This era in history may be remembered as the "Peak Age", a brief time when nearly all materials used to power and create our society reach the maximum extraction and production potential. Past this point, all of these resources become increasingly difficult to extract until they are no longer economically viable resources to be using. There are hundreds of examples of resources, currently embedded in our industrial society, which have reached their peak in the 50 years surrounding 2010, but the one which will most impact our society is petroleum.

The goal of living for 100 days without oil is to understand the extent of our dependance on oil in American society today. Specifically, how it will affect my life, as a 25 year-oil living in Minneapolis, MN. By using myself as a metric I can take a close and conscious look at where oil dependance occurs in all aspects of our daily lives : How we transport ourselves from one place to another, what we eat, how much waste we create, how water is cleaned and transported, where oil is used as; an energy resource, in conventional medicine and for hygiene and how oil affects how we entertain ourselves and communicate with others. By demonstrating how someone would be forced to live without using any oil resources, outlining both what the sacrifices will be as well as the benefits, we can can identify the many systems which will have to be re-designed in a world without cheap oil, and explore a new way of living in which we live in an energy balance.

(At the bottom of this page is a link to my version of a flow diagram of 'Where Petroleum Exists in Our Daily Lives' (using information from the Energy Information Administration-Annual Energy Review 2008 fig 5.0 Petroleum flow) click and zoom to enlarge)


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

DAY 89_FOOD LOCATIONS

11 November 2010

The graphic below is part 1 of a comparison of where the food I have been eating before and during this project is coming from.   While all the food I am eating is labeled as 'local' below shows the locations of creameries, flour mills, farms, and orchards which have provided me with 'local' food throughout the 100 days.  (click to enlarge)



The co-op defines 'local' as any product which
  • can be delivered to the store within a day of travel or
  • is produced in Minnesota or the bordering states.
While the majority of my food is coming from within about a 75 mile radius, there are a few notable exceptions.  I was actually fairly surprised after mapping this out visually with mileage radius lines by how spread out many of the foods I am eating are.  A 75 mile radius of food is still a very different scenario than local foods being sourced from within the boundaries of a community or metropolitan area. 

Here is a brief breakdown of where each 'staple' food I have been eating is coming from:

FLOUR:
Whole Grain Milling
Located in Welcome, MN
120 miles away
http://www.wholegrainmilling.net/contact.html
PASTA:
Dakota Growers
Located in New Hope, MN and Carrington, ND
10 miles away
http://www.dakotagrowers.com/

MILK + HEAVY CREAM:
Cedar Summit Farm
Located in New Prague, MN
30 miles away
http://www.cedarsummit.com
GREENS, TOMATOES, PEPPERS, ZUCCHINI, ONIONS
Garden's of Eagan (Our co-op owns this organic farm)
Located in Farmington, MN
30 miles away
http://www.gardensofeagan.com/index.php
EGGS:
Harmony Organics
Located in Morristown, MN
50 miles away
http://www.harmonyorganics.org/5.html
BUTTER:
Hope Creamery
Hope, MN
70 miles away
http://www.wedge.coop/grocery/hope-creamery
APPLES, PLUMS:
Hoch Orchards
LaCrescent, MN
125 miles away
http://www.hochorchard.com/


SUNFLOWER OIL, POTATOES:
Driftless Organics
Soldier's Grove, WI
150 miles away
http://www.driftlessorganics.com/

CHEESE:
Hard cheese from Sartori Cheese
Located in Plymouth, WI
275 miles away

Slicing and Cheddar cheese from Widmer Cheese
Located in Theresa, WI
250 miles away

All of my food is coming from within a 300 miles radius.  While it's still better than the 1,500 mile radius that defines the average American dinner, it still isn't anything to be yelling about.  While my cheese and veggies aren't coming from California or Florida, they are still a stretch of the term 'local'.  However, any of these farms and businesses COULD be located around Minneapolis.  They aren't, simply because there still is not enough of a demand for it.  For most people, the motivation for buying local is to support local economies and eat fresher food. The scale of local foods operations cannot possibly compete with large-scale food production companies which distribute their products to stores all across the nation.  As out transportation fuel sources become increasingly expensive, however, the motivation could become more economically based. 

On the upside, I get to eat a buch of  super-tasty, local foods.  These businesses are often very small-scale, family run operations.  They take pride in the foods they are growing and making and you can tell by the taste.  It is interesting to go on the websites and read the stories of these businesses, they are often very transparent about their processes and growing methods. 

