American Dream, Downsized

For the first time in human history there are more people living in urban areas than rural, and cities have grown like amoeba into megacities - so crowded that they have become virtual countries with complex ecosystems unto themselves. Tokyo leads the pack with 31 million residents. Seoul has 23 million, followed by New York and Bombay.

Living space, unless one belongs to that tiny percentage called the upper class, is shrinking as the human population continues to grow. While the rural poor leave open sky and rolling plains to flock to the edge of the metropolis - they crowd into ramshackle slums in the third world, or one-room units in the first - the middle class is clinging to its precious status by contending with far smaller living spaces than those of previous generations.

I went with some friends to look at a two-bedroom house the other day. It's a bungalow that was once the home of a working-class family in the 50s. Now, with skyrocketing prices and a prime location, it's out of reach for my friend, who is a single lawyer. The little house was going for a little over $1.3 million dollars. "My American dream," she said with a sigh, "has just been seriously downsized."

Of course, the further you go from the city, the more space you can afford. But there's a catch: if you want more space you'll likely have to exchange it for your time. The price tag for a front yard and back garden can be a four-hour commute every day. Today a condo is what most in the middle class can hope for in places like San Francisco or New York. I suspect that in another generation or two, middle-class homes in American cities will look like those of Tokyo today - which is to say, the size of a train compartment.

(2007-02-18 09:38:52 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

Coal can't be clean : leading Australian scientist

peakoil.com -> news.com.au :

Australian of the Year and leading scientist Dr Tim Flannery has questioned the viability of clean coal technology, saying it may be made redundant by cheaper and greener energy resources. He said Australia did not possess the right geological conditions to support the clean coal process, which injected carbon dioxide emissions into the ground rather than releasing them into the atmosphere.

"Globally there has got to be some areas where clean coal will work out, so I think there will always be a coal export industry (for Australia)," he said. "Locally in Australia because of particular geological issues and because of the competition from cleaner and cheaper energy alternatives, I'm not 100 per cent sure clean coal is going to work out for our domestic market."

However, Dr Flannery said Australia possessed the right conditions to make geothermal technology, using underground energy to produce electricity, while solar power was becoming increasingly viable. Dr Flannery agreed with the sentiments of British scientist Dr David King that climate change was a bigger global threat than terrorism and called on the Australian government to act immediately.

(2007-02-18 09:27:57 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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