Peak Moment Television

Builder and author Shay Salomon finds that the happiest home builders are often the ones with the smallest houses. They're less costly to build and maintain, more likely to be finished, use fewer resources and help people simplify their lives. One version of "smaller" is to share a house, which can ease our loneliness while building our social network. Co-founder of the Small House Society, Shay notes that scaling down can enable a ratcheting up of our whole lifestyle, as we revalue quality over quantity. Declaring "Enough", she says, is the most ecological thing one can do. Episode 119.

Richard Heinberg, author of “Peak Everything”, reviews the accelerating events since mid-2007, including the credit crunch and fossil fuel price volatility, noting that we’ve missed most of the best opportunities to manage collapse. He asks, “how far down the staircase of complexity will our global civilization have to go until we’re sustainable?” His answer: when managed properly, with deliberate simplification, not as far as we might otherwise. In addition to long term efforts to relocalize our economies, he advocates developing community “resilience” to withstand short-term catastrophic events like food shortages or extreme weather. Noting that healthy fear can move us into action, he encourages an attitude of clarity, concern and informed action in this “calm before the storm” that he feels is soon coming to an end. Episode 115. With transcript.

Are we in the perfect financial storm? Marc Cuniberti, a market analyst and host of "Money Matters" on our local community radio station KVMR, thinks so. Marc talks about the cause of inflation (rising prices are just a symptom) and how you can stop it with a candy bar! He discusses strategies to protect and even make money in a weakening economy -- like getting out of debt and investing in physical things you really need. In the stock market, he suggests dividend paying stocks, stressing the importance of using interest compounding in your favor: $100 saved today with an 8% return will grow to $200 in 9 years. Also read Janaia's blog about this conversation. Episode 118.

Ryan Nassichuk builds food gardens for people. His bicycle and trailer are the sole transport for himself, tools, and materials - including soil and plants! This horticulturist also builds container gardens and composters. Tour a backyard garden in which a 6-week class of students filled raised beds with soil, compost and fertilizer, did succession planting, and built a low-cost composter. Recently Ryan has added free seed-sharing to his wisdom-sharing, while continuing to propagate food gardens throughout Vancouver. This man has a low ecological footprint -- or should we say bike tire tread? Episode 117.

"What's going to happen to our kids?" When Bruce Anderson read "The Limits to Growth" in the 1970s, he learned that nothing in nature grows forever -- including the human economy. As we rapidly use everything up, we're now reaching those limits and entering a crisis of adaptation. He raises the moral, ethical and emotional aspects of a challenge humans have never faced before. He feels we're up against limitations of thought, of the heart, almost at a mythic level. Episode 116.

Take a tour of a plug-in electric hybrid modification of a 1996 Mercury Sable, with UC Davis graduate students Patrick Kaufman and Bryan Jungers (interviewed in episode 113). Under the hood you'll see modifications and some interesting new components. Unlike commercial hybrids -- primarily combustion engines with an electric-motor assist -- theirs is primarily an electric vehicle with a small combustion engine to extend its range beyond the all-electric 60-70 miles. Batteries recharge in 6-8 hours with electricity costing about 75 cents per gallon of gas equivalent (2006 prices). Don't miss Janaia's first-time drive of an electric vehicle. Episode 114.

Students at UC Davis Hybrid Vehicle Research Center have been creating plug-in hybrids for national competitions for some time. "Team Fate" members Bryan Jungers and Patrick Kaufman describe how they "gut" the drive train of a standard vehicle, replacing it with an electric motor, a bank of batteries, continuously variable transmission, and some clever electronics. The resulting vehicle runs on electricity, assisted by a much smaller flex-fuel internal combustion engine only when needed. Bryan and Patrick also enlighten us on topics ranging from battery technology to hydrogen fuel cells. Episode 113.

According to Professor Guy Prouty, every civilization rises, evolves, and then collapses to a simpler structure -- and this will include our own. Comparing America with the Western Roman Empire, Prouty notes the over-reach of our military, the unsustainability of capitalism, peak oil, and climate change. And, this time, we may see a global collapse. Transitioning to a simpler society will require us to change behavior and consciousness: decrease energy, get out of debt, decentralize, de-consume, grow our own food, build community, see ourselves as connected to the planet. Collapse is not the end, he says. It's part of a natural cycle. Episode 112.

Amidst cob-wall plastering in the background, co-director Stacey Denton relays the story of the first years at White Oak Farm and Educational Center in Oregon: Acquiring the 62 acres of food and pasture and protecting it through conservation easements, creating their non-profit organization. See food baskets for their CSA (community supported agriculture) program, visit their abundant permaculture-based farm; attend a workshop in natural building; and delight with kids in an educational program "down on the farm." Episode 111.

As a mom of two teenagers, Deborah Lindsay is deeply concerned about their future. As a peak oil educator, she paints a vivid picture of a post-petroleum world, with an emphasis on preparedness. With teens she talks about career choices and practical life skills. With parents, she focuses on safety, economic and energy contraction, and steps to begin now. In 2006 she began the daily talk radio show "Tomorrow Matters - Giving a Voice to a Better Tomorrow" to amplify her message. Episode 110.