China forces 2000 plants closed to save energy

This is a pretty bold move.  The Chinese government is forcing over 2000 industrial plants to close in order to conserve energy.  The plants chosen were the worst-performing, lowest-tech producing lower grade steel.

The NY Times reports that China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has published a list of 2,087 steel mills, cement works and other energy-intensive factories required to close by  September 30 after discussions with provincial and municipal officials to identify industrial operations with outdated, inefficient technology. The goal of the factory closings is 'to enhance the structure of production, heighten the standard of technical capability and international competitiveness and realize a transformation of industry from being big to being strong,' the ministry says.

And it's a matter of national security:

As China has become increasingly dependent on imported oil and coal, its national security establishment has become more visibly involved in energy policy and energy security, including efforts to improve energy efficiency.

 China has made strides in reducing pollution from industry, but this will be overshadowed by increases in pollution from personal vehicles as their population grows and becomes more affluent.

Power of Community

Finally saw this film on how Cuba survived their version of Peak Oil. It's an inspiring recounting of what Cubans did when the Soviet Union collapsed along with 90 per cent of their incoming oil supply.

See: The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil

The government allowed the development of every spare bit of land, regardless of who owns it. In a few short years Cubans changed their diet, modes of transportation (bikes, buses), commerce (localized), and became independent and resilient. This is a model the rest of the world must use as more countries are hit by energy shortages.

The video was produced by Pat Murphy, Megan Quinn Bachman and others at Community Solution, a wonderful organization that promotes sustainable solutions in the face of Peak Oil. Check their site for excellent resources and presentations. In 2008 I attended a conference organized by CommunitySolution, in Ann Arbor Michigan. It was an excellent conference, with over 350 attendees. It was my first exposure to the German Passivhaus building standard which in my opinion is far superior to LEED. See the Canadian Passive House site for more info.

In order to survive Peak Oil, North Americans need to find low energy solutions to transportation, housing and food production as well a localized economy. Changes can't wait for Government policy, but are occurring right now in pockets called Transition Towns. Google it here. See Transition Ottawa for an example.

Ethic of Sufficiency

The key idea here is sufficiency, defined by Princen (2005) as a social organising principle that builds upon established notions such as restraint and moderation to provide rules for guiding collective behaviour. The primary objective is to respect ecological constraints, although most authors also emphasise the social and psychological benefits to be obtained from consuming less.

...‘downshifting’ can both lower environmental impacts and improve quality of life, notably by reducing stress and allowing more leisure time.

Part of a paper examining the link between energy consumption and economic growth. Point 3 at www.theoildrum.com/node/6386

Searching for a Miracle

Richard Heinberg, post Carbon Institute writes:

As we will see, the fundamental disturbing conclusion of the report is that there is little likelihood that either conventional fossil fuels or alternative energy sources can reliably be counted on to provide the amount and quality of energy that will be needed to sustain economic growth—or even current levels of economic activity—during the remainder of the current century.

This preliminary conclusion in turn suggests that a sensible transition energy plan will have to emphasize energy conservation above all. It also raises questions about the sustainability of growth per se, both in terms of human population numbers and economic activity.

Complete report is available here.