tnrkitect - Musings of an Unconventional Mind

I have now been at the new job for 3 weeks, and am just now starting to actually do any work relating to my job. LOL! It has been a seemingly endless procession of "you can't have access to this until you take this class" or "these are the 20 some odd mandatory classes you have to take as a new hire"

Anyways, today, I booked the flight, hotel and rental car for my first trip with the Corps. I will be flying to, of all places, Ft Riley, KS, where I was stationed while on active due back in the mid 90's.

It's funny, but the last time I was there, I was a lowly E-4 Specialist in rank. Now, I will be going back as a GS-13 civilian, which is considered equivalent in rank / duties to a Major. A slight improvement, no? :-)

I will be going along to act as the EEAP team representative when we debrief the post Director of Public Works and his staff on the results of the EEAP survey. What is EEAP? Glad you asked!

Energy Engineering Analysis Program — EEAP analyzes energy usage at installations and provides options for reducing energy consumption. Working with our partners, we completed energy surveys at eight Army installations in FY 2009. Since the program began in 2006, we have completed 24 surveys identifying approximately 2,204 potential energy saving projects when implemented; potentially saving the government $116 million per year in energy costs if implemented. (Note: the above figures do not include the projects completed in FY10, which ends September 30th, 2010) EEAP leverages expertise and capabilities of USACE and Department of Energy labs and other organizations.

This effort includes:
1. energy consumption assessments for selected facilities/installations,
2. evaluation, identification and recommendations of implementation options for energy conservation projects,
3. overseeing implementation of selected options,
4. assistance in sustaining local energy programs,
5. providing energy-related training, and
6. water conservation and waste water treatment.

My position with the Corps is as a Project Manager in charge of doing EEAP surveys for our "clients", army installations worldwide.

I will put together the team that surveys the installation, manage the creation of the report the team generates, debrief the installation personnel on the findings in the report, and most importantly, generate the DD form 1391's which are the Army's official means of determining what is worth being built.

The Corps explains it as such: "A DD Form 1391 is a construction project programming document used to scope, estimate, and justify all types of construction (MCA, OMA, NAF, etc.)"

Basically, the 1391 is a document that describes the potential project in a fair amount of detail, which when complete is ready to have the project funded and put out to bid for completion. By preparing 3 1391s for the installation, we are essentially giving them 3 turn-key energy projects that they can secure funding for that will aid them to meet the Army's sustainability and more importantly energy security goals that are required by policy.

Each army installation is required by policy to reduce their overall energy costs by 2015 to 30% below the baseline year of 2003, then continue on to become net-zero by 2030.

The EEAP program gives the installations a road map on how to achieve those mandatory goals, and I will be be providing that service.

Right down my alley, no?

I have been thinking a lot lately about the way society is running headlong over the cliff of peak oil like lemmings.

I had even considered putting together a series of posts outlining my "presidential planks" or stands on the issues the same way the presidential candidates do on their website, but realized that post such as that do not really convey what I am trying to say.

Instead, I will outline what I see happening in the next few years, and offer up my opinion of what should be done to minimize the effects of resource depletion on our society.

First, a bit of an overview as to what I mean on resource depletion. ( cut for those who already know whereof I speak )

So where does this leave us?

The age of oil is collapsing around us.

"So what?" You may ask.

Well, consider this. ( very brief explanation of inflation and the economy )

So how do we deal with this mess?

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution.

We as a nation are dependent upon (not so)cheap oil.

( nutshell explanation of the American landscape )

Originally, the way that people commuted to work from the suburbs and back was via mass transit; streetcars, interurbans, and passenger rail. However, the automobile industry did everything it could to promote individual cars for every family while simultaneously ruining the competition from mass transit.
( explanation of how big business drove us off of public transit into surburbia's cul-de-sac )

In the 50's, while all of this was going on, the federal government stepped in and decided to subsidize the creation of the National Interstate System.

( description of the history of the Interstate system, and how it 'killed' long distance passenger rail )

Over time, as the railroads were no longer able to turn a profit on their vast networks of rails, they trimmed service and abandoned routes. The communities that were served did not really notice that much, as the businesses merely moved their freight operations to commercial trucking. Some communities even tore up the rails and turned the rights of way into walking and bike paths, while the roads continued to get more and more congested.

The railroads consolidated on making the most profitable routes more profitable, concentrating on high volume cross country freight, and high volume, single item bulk service, such as coal.

Trucking moved into the voids left when the railroads left, and the volume of traffic on the roads increased. People continue to follow the flight into the suburbs and exburbs, following the "American Dream".

In short, the situation in many parts of the Midwest and South stand as such:

The average Joe (or Jane) is buying (the banks still owe it until the mortgage is paid off) a house at the outskirts of a city, where land is still cheap. They drive 30 minutes to an hour each way to get to work, and find it harder to pay their bills because their paychecks just don't stretch as far as it used to. The long commute amplifies the increase in the cost of gasoline, as they have no alternative to driving everywhere they go.

Sure they care about the environment and complain about the cost of gas, but what can they really do? There are no jobs close to where they live, It costs too much to buy property close to work, and the neighborhoods they live in aren't on any sort of mass-transit system, because no-one wants to pay more taxes to support the extension of a city's transit system.

It is ingrained into our psyche that we must increase our consumption, that if something breaks it is easier to buy a new one than to fix it, and that we can have anything we want when we want it, (and thanks to easy credit, we can have it even if we can't afford it.)

Our governmental policies demand the growth of the economy every year. Lack of growth is considered bad, and it is considered a patriotic duty to spend our money to buy stuff, even if it means borrowing money to do so.

