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IR Bulletin #16 Energy – 6^th grade

The following is a presentation made to a sixth grade middle school class by an Island Rover Volunteer and does a wonderful job of stating the situation:

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LIFE IS ALL ABOUT ENERGY!!!

Everything “living in nature” revolves around or involves the consumption of ENERGY

ALL SPECIES use or consume ENERGY --- Food

FOOD! One of the Basic Needs of Life --- The basic needs for life are: Food, Water, Shelter, the ability to carry on Reproduction and those must constitute a livable environment.

All “life” needs and consumes energy during the process of “living”.

Worms eat organic matter (food) (we said food is energy ). The worms consume energy in the presence of water in order to live! Living for a worm constitutes moving around, finding and eating more food, reproducing more worms, (to carry on the species), and eventually dying and becoming food (energy) for bacteria as they decompose. Pretty simple balance of nature –Food, water, other individuals of the same species for reproduction and a livable environment,.

Let’s look a little higher on the evolution of “life”. We will talk about “Fish”. They swim around, eat other species (insects or plankton or other smaller fish) FOOD (Energy to swim, escape becoming food, catch more food, reproduce their species). AGAIN A Pretty simple balance of nature --Food , water, other individuals of the same species for reproduction and a livable environment. Sometimes they are in a group --- school of fish ---protection / survival in numbers. SO life is getting a little more complex

Looking still higher on the evolution of “life”. We will consider “Deer”. They wander around, eat plant vegetation. THEIR FOOD supplies Energy to run and escape becoming food, wander from place to place to find and graze on more food, find water to drink, reproduce their species. STILL A Pretty simple balance of nature -- Food, water, other individuals of the same species for reproduction and a livable environment (Deer look for “shelter”, during certain weather. Under a tree during rain, or a protected area in a spruce forest during snow storms/winter. They are Vegetarian!!!!! They eat only plants. They protect and nourish their young. They have a social relationship among the herd. There is protection / survival in numbers. SO life is getting still a little more complex than fish.

BUT Still Just the basics of LIFE: Food, Water, Shelter and the ability to reproduce the species and a livable Environment.

Now let’s look still higher on the evolution of “life” at “The Primates” (Gorillas / orangutans / monkeys / chimpanzees) . They wander around in groups and families, eat plant vegetation species and many times other animal protein --- THEIR FOOD – Their Eneregy.. They find and drink water. Their food in the presence of water, supplies Energy to run or fight in order to escape becoming food. They wander from place to place to find vegetation to graze on, as more food, they find water to drink, or seek out and catch their favorite protein food. Then they spend a lot of time reproducing their species (caring for them, teaching them). “LIFE” or living is a lot more complex for these “Primates” and yet it is STILL A Pretty simple balance of nature -- Food, water, other individuals of the same species for reproduction and a livable environment. Primates look for “shelter” or many times they reorganize an existing shelter. They would make a bed to lie in during sleep or during certain weather. SHELTER could be as simple as under a tree during rain, or in some other protected area. They are Omnivorous --- Both vegetable and protein eaters. PROTEIN is HIGH in Energy!!!! Their level of activity demands lots of energy, BUT STILL Just the basics of LIFE: Food, Water, Shelter and the ability to reproduce the species in a livable environment.

We could talk about a lion or a tiger or a wolf or fox, who would be a “High Predator” (carnivorous) just a meat eater and they use even MORE energy. BUT the end of that comparison would STILL be the same …. A Pretty simple balance of nature -- Food, water, other individuals of the same species for reproduction and a livable environment. A fox or a wolf might have a den or burrow for “shelter” or protection from weather or protection from their enemies.

Even some of the High Vegetarians like a woodchuck have dens or burrows for “shelter” or protection from weather or from their enemies.

Note: There is a GREAT Nature Program about Elephants that shows how a Livable Environment impacts the “life-style” of a species!!! It is about elephants found on the African plains, those in a jungle environment, and then those who are able to eke out an existence on the desert

NOW for those that are wondering why the Biological evolutionary lesson….. IT IS ALL ABOUT ENERGY !!!!!! The more complex the life form or life style the more energy is required to sustain that life style, that life form or that species. The flip side of that is that the higher the life form requiring a greater amount of energy per individual, then the smaller the population size that the earth (actually a local environment) will sustain on an ongoing basis. There is ALWAYS a smaller number of lions than there are antelope or gazelles on an African plain. Mother nature is in BALANCE.

