Wednesday 9 April 2014

"Energy of the mind is the essence of life" Aristotle

........NOT OIL!

When I am on a dance floor, at a football match, or even rush hour on public transport I often find myself pondered the amount of energy forces catapulting themselves around me.  The Kinetic energy of moving people; the sound and electric energy, thermal and light energy shining from the sun and radiating out from beautiful beings, the magnetic energy which brings us all together!  Imagine if we could encapsulate all that energy….we wouldn’t need to ride the train we could have personalised Spaceships!

We exist in an age where energy is a global daily topic.  The general consensus is we need more.  Millions are being spent developing technology to capture and generate energy. The ever growing demand on fossil fuels needs supporting with a greater diversity of more sustainable energies such as wind, solar and hydro. But what is being used to create the technology to develop and capture renewable energy? More often than not, Non-Renewable Fossil Fuels. 

Fossil fuels such as gas, coal and oil are essentially living creatures, plants and animals from our geological past, often described as non renewable. Non renewable would imply that they were irreplaceable. They are replaceable they just haven’t been replaced at any where near the rate in which they are extracted. This isn’t a malfunction of nature, but a non compliance of man.  I have heard statistics to the tune of ‘For every one barrel of oil extracted it takes three barrels of oil to power the process’?!  There is energy embodied in the energy we require.

Embodied Energy-
The direct and indirect sum of all the energy required to produce any goods or services.  Finding an energy Life Cycle includes assessing the relevance and extent of energy into raw material extraction, transport, manufacture, assembly, installation, dis-assembly, deconstruction and/or decomposition.


Rainforests and Coral Reefs are decreasing, human population is increasing with ever expanding needs, pollution levels are rising, Mother Nature is under pressure! Heard it all before??  Our generation are burdened with statistics of the damage we have caused and continue to cause! Burden is heavy and unproductive, guilt and worry never started a revolution. So what can we do?

- Reduce Consumption – use less, share, and communicate
- Self Regulate – be responsible for your own consumptions.
- Replace and Replenish – put back what you take out!
- Integrate not segregate – work with not against.

On face value it is very simple, maybe too simple? See the small and slow solutions.  We live in a world of abundant resources; we live in bodies full of infinite possibilities.  Consuming less doesn’t mean having less.  How we consume is the key to change.

There is no denying technology has been an integral part of our evolution as a species. Many great teachings have come from our technological advances and I salute the ingenuity of scientists striving to combat the predicament our planet is currently in.  But, as we transition into the next stage of evolution, equilibrium needs to be found.  There is no need to go back to the dark ages, I don’t like the bus but it is far more efficient then a pony and trap!  Single handedly I cannot replant what has been lost in the Amazon; but I can (and do) have a compost pile. And together we could plant a forest.  It may not sound like a revolution but a revolution starts with Revolutionaries! 

One resource we all have the ability to give, receive and grow from and the only resource we can guarantee is infinite is LOVE – we have infinite love to apply to our actions.  Love creates family and community; it brings us together as humans to share ideas and to maximise on resources, creating social power and social power creates change.  Acting with love raises awareness to our planet and its needs.  If 100% of us just changes 1% of our consumption we could really paint a new future full of abundance for all.


Lilly x

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