Running counter to the more-is-better mythology of a continuous growth economy is the actual real-world evidence around us: most of the systemic economic, social and environmental problems of our time are in fact to do with surpluses, inefficiencies and hoarding – not scarcity.

Cities are congested, polluted and dangerous because energy has been cheap and widely misused. Giant tentacles of private cars crawl in and out every day wasting both energy and space that could otherwise be put to better use as urban farms, community energy resources or simply as recreational parks for kids to play in.

Public transport moves far more people on far less fuel. Human-powered transport does the same whilst also saving the NHS billions (from treating the obese) and contributing to friendlier neighborhoods by encouraging lifestyles in which we do more locally.

Outside of cities, rural communities are in spiraling decline – houses are empty and shops are shutting. Out in the fields, lonely farmers spend days crisscrossing fields, spraying fossil-fuel-based herbicide and fertilizer onto barren land, much of which will leach into river and sea creating eutrophic dead zones.

Using less energy is presented as the end of civilization, but think it through: rural life was far more appealing before fossil-energy-intensive agribusiness took over temporarily replacing the need for people, biodiversity and the skillful application of farm craft.

If we were to implement a phased energy reduction in agriculture we would achieve a stunning array of economic, social and environmental goals. By using less fossil fuel (directly in tractors and indirectly via petrochemical inputs), we could reverse a decade-long trend and start to increase the labor intensity of working the land. This translates into more jobs and resurgent rural economies.

Farms could once again be vibrant places, surrounded by busy communities, in which skilled laborers work the land and spend their money in local markets, pubs and post-offices.

If we divert the fuel we currently burn in the vast container vessels that ferry products manufactured in Asia by workers pushed to the limits of human tolerance we might even find (dare yourself to go there) craftspeople making things once again in the English countryside.

At the moment we flush nearly all the nutrients from our crap out to sea, a ludicrous and gratuitous waste. There are new (and ancient) technologies that allow us to give this back to the crops either via composting or, as in the case of Loowatt – also whilst creating energy.

Next up are homes. Why would we risk our fresh water supply – and even geological stability – by powering them with fracking before we have made the existing housing stock as energy efficient as possible? If there is a leak in your bathtub the solution isn’t to turn another tap on – you fix the leak!

Winter will soon be with us and as people turn their heating on boilers will draw on pipes that stretch back to North Sea gas fields and the Russian ones too. A large proportion of the heat released from burning this gas will pass immediately out of the windows, lofts and walls. We don’t need to dig up more gas and pump it faster when we can simply use much less gas.

Living in highly efficient homes is pleasant. Companies like Parity Projects show how making the existing housing stock perform better offers huge potential for creating jobs and driving local economies. Whilst this newly trained workforce is adding insulation and lagging, they can check for south facing roofs and install solar panels and ground source heat pumps. Many homes can start generating their own energy too.

This government’s support for fracking is a clear signal of the kind of world they want us to live in; a world in which we remain bound by increasing monthly bills to the energy mega corps that sponsor politicians.

We escape the servitude of the circle-jerk by shifting to self-reliance. Getting there requires not be scared by bogie stories about the lights going off. There are a million ways to keep them on.

I would rather live happily and healthily using less energy, than be bullied into accepting a world in which nature is increasingly violated so that the majority of humans can live stupid, wasteful lives that continue to line the pockets of the fossil energy elite. People like Bush, Putin, Blair and Osborne.

The post Switching on low energy lifestyles isn’t scary appeared first on EcoHustler.

Riders in London (credit: Matt Mellen)

For twenty years, in an increasing number of cities around the world, cyclists have united on the last Friday of the month to take over the streets. Known as Critical Mass, these mobile, social and celebratory events involve a sufficient number of bicycles to dominate road space; a safety in numbers approach comparable to giant shoals of fish or flocks of birds.

Refueling (credit: Matt Mellen)

The self-organizing nature of such phenomena, where group behaviour emerges spontaneously through the interaction of individuals, is part of the thrill for riders. They move from being solo and vulnerable to becoming part of a surging, whooping herd.

Emily Woodhouse at the South Bank (credit: Matt Mellen)

“The whole ethos of the ride is that it is spontaneous, organic, and non-hierarchical,” says Emily Woodhouse, an environmental anthropologist at Imperial College and a regular on the London events. She sees cycling as a positive force for good in the world. “Critical Mass is a direct action expressing how I want the world to be.”