Some great websites on local foods in MN are here:

http://www.localfoods.umn.edu/
http://www.mnproject.org/
http://www.slowfoodmn.org/local.html
http://www3.mda.state.mn.us/mngrown/
http://www.mfma.org/
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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

DAY 88_HOW LIVING WITHOUT OIL IS LIKE CAMPING

10 November 2010

6 reasons camping is like living no oil (and the lessons I learned from sleeping in the dirt)

  1_You shower less

Camping may be many people's only experience going a week or more without showering-it was mine before this project. With no easy access to water/showers and the fact that you are going to get all sweaty and grimy every day just after you get up, whats the point?  I  haven't necessarily felt smelly or dirty taking quick showers twice a week during this project.  The harder part was just ditching the habit.  I had a firmly established morning ritual and routine which was ingrained into my head since sometime around 7th grade probably which included getting all wet every morning and then drying off again.  Don't get me wrong, when it's shower day I'm ready and its time, but getting another 20 min of sleep every morning and saving energy not having to dry my hair  has been a change that I could get used to.




2_Cooking dinner is an event

Camp dinners are a big deal.  Everyone is hungry,  there is only one stove and usually only one person has the food.  This means everyone has to work together, spend some time making a good meal.  The way food brings people together camping is a lot like how  it has during this project. I've adopted the habit of cooking for at least a couple people probably 50% of the nights of a typical week.  After all, if you're going to go to all that work, might as well be worth it to more people than yourself. 



3_When the sun goes down, it gets dark

I mean, there aren't any other options.  Headlamps are the original task lighting.  The fire or lamp on a picnic table becomes the gathering place because it is the only place people can see (and its warm).  Its harder to move around when the whole area (or house) isn't lit up.  You walk to the bathroom, you gotta take a candle (or a flashlight).  Areas with the most lighting (like our table with a bunch of candles on it) automatically become the places people go to. 




4_Water is precious

Whether it is because you're waiting for it to rain or just haven't filtered enough water, water scarcity is a real issue in both camping and trying to live within your water 'budget'.  Camping in the frozen meadows below Grand Teton where the water is either frozen or ICE cold is a real test of how badly you need/want it and an excellent exercise in conservation.  Camping taught me how to do dishes in a no-oil world.  Use leftover boiling water from cooking for hot wash water. Pour your rinse water and wash water into two basins (or use the biggest two pots that are dirty).  Do cleanest dishes first. No running water needed.  Why do we abandon these habits when we go back to our homes with running water?



5_Connection with the elements

You havn't truly expereinced snow until you have slept in it.  And on it.  And under it.  I'm not trying to promote this in any way, it was actually kind of miserable, but gave me a totally different perspective of the kind of weather we have here.  We've done a great job at protecting and isolating ourselves from the elements.  After all, that's how we survived.  However, the more isolated we become, the greater the sense of unfamiliarity and even fear comes from being out in the elements.  Winter biking is a good example of this.  There aren't many mornings that I look out the window and get excited to jump on my bike and avoid snow chunks.  Once I am out there riding however, I realize how worked up I got about something that really isn't that bad.




7_You dress for the weather

Dressing comfortably and warmly for biking in freezing temperatures takes priority over looking nice.  These are my sisters on a winter camping trip in northern MN, clearly, the same deal ;)

6_Cannot create any waste

When we go camping we make NO waste, we EAT our toilet paper.  Well, maybe not.  Regardless, it is easy to be aware of how much waste you are creating when you are on a backpacking trip and have to carry it with you the rest of the trip.  Having to collect all the waste I create (even after eliminating as much waste as possible) has been a reality check for me (especially now that I have almost 90 days worth).  We've gotten really good at packing food and avoiding packaging in these situation.  There is also more motivation to avoid dumping stuff when in a pristine wilderness.  However,  it doesn't matter whether you throw that candy bar wrapper down a glacier or in an urban street, its eventually going to end up in the same place.  Paying attention to some of the ways I found to reduce waste on backpacking trips was a good start for me when I started this project: Refill your water bottle, avoid individually wrapped items, and buy in bulk using reusable jars. Pack it in pack it out.  Or in the no oil case-don't make it at all. 

An interesting exercise would be to carry around all the waste you create in a day.  At the end of the day, take an inventory of what was; organics, recyclables and trash.  If you eliminate some of the waste you create, try to find an alternative.  For example, ask if a restaurant can put your take-out in a container that you bring.
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Monday, November 15, 2010

DAY 87_SNOW BIKES

9 November 2010

The time has come, snow is here.  What was predicted to be a few inches that melts on the ground turned into about 3 of snow that definitely isn't going anywhere, complete with a Snow Emergency Day.  While it is nice not to be driving around in the craziness of the first snow (there was something like 1000 accidents), I'm not sure biking is a whole lot safer (although definitely faster) in these conditions. 


snow bike!



more bikes in the snow

The City of Minneapolis has a page on their website specifically dedicated to winter biking
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles/WinterBikingTips.asp  What may surprise summer bikers is that 50 of the 60 miles of bike trails throughout the city get plowed just like city streets.  According to some friends that are hardcore winter bikers, the bike trails are usually the first to get plowed.  As it should be :)

The last two winter's I've lived in this ice-box of a city before this project I would bike until the end of October, and have never felt the need to tempt fate on a bicycle when it's icy and freezing outside.  However, the more I meet people who bike almost all year round, the more it seems like a possibility even in Minnesota (if you have the right equipment and clothes). Census data shows 4,800 residents of Minneapolis regularly commute to work on a bicycle. The number for the entire metro is 9,700 bikers. A local group called Transit for Livable Communities estimates one-third of those biking enthusiasts continue commuting to work during the winter.

