Saturday 5 July 2008

Giving and sharing

Thanks Simon, et all, for presenting an opportunity to have some neighbourly discussion about future sustainability in our area. We have digested some of the points brought up so far and we are heartened to see similar trains of thought to ourselves with "what lies ahead and how can we plan for it?" We could see the writing on the wall when we moved away from Sydney 28 years ago, deciding on an alternative lifestyle. We are very fortunate to be living in an area that has been a meeting place for milleniums for our indigineous cousins. There are already established principles of sustainability for this land from a long time ago. They basically call for sharing, not taking too much from the land, leaving something for the future and living with seasonal change. This is diametrically opposed to the rampaging greed and destruction being displayed by big business and goverments on virtually all levels. With peak oil approaching, obviously the time has come to plan ahead for the next step. The first stage is for our own sustainability, ensuring food, clothing and a roof over our family and a natural environment to live in. It's not rocket science. It may be hard work to establish but the rewards are enormous and spiritually satisfying. What we may lack in can be supplemented by trading - not today's "see how much I can get for nothing" mentality - but by giving what we may have surplus of and sharing. Hard to equate in these times of dollar dependance and planned obsolescence. Transport is the one element that will affect us all. Hanna has listed a number of initiatives for a sustainable community. Individually, we need to push the envelope for sustainable transport. Electric motors seem to be the better alternative at this stage, refueling at home. Solar energy is abundant in NSW. We have been on solar all these years and have recently also put grid power on. Solar to grid and thermal solar for grid generation can ensure power supplies, with some alternatives (geothermal, hydro, etc.) as backup. There was a scheme called solar neighbourhoods providing $12000 worth of solar to grid for $900 for each house if 50 houses in a community signed up. See
http://www.beyondbuildingenergy.com/
Funny how things go in life. It might get more difficult to drive to a meeting as time goes on with rising petrol prices, so the internet provides a better solution for us to discuss these issues, as with this blog. Well done all.
Claude & Bronnie

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