No Growth

Many readers will have read this column, and seen the words ‘Transition’ and ‘Initiative’. For the benefit of new readers, this week we will try to explain what is meant by these two words and what a small group of people is doing. First, ‘Transition’ - common sense tells us that oil reserves around the world (amongst many things) will not last for ever. Common sense also tells us that the economic growth that we have enjoyed for the last 100 years cannot continue either. This growth has been due to the availability of cheap energy in the form of oil. But, the price of oil is rapidly rising as it gets harder to get from deep-sea wells, tar sands or under the polar ice. As the price of energy goes up, economic activity goes down. Many people have been borrowing money to maintain a standard of living that cannot be sustained without growth. The good growth times will likely never come again so we must stop borrowing and live with what we have. Cheap oil is a thing of the past so we must downsize our expectations.

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A locally appropriate heating system

A hundred years ago, residents of southeastern Manitoba kept their homes warm burning wood harvested locally. This was logical because everyone was living within a few miles of readily harvestable firewood. It was not so for all prairie communities. Some communities were far from a good firewood supply, and others, like Winnipeg, had already become too big to depend on biomass fuel in close proximity.

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Pattern Language - pattern 161

Continuing our reproduction of Christopher Alexander’s Pattern Language, here is an article on incorporating sun. The area immediately outside the building, to the south - that angle between its walls and the earth where the sun falls – must be developed and made into a place which lets people bask in it. Important outdoor areas should be to the south of buildings which they serve, but even if the outdoor areas around a building are toward the south, this still won’t guarantee that people will actually use them.

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How to Produce Food – Sustainably

At a February 13 meeting, thirty-five people came together to discuss what can be done to promote a more sustainable food system in southeastern Manitoba. We heard many concerns. Many thought much of our food is not as healthy as it could be. Others thought the current price of our food does not reflect the true cost of production. Many contended that current food prices do not adequately reward those involved in food production. We were concerned that too many food consumers are woefully ignorant of the whole food system; in fact, in some families the skill of food preparation is actually being lost.

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The Problem with Plastics

Isn’t plastic wonderful stuff? It’s cheap. Comes in any colour you would like, or it can be totally clear. It’s flexible and can be moulded into intricate shapes. It’s cheap. Flexible or hard, super- tough or as soft as paper.

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