A couple of bullet points from Shaun Murphy of the Minneapolis Bicycle and Pedestrian Programs: -- Minneapolis has 4,800 residents (2.5% of all workers) who regularly commute to work by bicycle, while the entire metro has 9,700 bike commuters (0.8% of all workers). So 50% of the regular bike commuters live in Minneapolis. [Source: Census data] -- Don Pflaum (City Bicycle Coordinator) estimates that about 15,000 bicyclers are seen each day during the warmer months in Minneapolis. [Source: Minneapolis Public Works estimate]

Here is a funny video of winter bikers:
http://www.startribune.com/video/12962607.html

http://www.icebike.org/ represents bikers all over the country who bike through the winter.  Who are these people? In their own words:

"Most of us are just ordinary folks, who get this addiction to bicycles that simply will not live within the bounds of a summer.  Others just don't want to spend the cash for a car and all the costs that come with motor vehicles.  Some of us have serious personal commitments to being car-free, others have temporary problems of liquidity, and others of us just like cycling way more than any rational person should."

Cheers winter bikers, I'll join you for at least the next week.

I"ll leave you with this warm SF critical mass vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSmmz4vL74o



*Minneapolis bikers:
Use 311. If you see a bicycle-related problem which involves plowing, shoveling, signing, or another traffic concern, call 311. The City relies on the public to flag problems. If you live outside of Minneapolis, call 612-673-3000   A Minneapolis bikeway maintenance responsibility list is available for more direct call routing.
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DAY 86_WHO NEEDS A TRUCK?

8 November 2010

I biked 10 miles to get more potting soil the other day (local potting soil mixes sold at Interior Gardens in NE), and it got me thinking about running errands by bicycle (and how strange it was to bike 10 miles to get dirt).

There are a lot of ways to carry stuff on a bike. I see many people using burley trailers (with or without children inside), but without forking out the couple hundred bucks for one of those here is a great list of DIY bike trailers from http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~armb/cycling/trailer.html)

Some load carrying alternatives to trailers:

Here are some examples of people carrying ridiculous amounts of stuff on bicycles:

plumber with an xtracycle http://www.xtracycle.com/

people moving using bikes http://tricolour.net/photos/2003/05/10/hpv.html
And finally, lets not forget that bicycles and walking are major forms of transportation all around the world.  Next time you think you need to drive your car to run those errands, consider this, (from http://www.aliraqi.org/forums/showthread.php?p=147793536):


this guy is carrying a washing machine



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DAY 85_DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME

7 November 2010

Daylight Saving Time means a lot more to me this year than it has before.  Before DST, the sun was barely up when I was hoping on my bike in the morning, and I would spend at least the first 15-20 min riding in the dark.  Although the sun set 'later' before, I am usually coming home late at night anyway.  Starting today, I get daylight in the morning and can ride at least half of my commute in the light! 

The reason behind Daylight Saving Time is all about energy;

"In general, energy use and the demand for electricity for lighting our homes is directly connected to when we go to bed and when we get up.  Bedtime for most of us is late evening through the year. In the average home, 25 percent of all electricity we use is for lighting and small appliances, such as TVs VCRs and stereos.  A good percentage of energy consumed by lighting and appliances occurs in the evening when families are home.  By moving the clock ahead one hour, we can cut the amount of electricity we consume each day.

Studies done in the 1970's by the U.S. Department of Transportation show that we trim the entire country's electricity usage by about one percent EACH DAY with Daylight Savings Time " (http://www.energy.ca.gov/daylightsaving.html)

The time for DST has gone through many changes over the years.   When President Reagan changed DST from the last Sunday in April to the first Sunday in April in 1986 it is estimated to save nationwide about 300,000 barrels of oil each year. 

The time was changed again to start on the second Sunday in March and was extended to end on the first Sunday in November starting in 2007, which it is still at today.

Although the days will continue to have less daylight until the darkest day (Dec 21), my mornings are a little easier, and I use less light in the am.  Biking around in the daylight feels a lot safer, whether or not it actually is.  In general, I feel much more connected to the seasonal changes and when it gets dark now.  Although lights are a small part of my energy budget (especially now that the heat is on), it makes a big difference for biking around, and brings the morning temperature up above freezing :)
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DAY 84_FIRST HARVEST!

