you may want to follow the links on the right side of our Video page to also add our Video page to your RSS reader in addition to our Articles, and Current News Feeds. If you find any videos that you think would be appropriate to add to the site please let me know by clicking on the contact link at the top of the page.

Also, you can comment on videos with fellow readers on the video page and rate them, or of course you can always move the discussion to our discussion board if you prefer.

Here is the link to our new video section, we've got some good videos in there, so check them out when you get a chance! And, check back often as we will keep adding new ones as we find them.

http://peakworld.org/blog6.php

Take care and enjoy! Jack

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