Peak Oil -- And What Do We Do Now?

Last Year I was invited to a small talk and discussion in Big Sur, with James Lovelock, Originator of the Gaia Hypothesis. The Earth Island Institute folks were there, along with about 30 other activists, organizers and philanthropists,, We gathered to see his presentation. At the end many of us stood up to ask Dr. Lovelock about his stance on some of the issues he suggests in his latest book, Gaia's Revenge ( see review http://webdiary.com.au/cms/?q=node/1416 ) especially on the points of Nuclear Power and GE foods.

His response was a humbled one, he basically stated that he didn't have the answers and these were suggestions, and at this point we have to use every angle possible to come up with solutions, if we are to continue as a species, for we are headed for collapse. At this point in the game it is about mitigation, a triage situation, seeing who is going to make it, who we can help, and who is going to die.

His powerpoint presentation made Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth and the 11th Hour look like a walk in the park, In his small english accent he demonstrated his prediction of Climate Chaos, the heating and cooling and where their will be areas of Refuge, for species of plants, animals and people.

The Genie is out of the bottle in so many areas,
Lovelock's was a sobering talk on where that all stands, he ended his talk with an answer from a person about the concept of Gaia;s revenge and the attribute's of our amazing planet; He stated that 'We as people give the planet attributes that are somewhat humanistic, Gaia is a living, Intelligent, and self-regulating community of being, however the planet is not a he or she, and does not think, it simple is and is the true essence of being' * not a direct quote but rather summarized and of the essence

As of late the solution I have been focusing on is CO2 sequestration into the soil, by the means of Keyline Design,, Check out the WE group http://www.wiserearth.org/group/keyline

I am optimistic about CO2 sequestration into the soil, yet not just by Keylining, as the CO2 is not necessarily 'locked' up in the soil for any major length of time. This is why the Kyoto protocol does not endorse CO2 sequestering by soils enhancement alone (although it should using the keyline method, check http://www.carbonfarmersofamerica.com/ )

What is very exciting is The keyline concept in use with Bio-Char ( http://www.biochar.org/joomla/ )

This Bio-Char technology locks up Carbon for hundreds of years (700-1000 yrs) and adds to soil fertility, Combined with the seeder/fertilizer boot of the Yeoman's plow, the pelletized Bio-char can be set down into the soil via the Key-line plow. We are hoping to Demonstrate this in the Keyline workshop here in Big Sur in December.
We hope to have a plow here in December and do some amazing implementation here in Big Sur, your last chance this time around with Darren Doherty on his US/World Tour 2007/08.

I know you all have some other great solutions, or comments about this.

Dana, Visit the Keyline group here on Wiser earth as it has much info and images.
http://www.wiserearth.org/group/keyline
I also sent you some via email
benjammin

The Keyline Plow does and amazing job of increasing the Carbon Cycling in soil by non-inversion tillage that opens up the soil by not turning, allowing roots and water to go deeper, faster and in short build organic matter which increases the Carbon Levels in soil, lots more science could be posted here, yet will save that for a wiki...
The Business intrest of Carbon Farmers of America is simple; In order to do the soil building that actually farms carbon, requires a high level of management, A farmer who is out in the field. Now the farmer is growing soil, which they can not "sell" like most crops, yet they can sell the carbon credits to those that will need to offset our footprint. By doing this Farmers can actually earn money by taking care of the soil and provide one great solution to Climate chaos we find ourselves in. This is ahuge difference from the mond set 80 yrs ago when the US goverment reguarded soil as just a substrate to grow things in, this is the ignorance that got us into this mess. My point being, farming is hard work and you have to make some money to keep it all going, the CFA are providing a insightful and inspiring model.
Yes the Yeomans plow can be pulled by Horse, a modified bar with a shallower shank, 1 shank can be pulled by two horses, two shanks by 5 horses and not sure if anyone has done more than that as that skill, of horsemanship, is somewhat of a lost art.