| | | | | | Do Increased Energy Costs Offer Opportunities for a New Agriculture?
By Frederick Kirschenmann, MonthlyReivew.org - October 2009
Let us accept the current challenge - the next great energy transition - as an opportunity not to try vainly to preserve business as usual (the American Way of Life that, we are told, is not up for negotiation), but rather to re-imagine human culture from the ground up, using our intelligence and passion for the welfare of the next generations, and the integrity of nature's web, as our primary guides.
- Richard Heinberg, Peak Everything One of the great missteps in most of the future energy scenarios propagated in the popular media is the notion that we can transition to "alternative, renewable energy" and thereby "wean ourselves from Mideast oil." The underlying assumptions in this scenario seem to be that energy supply is an isolated challenge that can be solved without major systemic changes, that we can meet that challenge by simply switching from one energy source to another - from fossil fuels to wind, solar, biofuels or a host of other alternatives - and that our current industrial culture and economy then can continue on the present course.
Probably nothing could be farther from the truth. As Richard Heinberg points out, "Making existing petroleum-reliant communities truly sustainable is a huge task. Virtually every system must be redesigned - from transport to food, sanitation, health care, and manufacturing."
As Heinberg implies, the transition we now must contemplate is a shift from an oil dependent society to an oil independent society. Such a transition must include, but is clearly not limited to, our food system. The transition must be comprehensive. We must "re-imagine human culture from the ground up."The "transition movement," which was launched by Rob Hopkins, a permaculture teacher schooled in ecological design, acknowledges such a comprehensive approach, and the movement is designed to help communities make that transition. Originally focused on transitioning towns, the movement has now expanded to transitioning islands, peninsulas, and valleys, and it may serve as a model for the kind of transition we need to contemplate in our food and agriculture systems.
In his new book, Hopkins points out that the "transition initiatives are based on four key assumptions":- Life with dramatically lower energy consumption is inevitable, and that it is better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
- Our settlements and communities presently lack the resilience to enable them to weather the severe energy shocks that will accompany peak oil.
- We have to act collectively, and we have to act now.
- By unleashing the collective genius of those around us to design our energy descent creatively and proactively, we can build ways of living that are more connected, more enriching, and that recognize the biological limits of our planet.
| | | | | |
