A Hike Down the Escarpment - Night 20

We spent the morning building a fire break near John and Jane’s home. Wide enough for a truck to come down, in the case of a fire it will serve two purposes; 1) allowing vehicular access to the forest, and 2) eliminating the fuel, thus hopefully stopping the fire. Jane had us inside for morning tea. Their home is a combination stone structure, with a rammed earth add-on. Doors and many windows stay open all day this time of year. The passive heating and cooling in the place keeps the temperature very mild while using no fuel at all. They do have a stove for heating in the chilly winter nights. As we finished up at noon, a large, calm iguana greeted us back at the troupee. Harmless to humans, he seemed as if he actually enjoyed having his photo taken.

Having completed the fire break, once

Climbing Aussie Style

again the afternoon was ours to use as we pleased. Jana, Matt and I hiked back to the house and down over the steep granite escarpment into the valley in search of some rocks to climb. The valley below is full of large boulders that can be safely climbed without any gear other than some good shoes and flexible pants. We spent the better part of two hours exploring and climbing before marching back to camp. I think I could really get into the sport of climbing, as it affords constant feeling of accomplishment and conquest regardless of the size or difficulty of the climb, not to mention the great exercise it is.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon and much of the evening reading a book –Party’s Over by Richard Heinberg -- that I borrowed from Jane. Although the peak oil and its inevitability was nothing new to me, the book does a great job of explaining the history of energy and the human species, as well as how the oil companies evolved to the point of controlling the country’s geo-political policies. Written prior to the Iraq War, the author predicts almost perfectly what Bush was going to do and explains why. Though my cynicism no longer allows me to be surprised by anything done in the name of politics, it was still, nonetheless, a bit disturbing. Heinberg concludes the book by explaining why we are in such trouble and what, if anything, can be done to help ease the pain of the end of cheap oil. An easy read in the sense of understanding and comprehension, but a difficult read because chances are he is right and we will all experience these momentous changes during our lifetimes and we(most of civilized society) simply are not ready for it; hence the party is nearly over.

What I Learned Today: A quote from Heinberg (about society’s reaction to the Peak Oil): “ Human beings thrive on hope. Without some sense that our individual deliberate effort brings us closer to a fulfillment of our personal goals, we simply cannot function from one day to the next. And yet, hope often betrays us, as it blinds us to clear and evident danger and leads us to courses of action and inaction that will eventually result in the loss of our property, our livelihood, our liberty, and even our very lives.

If optimists see the glass as half full and believe that things are good and getting better, they may conclude that there is little need to be concerned about the future and hence fail to take action. On the other hand, when pessimists see the glass as half empty and believe the world is going downhill and getting worse every day, they may conclude that there is nothing that can be done and also fail to take action. It is the realists who, seeing that society faces dire and increasing threat, recognize that there is much that can be done to mitigate the worst of the likely impacts and take informed action to make the best of the situation.”

I have been raised a stout realist in most respects of life. In matters of society and macro-level decisions making ability my education, job and experiences have led me down the path of a cynic firmly in the direction of absolute pessimism. Conversely, in the personal realm, I am adamantly committed to maintaining a positive outlook based primarily on reason and realistic personal observations of the world around me.

In this day when the mass media and religious and political demagogues spin a strange one-two punch of fear-based pessimism quickly countered with Panglossian optimism it is no surprise that reason and facts find no place in the decision making matrix. What we need is healthy dose of realism, a great big glass of objective thinking. It is true that realism doesn’t have the constant, gleeful child-like euphoria of optimism, nor the communal, misery-loves-company angst of the pessimist way of life, however, it just might offer the truth and the ability to think for yourself, to exercise your mind, to be the cerebral individual that we all want to believe we are.

written by

exumenius on October 30, 2007 from Stanthorpe, Australia

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

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