AS WE HAVE ALREADY DISCUSSED --ALL SPECIES NEED THE SAME THING: Food, water, shelter and the ability to reproduce their species in a livable environment. The human species is not any different. Our basic needs are: FOOD (actually nowhere near the quantity we in the USA consume! We are a Gluttonous Society!) We need Shelter (actually just a little place to hide and sleep and stay safe) and of course male and female individuals for reproduction. For tens of thousands of years THAT WAS THE WAY Human Beings existed. Even Clothing was not necessary until man ventured into colder climates in search of food and discovered that he/she could carry shelter with them in the form of clothing in order to survive in the colder climates. That is the very rudimentary basics of Human LIFE !!!! Living in balance with nature!

A balance of nature -- Food, water, shelter, other individuals of the same species for reproduction and a livable environment.

SO WHY AM I TELLING YOU ALL THIS? BECAUSE MAN --- the human species –Homo sapiens has over the last few thousand years, (actually mostly in the last couple of hundred years) figured out a way to LIVE outside the balance of nature. We are using WAY MORE than our share of the ENERGY balance that Mother Nature has allocated to each species. Mother Nature has a long-standing and well-proven balance that Man has tried to manipulate to the advantage of a single species. US!!!!

ENERGY Let’s Follow the energy!

Cave man fought and provided food with only his personal strength --His energy!!!

Then Man got smart and domesticated other animals to “Work” for him. Cattle pulling carts, lama’s carrying loads, dogs pulling pole drags, reindeer pulling sleds, riding horses. Man realized that by harnessing other animal’s “ENERGY” he could get more accomplished, and move around more, easier and faster. There was a price: HE has had to provide that helping species (cattle, horse, dog, lama, reindeer) with food and shelter or at least allow the freedom to that species to find it themselves (without running away!) ---still a pretty simple and a good trade for the work that was provided.

Then SOME of Mankind found out that they could stop moving around as much if they started GROWING their food in the same place - AGRICULTURE WAS BORN!!! BUT that happened ONLY because Man had harnessed ANIMAL POWER (animal ENERGY) to do most of the work. FOR THOUSANDS of years –that was the way it was.

Then more visionary humans figured out that they could get energy from Mother Nature “Herself”. WIND to push Floating objects “sailing boats were developed”, Fire became a source of “HEAT” thus when it was Cold “Human’s could survive in colder climates” --- Food became cooked (increased flavor, preserved goodness, smoking retarded spoilage), WOW ALL of a sudden ENERGY was being consumed in BIGGER QUANTITIES!!!! Things found in one place could be moved to people who wanted it where it wasn’t found. Food could be grown outside of a populated area and brought into the populated area by horse and wagon or oxen carts or camel trains. That populated area might be a fortified area for protection from other human’s or other dangers. HUGE AMOUNTS of animal and human energy were required to build these protected areas. BUT BECAUSE animals were being used to help produce food and transport food (that food being the energy needed to build these elaborate SHELTERS) and because animals provided the raw materials to make better and better “transportable shelter” Clothing) there was more and more available time for individual people to pursue tasks and endeavors other than providing “food and shelter for themselves”. Those needs for their living were now provided by farmers, or cobblers, or fishermen, masons, carpenters, blacksmiths. Everyone started to specialize in a specific profession and they traded and shared with others who specialized in the needs that they had at the moment. BUT that specialization was based on EVERYONE using ENERGY from some source in order to accomplish their profession in quantity or volume beyond their individual needs.

The miller ground grain with water power (energy provided by falling water), the quantity and quality of the grain that the farmer grew was because of the energy provided by the cattle or horses that pulled the plow. The blacksmith kept the horses and cattle safe by using “fire” (energy provided by wood and eventually coal) to make and fit the shoes that allowed the cattle and horses to work harder. EVERYONE was using ENERGY in larger and larger quantities. Armies and the maintenance of armies required enormous amounts of ENERGY in their mission of providing protection or shelter from danger. There were huge energy consuming tasks involved in the providing of food and other supplies. Battles were lost when the supplies ran out or the ability to get them there failed. HUGE expenditures of energy are required to maintain an army! AGAIN Hundreds of years passed with the balance of Mother Nature a little out of balance as caused by Man’s reckless consumption of ENERGY, because every once in a while Mother Nature would deliver a blow that would tip the scale back a ways. A local famine, or a local flood or a local hurricane, or some other relatively isolated occurrence would occur. BUT still the surviving humans would bounce back, pick-up the pieces and start building their energy empire again.

