Thursday, January 6, 2011

Away from the ancient sunlight

Re: the previous post - note that those permaculture activists take the long view.  They see the present day as a transition from one form of sunlight to another:

This generation is probably the or one of the last fossil fuel generations. Our children or theirs will be the transition generation from stored ancient sunlight back to present local sunlight. Remaining fossil fuel reserves are probably best used for permanent infrastructure projects — use a tractor today to swale your property, build a water farm storage pond or develop an urban gravity water system.  We need more energy decent tools — a hand crank flour mill or nut huller is more useful than an electric one when the power is out. You get the idea.

We'd better get used to it, in other words. More muscle-powered tools, more animal power, and a lot more in the way of plants.


(photo from our town's school, back in 2007)

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