6 November 2010

After eighty-four days, I have my first grow-table harvest!  Yeah, its only cilantro, but you can't get that at any grocery store these days so it feels like a big deal :)



Some 'minnesota-in-the-winter-fajitas' were made with it:

_homemade tortillas
_stock of frozen bell peppers
_stored onions (they are starting to rot)
_cilantro
_hot peppers (dried)
_tomatoes (found local ones again at the grocery)
_sour cream

By direct-sowing seed, the plants I have started over the last few weeks have been growing WAY faster than the ones I started as small transplants at the beginning of the project.  After only 1 month I have an 6" high tomato:


and a crazy green bean:


Some of the veggies planted at the beginning of the project (jalapeno and bell peppers) got transplanted into 10" diameter pots which should be big enough to hold them for the rest of their life.  I'm testing two bell peppers to see how they do in different sized pots.  They were both planted at the same time.  Greens and herbs can be grown in the 6" diameter pots, but vegetables should ideally be put in 10-12" ones.  It is still yet to be seen if the plants have enough light to eventually fruit, finger's crossed for that.This jalapeno has buds starting on it:

jalapeno (planted 8/15)

The romaine I started on August 15th is probably ready to harvest as well:



Here is a shot of the whole garden as it is now.  I especially like these shots because you can see the snow in the background. Having never grown a plant in my LIFE before this project, I'm feeling pretty good about being able to grow them in the snow :). 


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Friday, November 12, 2010

DAY 83_THE PETROLEUM IN OUR ROADS

5 November 2010

"The highway network is one of the most significant achievements in the history of the civil engineering field.  Perceived as an imperative measure for the development of a robust economy, the highway network has become a primary mode of transportation and driver of the economy in the United States" (Energy Consumption of Asphalt and Reinforced Concrete pavement materials and Construction, Zapata and Gambatese, 2005).  nearly 83% of all roads and streets in the United States are of flexible type (asphalt wearing surface), 7% are of rigid type (Portland cement concrete with or without a bituminous wearing surface) and approximately 10% are of composite type (bituminous surface on PCC base) (Zapata and Gambatese 1). 

Humans have been using bitumen (the glue component of asphalt) since at least 3000 BC for small waterproofing tasks.  It was harvested from places where petroleum had seeped to the surface.  By 2500 BC it was being used to provide an impervious surface from which water could be collected.  (Ways of the World: A History of the World's Roads and of the Vehicles That Used Them, M.G. Lay, pg 50).  It is mentioned in the Bible as being used for waterproofing Noah's Ark, "Make yourself an ark...and cover it inside and out with pitch" and for building the Tower of Babylon.  (Gen 6:14 as mentioned in Ways of the World pg 50). Asphalt has been around for a long time, but only since the early 1900's has the production of asphalt exploded to the level we use it today.

Asphalt is the 'bottom of the barrel' product from the distillation and fractioning of crude oil, and accounts for 0.95% of each barrel of oil (42 gallons in a barrel).  80% of this asphalt is being consumed in the United States for asphalt-concrete road pavings.   Roofing Shingles account for most of the remaining 15% of asphalt, with a little being used for waterproofing of other objects.  Asphalt used for roads is composed of 5 percent asphalt cement and 95 percent aggregates (stone, sand and gravel).   The process of manufacturing this product requires a huge amount of heating energy in order to mix the aggregates and keep it in a liquefied state while storing, resulting in 4,000 mixing plants in the U.S. 

While the Energy Information Administration reports that cement production ranks seventh among the most energy-intensive manufacturing industries (EIA 2002) in term of energy use per dollar of output, it is also the most widely recycled material.  According to the Federal Highway Administration and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 80% of asphalt removed each year is reused as part of new roads.  

What will happen when oil is no longer cheap enough to use so extensively for road paving?  It may be recycled for a while until it is unusable, but ultimately, we will have to find alternatives.  Concrete roads are one that has also been in service for a long time, but today is not predominately used.  The following graphic depicts an energy analysis of the asphalt throughout it's lifecycle and compares this with concrete roads.  Information for graphic interpretation found in (Energy Consumption of Asphalt and Reinforced Concrete pavement materials and Construction, Zapata and Gambatese, 2005).



click to enlarge

There do exist some alternatives asphalt which can be made from non-petroleum based resources such as sugar, molasses and rice, corn and potato starches.  It can also be made from distillation of waste motor oils which would otherwise be burned or dumped into land fills.  These products are typically lighter colored, which result in roads with less heat from solar radiation reducing potential heat island effect. 
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