THEN in the 1800’s man figured out that he could REALLY do more, faster and with less human or animal power by harnessing the ENERGY in COAL (wood was GOOD but Coal was BETTER!). Coal was used to heat bigger shelters, the bigger shelters to build stuff inside, build bigger transportation machines (locomotive trains) to move the stuff around to the people who would “BUY IT”. We see the old methods of local bartering replaced by a more universal value called “Money”. “Money” is easy to carry and became an accepted communication for the value of ENERGY in trade. BECAUSE you see MONEY is really just a reflection of the ENERGY in WHAT EVER IT IS THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT.

Think about it!!!

The energy to grow something,

the energy to harvest something,

the energy to mine something,

the energy to manufacture something from what was grown or mined,

the energy to heat the shelter that is used in protecting the manufacturing process,

the energy consumed to build that shelter that protects the manufactuing process,

the energy used to move the stuff around inside that shelter,

the energy to move the manufactured goods to market,

the energy to market the stuff.

the energy to actually use the stuff

the energy to dispose of the stuff when it is no longer wanted

ENERGY! ENERGY! ENERGY! And MORE ENERGY is required as the perceived need or desire for a more complicated LIFE is pursued. That is the situation as early as the 1800’s and early 1900’s when COAL is the best source of ENERGY.

THEN along comes the discovery of OIL !!!!

Petroleum products as a greater source of ENERGY!!!!

Mankind discovers that by using this black gooey stuff to make all sorts of energy sources (like kerosene, gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil) that could power all sorts of machinery to produce other machinery and provide services, and make electricity that would power an even greater array of machinery, equipment ………there appeared to be no end to the level that the human species could drive the specialization and individualization of goods and services. This all happened in a VERY VERY SHORT period of time, (about 100 years) and it really went wild in the last 40 or 50 years.

Crude Oil and the Petroleum products produced from crude oil are significant because they are Extremely Energy Concentrated and Easily TRANSPORTABLE. They can be moved in large quantities from very remote areas of their source to the populated areas where they areconsumed. Petroleum products are the most common and highest concentration of energy for its volume.

We have a world wide trade system that allows food grown (consuming energy) in S. America to be in Europe or Canada or the USA (flying consumes energy) within hours of the time that it is picked. Goods manufactured in Asia (consuming energy) are transported (consuming energy) and sold (consuming energy) in some other countries rather than be produced locally ( local production being less energy consuming). NOW THERE is a whole lot of reasons and causes and supposed benefits to the world wide trade system BUT IT IS A system that is built on the use and consumption of UNBELIEVABLY LARGE quantities of ENERGY in the form of petroleum products! PETROLEUM is a finite resource and eventually will run out (or get into very short supply or become prohibitively expensive); and when it does …… the world wide system will no longer be able to function as we currently know it. The current world wide system which is built on and run by petroleum energy, can not continue and will not continue when the demand for petroleum energy is greater than the available supply. That point is known as “Peak Oil” and may well be happening right now. There is widely accepted documentation that “Peak Oil” happened in 2005. If “Peak Oil” is still in the future, then it is not long into the future, SO the time to act is NOW so that a gradual change can take place.

The “Peak Oil” discussions are not about reserves (it is not really about running out either) BUT IT IS about FLOW RATES ---supply availability (about the difference between supply and demand) . As DEMAND continues to rise (as it is apparently doing on a daily basis) and the SUPPLY (flow!) reaches a plateau or starts to decline as the oil fields mature and reach or approach “Peak” (half gone), then there is no longer enough to “Go around” or meet demand. SHORTAGES start, PRICES go up, and some things don’t get done that used to be routine.

Because of petroleum’s high energy value per volume, and its ease of transportation from source to point of consumption, there is NO KNOWN source of energy that can replace petroleum as an energy source, that is powerful enough , concentrated enough or transportable enough to be a viable alternative energy source.

SO WHAT do we do? What should we do? What Can WE DO? The answers to those questions are what the volunteers of the Island Rover Foundation deal with daily and what the Island Rover Foundation wants to educate every man, woman and child about. There are things that we can do and should do.

We must conserve what oil there is left ---make it last… stretch the “end of oil” as far into the future as we can by conserving. Use less and don’t waste what we have. By consuming the petroleum products more slowly, Carbon Dioxide will be produced more slowly allowing the earth to attempt to slow down climate change and global warming.

