Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, who says he tries to bike 100 miles a week, actually laughs about the car addiction of his mega neighbor to the north. “I love that scene in L.A. Story where Steve Martin gets behind the wheel, backs out of his driveway, and drives to his neighbor’s driveway,” Foster says...
Of course, there are still plenty of cars in Long Beach (though Foster himself drives an electric one), but bicycles are getting more respect, not to mention resources, than ever before. With help from state and federal grants and pressure from local cycling enthusiasts, the city government has installed 130 miles of bike trails, established protected bike lanes (that is, lanes separated from vehicular traffic by physical barriers) on major commuter thoroughfares, created bike boulevards that enable kids and parents to bike or walk safely to and from school, and installed fifty new bike racks.
Perhaps most innovative has been the city's effort to establish bike-friendly shopping districts—the first in the country, officials say—engaging local merchants by showing them how, contrary to common belief, biking can actually bring more customers and vitality to shopping districts. "The math is pretty simple," says April Economides, the principal of Green Octopus Consulting and the leader of the city's outreach to local businesses. "You can park twelve bikes in the amount of space it takes to park one car. And someone who shifts from owning a car to a bicycle tends to have more discretionary income, because, for a commuter, the typical cost of a bicycle is $300 a year, compared to $7,000 a year for a car."...
The prospect of peak oil is no longer a ''fringe'' theory held only
by a few scaremongers. It is a geological reality that has been
acknowledged even by conservative, mainstream institutions such as the
International Energy Agency, the UK Industry Task Force and the United
States military. Even the chief executive of one of the world's largest
oil companies, Total, said recently he expected demand to outstrip
supply as early as 2014 or 2015. Given how fundamental oil is to our
economies, this signifies the dawn of a new era in the human story.
While the supply of oil is stagnating, demand is still
growing considerably. China and India are industrialising at an
extraordinary pace, requiring huge amounts of oil, and even in the
Middle East and Russia – the main oil exporting regions – oil
consumption is growing fast. What this means is that competition is
escalating over access to the limited supply, and basic economic
principles dictate that when supply stagnates and demand increases, oil
is going to get much more expensive – a situation that is already
playing out...
Some energy analysts are even suggesting peak oil might signify the
''end of economic growth'', as economies need cheap energy to grow. If
that is so, the future is not going to look anything like the past, and
we should be preparing ourselves for this – psychologically, socially,
economically and politically.
The rise of consumer societies since the industrial
revolution has only been possible due to the abundant supply of cheap
fossil fuels – most notably, oil – and the persistence of consumer
societies depend upon continued supply. In the absence of oil, for
example, the average Australian would need the labour of about 130
''energy slaves'' working eight hours a day to sustain their lifestyle.
The looming implications of peak oil suggest the global consumer class
should begin preparing itself for a significant downscaling of the
highly energy and resource-intensive lifestyles that are widely
celebrated today.
This may be desirable for environmental and social
justice reasons, of course, but oil supply may soon enforce such
downscaling, whether it is desirable or not. While the requirement to
consume less stuff will be a great and unpleasant cultural shock for all
those who do not anticipate it, members of the global consumer class
could actually benefit from this transition by voluntarily embracing a
''simpler life'' of reduced energy and resource consumption. Consume
less, live more. It's well worth considering...
THE strong Australian dollar and the slide in world aluminium prices
has triggered the loss of 250 jobs across two smelters in the Hunter
Valley, as the federal government is spending billions of dollars to
prop up the car industry.
The cuts, equal to 15 per cent of employment at the two smelters, will hit the Norwegian-owned Kurri Kurri smelter hardest, with 150 jobs to go in addition to 45 jobs cut late last year...
The cuts, equal to 15 per cent of employment at the two smelters, will hit the Norwegian-owned Kurri Kurri smelter hardest, with 150 jobs to go in addition to 45 jobs cut late last year...
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