So what do we do?

First we must realize that we no longer can live beyond our means.
( Read more... )

A good way to figure out where your money is going is to keep track of every penny spent over the course of a month. ( Read more... )

The point is, document where you spend your money.

Once you know where you money is going, you need to determine if some of the recurring items are worth it.

Do you really need to spend $1.25 on a 20 oz coke twice a day? Do you really need to spend $4.50 on a cappuccino or a latte or a mocha from your local Starbucks?

Is there a way to get the same benefit for less?

Look at all aspects of your budget.

The point is, figure out how to live on less money than you earn. If you are doing that already, then instead of spending your money on frivolous stuff, spend it where it will help you. On bills.

Make a budget that lets you live on less than you earn, and still has funds in there for a bit of fun. Otherwise, just like when dieting, you will deny yourself pleasure until you are tempted just a tad too much, and then you will splurge, and have to start over from scratch.

The excess monies you free up, will be what you will use to get out of debt.

( Why we should get out of debt. In a word. Freedom. )

Those who are debt free can afford to quit, to find a different job, to enjoy life.

In short, they are free.

If we are living within our means and we are debt free, then we are already immeasurably in a better position to deal with high energy prices.

The high transportation costs are going to make it more imperative that you live closer to work.

Another way to give yourself more leeway financially is to be closer to your workplace. This can be accomplished by changing jobs or by moving.

Consider the following scenario. ( Read more... )

I will continue musing on these things, but this one has gotten a bit unwieldy, and I think I should just go ahead and post it before it losses it's direction entirely.

Stay tuned for my thoughts on how we, as a nation, should address the problems ahead.

As I mentioned earlier in peakoil_prep, I have a decent sized library of books containing skills that could be useful as the ramifications of peak oil make themselves known. Some of them are books on modern skills, and others are books on "lost" skills, often modern reprints of older books.

( Click through for titles, links, descriptions and a review )

These books are just a start on a collection of knowledge on self-suffiecency, and should provide what you need to begin a simpler life for yourself. I hope the list helps!

(x-posted to peakoil_prep)

It is only prudent to gain an understanding of the current energy market in North America, as the U.S. alone accounts for one quarter of world wide energy use. There are two main energy applications that we must address; mobile fuels, that is fuel for transportation that can be carried along with the vehicle and stationary fuels, that is those that can be used for heat and electricity generated in a fixed location. ( Click through to read the rest of the essay )

It’s the Economy, Stupid

As the demand for commodities and more specifically, oil keeps rising, prices keep going up. To figure out what these higher prices mean to our economy, we must think about the basic underpinnings, the laws that govern how the economy works and the policies that affect it.
( click to read the rest )

Dominos in a Row – Energy, Population and the Environment

The climate change that is currently occurring is seen as beneficial by some, but the changes have far reaching implications. On the surface, people may think that a little warming is a pretty good deal. Less snow and ice to mess up the roads in winter, a few more weeks in which it is warm enough to be at the beach in summer. This sort of thinking is short sighted. We must realize that everything is interconnected, and changing one part of the equation affects all of the other parts. Once you accept the truth of this statement, that earth functions as one giant organism, and start looking into how the warming causes a domino effect through out all of the parts of the system, you begin to see just what sort of a hand basket we are in.
( click for the rest )

As mentioned previously, in 1961, the Middle Eastern Countries of Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait formed OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. By the end of the 1960s, Algeria, Indonesia, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar and The United Arab Emirates had joined this collective as well. OPEC now controlled 53 percent of the world’s oil, with the remaining 47 percent having much higher costs of recovery.
( read the rest behind the cut )

In which we learn about oil, and how it took hold.
( Click Through for the Essay )

As I discussed previously, by the 13th century Europe was in an energy crisis. The population had grown to the point that the forests that they were dependent upon for fuel were dwindling fast, going up in smoke. Industry required voracious amounts, in addition to the requirements of the burgeoning population.
( click through for the rest of this essay )

Over the course of the next few weeks, I will be sharing some thoughts with those of you who are interested in understanding what is going on with gas prices, why they keep rising the way that they do, what is to be expected in the coming years, and how we as individuals can prepare for it, with the minimal amount of disruption in our daily lives.

I will begin by explaining the history of energy, how it has become a vital part of our lives.
I will give the background of the oil industry, and explain this term known as “peak oil”. I will elaborate upon the current world energy market, showing where all of these billions of barrels of oil produced on this planet are going.
I will explain how oil ties in with international politics.
I will give an overview of the different technologies available to us for energy generation today.
I will explain throughout how all of the above effects the environment.

Once I have delineated the current situation, I will delve into the realm of informed conjecture.

I will explain where the energy markets are going, and why we will never see cheap gasoline prices again.
I will offer up a number of scenarios for how society will deal with the end of cheap oil, from pie-in-the-sky utopist outlook, to grim, Mad Max –esque pessimism.
I will concentrate on different areas of the world, and offer up their probable reactions.
I will focus on the different areas and social groups within the United States, and their probable reception to the events.

The final parts of this series of essays will delineate recommended courses of action.

I will explain what should be pushed for politically as a society.
I will outline some local actions that can be taken by towns, cities and states.
I will focus on preparations that individuals can accomplish.

My goal is to educate my friends and colleagues of what is happening and give them the necessary information and potential solutions to allow them to minimize the effects of the upcoming era of transition on themselves and their loved ones.

If I help a single person have a better life in the future as a result, the work I put into this will be worthwhile.