We must develop new sources of RENEWABLE ENERGY to replace the dependency on oil. BUT REMEMBER that we can’t produce enough renewable energy to have the same amount of energy provided by petroleum and thus continue to have “LIFE” as we have had it in the immediate past. IT CAN”T BE DONE!!!! What CAN BE DONE is change the way we look at life and what is important in life and return to the basics of life and redefine what enjoying life really IS!!!!

IS “LIFE” just about Food, Water, Shelter and the reproduction of the species?????? It can be and should be more than that BUT …….Enjoying life is NOT about having loads of STUFF that is suppose to make you happy. Enjoying life is NOT about the consumption of ENERGY in ski-mobiles, jet-skis, motorboats, racing cars, flying half way around the world on vacation. Those activities do not really constitute happiness.

Enjoying life (it has been proven in many NON-AMERICAN CULTURES! ) means having meaningful relationships with family, friends, neighbors and the natural surrounds. We have to STOP consuming ENERGY in wasteful manners in our pursuit of entertainment and perceived happiness. It is WAY TOO IMPORTANT to conserve that energy for the production of NECESSITIES for future generations.

Key Points:

· In the last one hundred years Mankind has consumed about 50% of all the fossil fuel that the Earth produced over millions of years.

· The burning of that fossil fuel has released enormous quantities of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) which had been stored during plant growth and had rendered the Earth’s climates as we know them today.

· It has been calculated that about 2.5 billion people is the long term sustainable population size for the Earth, yet the current Earth’s population stands at 6.5 billion and is rapidly growing.

· Science demonstrates that all species in the presence of surplus and excess can demonstrate population bell shaped curves. It doesn’t matter whether one is talking about yeast, deer or humans (Ref: Easter Island & Al Gores graph)

· Petroleum production follows a curve (similar to a population curve) and is refered to as “Peak Oil” or Hubbert’s Peak as first described by ????? Hubbert.

What Does This All Mean?

In short it means that the Human Species has burned half the fossil fuels ever produced on the Earth and in so burning them has polluted the Atmosphere with large quantities of CO2 that is now causing global climate changes and by consuming those fuels in excess has successfully populated the Earth to a level that is nearly two and a half times that with is sustainable on a long term basis,

The population is way larger than is sustainable by the Earth on a long term basis. Only the consumption of fossil fuel energy is supporting the continued growth of population size and the maintenance of 6.5 billion people. 2.5 billion people is the EARTH’s sustainable population size.

We are growing that population and maintaining that population size by “burning or spending the Earth’s Energy Capital. The financial world understands that “spending ones capital” is a finite process that leads to major consequences.

As we consume the Earth’s Energy Capital, we are creating another situation, which is and will have an increasing impact on the environment in which we try to maintain the oversized population. That situation is the release of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) gas into the atmosphere in substantial quantities, which in turn is responsible for changes in the global climate. The global climates are being altered in ways which are not and will not be favorable to many aspects of the habitats in which the human species and all other species of the earth are currently living.

It is a well known and documented scientific fact that any given species will, in the presence of adequate or excess resources and favorable living conditions, populate it’s immediate environment until such time as the resources become a limiting factor to continued growth and / or maintenance of population size OR until the consequences of that population size on the immediate environment have a negative impact on the continued growth and / or maintenance of that population. The graphic representation of such population dynamics is typically a bell shaped curve. It does not make any difference whether one is describing: 1. a vat of yeast feeding on the sugar of the grapes and producing ethanol as a by-product, (REFERENCE) or 2, deer on a lushly vegetated island in Canada’s St. Lawrence Sea Way where there was inadequate predators,(URL REFERENCE) OR 3. the situation on Easter Island where humans transformed a lush tropical paradise into a virtual waste land. (Jared Diamond Reference).

That SAME bell shaped curve typically represents the activity of many other activities not the least of which is the harvesting or consumption of a resource. The production expected from an oil field ( the volume of petroleum obtained from that source) typically exhibits such a bell shaped curve. The amplitude of the graph dynamics may vary but the curve is typically still bell shaped. The top of that graph (the top of the curve) was described in 19?? by a geologist named ????? Hubbert and is now commonly known as Hubbert’s Peak That point of maximum production from an oil field is referred to as “Peak Oil” and is the point after which the volume of petroleum obtainable from that resource forever will decline until it is no longer economically feasible to continue.

