We watched the DVD "How Cuba survived peak oil - the power of community, our thoughts/response (no particular order).
- there was a change in culture
- the government relaxed some regulations, but enforced others.
- local organisation was preferred over national and seemed to work better - fitting in with need to reduce transport costs.
- big emphasis on keeping things local, so food production, housing, education and work all brought together. eg. lots of small Universities rather than a few big ones.
- old ideas came back (small farms, oxen etc.) but also new technology was used.
- quality of life was, arguably, better? people had less consumer goods but had more exercise and better diet, also were more involved with their neighbourhood. People shared more.
- could what Cuba did scale to UK or London? we had our doubts.
Thinking about UK and
alternatives to oil
dependency etc.
- thermal heating
- hydrogen cars
- nuclear power using latest generation of small efficient power stations, also makes power more local which is more efficient.
- wind
- tide
How should we respond internationally?
- we need to share benefits of technology
- we need to question our consumption
- and we need to question our values - ie. that we find happiness through having / consuming things.
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