The more I look into what is going on in the world the clearer the picture gets: we're going to use up every available resource, and we're travelling faster every year towards that end. Oil, at current consumption increase per year rate, will run out in just 25 years.

In this process we lay waste to our planet, as if it would be able to magically repair itself. Or perhaps some believe God himself will clean up our mess? Oh yes, this is the one: the Aliens will clean it up.

Obviously I'm joking here.

Basically there are two different paths before us. Let's call them:

• The black road
• The green road

The black road

This road is what most of us dream of. Technology will come to save the day and we can continue to live life as we do now. We need our SUV:s, our 50 inch plasma TV and 18 electronic bling gizmos.

What we hope will solve the problem is:

• Biofuels
• PHEV and BEV
• Renewable energy
• Organic farming 

Biofuels

During the transition period when we have old cars that need liquid fuel and we lack oil, or it has become too expensive, many dream of ethanol, or even methanol, to save the day. Let's not forget that biofuels carries with them two distinct problems.

• Deforestation, decrease in biodiversity
• Increased food prices by competition for farm land

I just don't see how biofuels could replace our demand of 85 million barrels of oil per day.

But perhaps it's doable.

PHEV and BEV

PHEV:s (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles) could reduce oil consumption considerably. Most of our trips are short and the battery could hold enough energy to power the vehicle to and from work for example. BEV:s (Battery Electric Vehicles) are even more efficient than PHEV:s as they can drop the weight of the ICE (internal combustion engine) and rely solely on an electric motor.

The problem is that most of our electricity still comes from fossil fuels, namely coal and gas so they will by no means be clean. Just cleaner. Also converting our entire transportation fleet would take at least 15 years.

But perhaps it's doable.

Renewable energy

To combat global climate change, or climate chaos if you prefer that term, we need renewable energy sources. That is, energy that doesn't take coal from the ground and put it into the atmosphere.

Wind and solar power generates somewhere around 3 % of the world's electricity right now. It's just not enough, and we're not able to produce enough of either one of them. Shortage of wind turbines is the biggest problem the wind industry is currently facing.

Much of the photo voltaic cells use rare earth metals like haffnium, which will run out within 25 years at current consumption rates. Were we to use more of the metals to build more PV:s we would run out of these metals even faster. Sure new materials are being researched for PV:s, I really hope they find what is needed. Photo voltaics are great in many ways, but mostly I like them since they have no moving parts. They will last for a very long time.

Nuclear power on the other hand is touted by many as the final answer, the saviour of our times. But the proponents are eager to forget nuclear power's drawbacks. First of all uranium is a finite resource just as oil. We will run out of it, which means prices will go up, and will go up a faster the more nuclear power plants we build. Let's not forget that it takes some 10 years for a nuclear plant to produce the amount of energy that is required to build the plant, process all of it's fuel during it's lifetime, to store the waste products and finally store the power plant itself. The French say they have revolutionary technology. But so far they haven't been able to deliver. Britain's MOX fuel plant has been an economic disaster. The new nuclear plant in Finland will become at least twice as expensive as planned as well.

The only real proven renewable energy technology that we have that produce a substantial amount of energy is hydro power. Unfortunately it comes with two problems of it's own:

• We have run out of good sites
• Nature takes a rough beating through the building of the needed dam

But perhaps it's doable.

Organic farming

Food production is a major contributor of carbon dioxide (CO₂) which is the major driving force of global climate change. By growing food organically we can at least cut the amount of energy needed for the production in half. Our food will taste better and contain less chemicals as well, so that's a win-win situation. The problem is that it's labour intensive, and research into this area is still not advanced enough.

But perhaps it's doable.

Final thoughts on the black road

Those who say we can just build a lot of EV:s, wind power and photo voltaics and continue to live the way we do now doesn't have a clue. We're running out of time and resources and our options are either too far into the future, or surrounded by big "if:s".

The green road

What I consider to be the green road is:

• Locally produced food
• Micro energy generation
• Change of values and lifestyle

Locally produced food

The problem with organic farming in it's current shape is that it is often not done locally and so the food has to be shipped a long way. It is also still heavily reliant on fossil fuels for it's production.

If we produce more of the food we require on our own we don't need to buy as much food produced by industrial farming methods. It really is possible to grow a lot of your own food without much effort, but yes, it is a trade-off. You work less at your regular job and more for the production of your own food. It is not possible to do everything on your own though, you will overproduce some types of food and lack others.

This requires a community for two reasons I will cover later on.

Micro energy generation

Renewable energy is great but we're not increasing the generation capacity nearly fast enough. By taking energy production into our own hands we don't need the grid as much if it we're to go down, and we become more aware of how much energy we really use.

Micro generation is quite costly, even though Chinese windmills are starting to appear with moderate prices. But for those of us that are able to spend the extra money I believe it will really be worth it. Imagine knowing that the energy you use does not adversely effect the climate. That would be a great feeling for me.

Change of values and lifestyle

As I've written about in previous posts one fifth of the western population is depressed. I think it has to do with a feeling of living a life that lacks meaning. We constantly distract ourselves with luxurious food, electrical gizmos and shopping sprees. But as the world starts to fall apart many of us recognize that consuming doesn't really make us any happier. We're on the wrong track.

We need to find that in our lives which truly gives us a feeling of meaning. That which makes us happy. 

So I think that when we start to re-evaluate our lives many will want to make a big change. Some have started to change already. I refer to the Earthship homes, Jaques Fresco and Permaculture for example. There is an abundance of alternative lifestyles out there, we just need to find that which suits us.

I still haven't figured out exactly what I would like my life to look like, but I'm working on it.