According to knowledgeable petroleum geologists of the world, the major oil fields of the world achieved “Peak Oil” in 2005. Notable mega-petroleum deposits have been declining in recorded production at alarming rates. Saudia Arabia (8% decline), Mexico’s ????? field is stated by ????President in major decline and Mexico may be come an Importer of petroleum BUT FROM WHERE????, The United Kingdom’s NorthSea Oil deposit has been in reported decline since 200????? And the list goes on and on.

As one ponders the decline of world wide oil field production (the down side of that bell shaped curve) and then recognizes the fact that the world demand for petroleum products is still in a major growth phase (the going up side of that bell shaped curve), the only conclusion is that the situation is NOT SUSTAINABLE and will lead to catastrophic consequences, if it is allowed to continue.

While the growing delta between the actual harvesting of petroleum (supply) and the consumer marketplace (demand) presents potentially catastrophic consequences, the very real unavoidable results of “burning” those petroleum products, the generation of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) , presents a second and equally troubling (maybe even more troubling!) threat to the environments in which all species exist. That threat is the changing of global climates through atmospheric alterations caused by the build-up of the heat trapping CO2 gas, i.e. global climate change / global warming. There are numerous examples and evidence for this scientifically accepted phenomenon, (so it will not be discussed here!). BUT the point to be made here is that the burning of the “first half” of the Earth’s fossil petroleum capital has stressed the ability of the Earth’s systems to absorb CO2 to the maximum. Systems are stressed to the point that some systems are failing to absorb additional quantities of CO2 but are in fact shedding CO2. Due to high levels of CO2 absorption, the Oceans are becoming acid and beginning to cause growth problems for calcium shelled species.

THUS IF the Earth’s systems are unfavorably reacting to CO2 levels generated by the burning of only the first half of the available Earth’s petroleum…..THEN WHAT WILL likely be the consequences of the consumption / burning of the remaining half of the crude oil and the greatly elevated levels of CO2 thus produced?

HOW MUCH IS HALF THE OIL of the Earth?

A few paragraphs back (during the presentation to the Middle School Children) it was stated that:

“The “Peak Oil” discussions are not about reserves (it is not really about running out either) BUT IT IS about FLOW RATES ---supply availability (about the difference between supply and demand) . As DEMAND continues to rise (as it is apparently doing on a daily basis) and the SUPPLY (flow!) reached a plateau or starts to decline as the oil fields mature and reach or approach “Peak” (half gone), then there is no longer enough to “Go around” or meet demand. SHORTAGES start, PRICES go up, some things don’t get done that use to be routine”

It was also Stated that:

“Oil or Petroleum is significant because it is Extremely Energy Concentrated and Easily TRANSPORTABLE. It can be moved in large quantities from very remote areas of it source to the populated areas where it is consumed. It is also the most common and highest concentration of energy for its volume. “Peak Oil” discussions speak about half the oil being used up already”.

The Children were asked:

· “SO HOW MUCH OIL IS ----‘half the oil’?”

· “What are the consequences of burning ‘half the oil’?”

Geologists tell us that as a world society we have used up half of all the oil that Mother Nature, the Earth, ever produced. We have accomplished that in about 100 years of the Industrial Revolution, which in turn has cause the High CO2 level of 380 ppm, which is the root cause of global climate changes.

- How much oil is “Half” --- Usually spoken of as a Trillion Barrels

- I can’t visualize a trillion of anything, nor a billion of anything, not even a Million of anything.

- A tractor trailer truck holds 8000 gallons of gasoline – enough to drive one average car for its entire life.

- 125 trailer trucks carry1,000,000 (one million) gallons and makes a line 2 miles long

- Thus it would take 125,000,000 (one hundred and twenty five million) trailer trucks carry one trillion gallons of gasoline and would make a line 2,000,000 miles long. That is two million miles long.

- It is 25,000 miles around the earth so that means that line of trailer trucks would go 80 times around the earth.

- BUT WAIT --- I said one trillion gallons of gasoline in those trailer trucks. BUT gasoline and oil is industrially marketed and sold in barrels and there are 42 gallons per barrel SO it would be a line of trucks stretching 3360 times around the earth to equal one trillion barrels or half the oil of the earth.

Another way to visualize one trillion barrels (as calculated by John Howe) is to use Lake Erie as a model. The amount of oil consumed since the late 1800’s is equal to Lake Erie to a depth of 18 feet..

One trillion barrels is half of the oil consumed in a little over100 years. That is a BIG PROBLEM in just the consumption of the non-renewable resource. BUT IT HAS CAUSED what may be even a bigger problem.

