Wednesday August 24, 2005

How Cities Can Survive the Energy Crisis

peakoil.com -> raisethehammer.org :

Seventy percent of the oil consumed in North America is used for transportation ... whatever means we use to get around will have to find ways to leverage that [road] network : ... develop light rail systems for intra-urban transportation between distant points in the city ... transform existing highways into rail lines ... share city streets for pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders, etc ...

Low-density, use-segregated building guarantees that people will live far from the amenities and services they need to live ... public transit is not viable in sprawl, because the population density is too low to make buses or light rail cost-effective.

Governments must : throw out their zoning regulations that encourage sprawl ... change building codes to require more energy efficient building design ... ban drive-thrus and other building models that force the primacy of driving ...

Ways to stabilize the electricity grid : wind turbines have an important role to play, as the cost per kilowatt hour is becoming increasingly competitive ... encourage conservation. The easiest way to "produce" more electricity is to use less ... encourage intertie production. Buildings that generate their own power can tie it back into the grid. If a building produces more electricity than it uses, then the meter runs backward and the power company pays the producer ...

- The above is heavily excerpted. Urban dwellers should read it in its entirety. Not quite sure how much time there is to implement any of these things, given that the clock is ticking with accelerating rates of resource depletion, but Ryan McGreal seems to actually make somewhat of a case for vertical suburbia.

He did not really mention food though. That's where the "peak oil survivalists" seem to come in, like the "Y2K survivalists" before them, perhaps half a generation ago. But farming is not exactly easy either.

The community has been discussing many scenarios, mostly variants of "slow crash vs fast crash". Well, only time will tell. Let's hope that they do not have to suddenly call up the able-bodied males and start issuing out those M-16's ...

(2005-08-24 22:50:05 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Most popular blog postings on lowem.log :

1. Singapore MRT rail network length to double by 2020
2. 2010 Nissan Leaf electric car specifications : 107hp, 24KWh lithium-ion batteries, 100-mile range
3. Live spot gold price quotes chart on COMEX
4. 2010 Toyota Prius specifications released : 50 mpg, 1.8L, 134hp, Ni-MH, solar roof option
5. AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011 direct download link
6. Real-time live gold and silver price quotes chart on COMEX
7. Singapore electric vehicles : Government agencies EMA and LTA to study EV introduction
8. Book review : Shut Down by William Flynn

Featured articles on lowem.log :

1. Book review : Shut Down by William Flynn
2. Singapore electric cars testing starts with 9 electric vehicles
3. Honda, GS Yuasa JV to make lithium-ion batteries for 2010/2011 Honda Civic Hybrid
4. 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid preliminary specifications released
5. 2010 Honda CR-Z hybrid, 2010 Honda Fit/Jazz hybrid models confirmed
6. 2010 Toyota Prius specifications released : 50 mpg, 1.8L, 134hp, Ni-MH, solar roof option
7. NYMEX crude oil recovers from $32.40 low after 2.2 mbpd OPEC production cut announced
8. Singapore : Nuclear power not ruled out