Using half the worlds oil caused CO2 levels to increase from a historic high of 280 ppm (280 ppm is the high for the last 650,000 years, which is as far back as we can scientifically test) to the current level of 380 ppm. THAT IS 26% higher than it has been in over the last 650,000 years that we can test for.

THIS VERY HIGH CO2 level is Causing Global Climate Change

WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN AS A RESULT OF burning the second half of the oil on earth ???

It is a “Given” that Energy is absolutely necessary to Sustain Life. It doesn’t matter whether talking about a worm, a fish, a deer, primates, or MAN! BUT MAN, as he is currently inhabiting many regions of the earth, demands huge disproportionate quantities of energy to Sustain his current life-style. AND the ramifications and consequences of that life-style of energy gluttony, are that the livable environment for ALL SPECIES is being compromised and endangered through global climate change, as a result of CO2 released when extracting ENERGY from fossil fuels during combustion.

Generation of CO2 ---- Green house gas ---- global warming climate change.

60 Minutes segment --- Antarctic ice --- glacier receeding 9 miles in ?30? Years. 1000 ft. from where it was three years before. 92 ft. less high than three years before. Covered with volcanic ash and dust which increases melt.

The Maine Glacierologist points out that CO2 increased as the Industrial Revolution increased.

Al Gore’s mentor graphed that trend.

PBS Video ---

Dave Moyer --- TV program

Numerous magazine articles

What SHOULD WE DO!

There are many who are telling us what we should be doing to preserve the future of civilization as we know it today. What we should do to provide adequate energy for the future generations.

Conserve fossil energy sources – petroleum and coal

John Howe’s plan

Richard Heinberg’s plan

Increase Renewable energy sources – wind, solar, tidal, geo-thermal and oceanic current

Island Rover Foundation Renewable Energy Educational Mission

Al Gore’s plans????

Government needs to take the lead on our behalf EXCEPT that governments by their nature ONLY respond to the will of the people in charge. (responsible?)

What we NEED TO DO !!!

There are no long term options BUT to visualize, accept and adopt to Alternative life-styles –Need to change our paradigms!

Bring the population size and growth under control and achieve the sustainable level of 2.5 billion. (2.3 billion in 1945 / 6.5 billion today)

What WE CAN DO!!!

Individually reduce our foot prints

90% energy reduction program

100 mile –“eat local” program

Publications by:

Sharon Astyk – 100

100

90% program

Island Rover Foundation Bulletin #1

AT&T Bulletin

Natural Resources Council of Maine

National Academy of Sciences

An intellectual conclusion is that the Human population size has exceeded the capacity of the Earth to support it.

Like the deer on the Canadian Island population

Like the Human population on Easter Island

Like the yeast population in a batch of wine

Like any population of any species who/which exceeds the ability of its necessary resources to support it

Excess world population

USA –excess oil consumption

Excess debt

Excess Food Consumption

Excess shelter size demands = excess debt

Excess in non-essentials = excess debt

Few learned writers and/or research scientists any longer argue that Peak oil is about to happen or is already starting to happen and few scientists any longer argue that Man (the human species) is not having an impact on global climate change. There is some valid discussion as to how much of an impact and how soon and how severe

SSSSOOOO the task for us ---those that are living the life-style that is causing the situation of global climate change and whose consumption of petroleum products (ENERGY) is accelerating the effects……. The question is WHAT CAN WE DO TO CHANGE the end result or the end impact of these known situations. HOW DO WE cause less of an impact. How do we stop using SO MUCH ENERGY? Wean ourselves from energy dependence.

WE STOP WASTING ENERGY

Do:

Stop using high energy consuming forms of recreation

WE implement conservation programs

Do:

Travel LESS!!! All forms of travel.

We make things that are more efficient in the use of Energy

Do:

Manufacture / sell / use more efficient cars and trucks

We use things more efficiently –don’t waste them or the energy that they use.

DON”T :

Leave a car or truck idling

Leave lights running

We use things in such a way that we consume less energy.

We don’t throw things away which STILL HAVE A usefulness.

100 Mile life-style

Purchase nothing for a year

The PBS Elephant program demonstrates HOW MUCH food and water and the resources around us control and mandate our life-style. Available Food and Water ---Energy !!!!! dictates the life-style.

The plains elephants – lots of food and water and resources – play and social and have fun. Larger populations than elephants from the other two environments.

The desert elephants struggle on a daily basis for just food and water. Stressed populations. Starving baby elephant.

The jungle elephants are smaller and less visible and crave certain minerals like salt.

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