For many participants, this global, cycling phenomenon is an important and highly symbolic gesture in support of a switch to human-powered mass mobility, which they believe could contribute to making cities healthier, happier and freer flowing. For others, it has simply been about the fun of the ride.

The first Critical Mass took place in San Francisco in 1992 and it has since spread to hundreds of cities around the world, with the London event sometimes attracting up to 2,000 cyclists. The highest attendance at a critical Mass event was in Budapest in April 2008, where an estimated 80,000 cyclists took part. All the rides have a local flavour but share the same sense of camaraderie, purpose and fun.

Karta Healy, founder of TheBicycleLibrary​.com and a veteran of many Critical Mass events in cities including Portland, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Paris, sees the urge to unite with others and show solidarity against the dominance of the car as a major motivation for riding. “It’s an empowering way to feel justified as a daily cyclist in your city,” he says.

Karta Healy in his London HQ

‘The Mass’ is diverse, composed of people of all shapes, sizes, colours and affluence, bound together by the shared love of self-propulsion and the desire to reclaim the streets and celebrate their freedom of movement. There are often mobile sound systems creating a party atmosphere and for many the ride will end in a favourite park or pub.

The meeting spot in London is in front of the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank at about 6:30pm. The air buzzes with excitement as friends reunite. Drinks are cracked open, bikes admired and tales of surviving on the city’s mean streets traded. Soon the crowd swells like water behind a dam and the air is filled with a crescendo of dinging bells.

Anticipation gives way to urgency and the cracks in the dam appear as the first riders head up the ramp to the Imax cinema roundabout and off into the heart of the city. The hive-mind has been engaged and without an agreed route or leader, the peloton surges forth to find its way to an unknown destination.

Once beyond the safety of the South Bank participants find themselves in a sometimes-hostile environment of hooting cars and bemused pedestrians. ‘Corkers’ physically block the traffic allowing the giant, mobile herd to roll across London on streets freed from the normal congestion of fossil fuel-powered machines. For some motorists this seizing and holding of space is an inconsiderate and illegitimate protest.

The Joy of Corking (Credit: Matt Mellen)

The response of the Metropolitan Police has varied. For many years the Met would provide a phalanx of police outriders on bicycles who would actually stop the traffic. However, tactics changed in 2006 and police no longer accompany the rides; a development the riders I spoke to suggest may have led to an increase in confrontations with drivers.

However, the police presence has also been controversial. Emily Woodhouse reports a bad experience, saying she was pushed over by a policeman, but she feels strongly that cyclists should avoid confrontations.

“Critical Mass is a more powerful force for social change as a completely positive, non-violent, carnival-type phenomenon,” she says. “That kind of atmosphere promotes cycling and dialogue between people.”

A difficulty for the police was the seeming lack of structure to the rides, with no single organisation behind the events, no spokespeople and no agreed route. But for many taking part, it is exactly this freewheeling, collaborative spirit that draws them in.

Many participants are increasingly encouraging the rides to become more explicitly positive, with a message based around the improved lifestyles that cycling could bring about for city-dwellers. Setting an example for the way forward, a new Leicester ride has been described as “a two-wheeled charm offensive,” with a different theme and dress code every month.

Approximately 2% of journeys in London are by bicycle. Copenhagen, in comparison, sees almost a third of all journeys in the city being taken by bicycle. It is also consistently rated as one of the world’s happiest places to live.

These two statistics will be seen as directly linked by many participants of Critical Mass. And after twenty years, as this global phenomenon continues to grow, the riders are more determined then ever to congregate in the name of fun, friendship and freedom, spontaneously collaborating to create streets without cars.

The author in a stylish hat (Credit: Tom Amos)

Critical Mass @ Buckingham Palace (Credit: Matt Mellen)

Bike Salute @ Buckingham Palace (Credit: Matt Mellen)

You might also like:

• Riders of Rohan Assemble! here
• Fresh Air Flash Mob Debrief here
• Flash mob 4 fresh air here
• The Solution to Pollution here
• Why bikes shouldn’t have to follow the rules of the road here
• A Critical Mass of dissent… on wheels here
• The Royal Wedding goes CRITICAL here
• Regulators…mount up! here

The post 20 Years of Critical Mass appeared first on EcoHustler.

Western countries are described as ‘auto-centric’ because the car has become the ubiquitous mode of travel. Today, there are approaching 1 billion cars worldwide. This is set to triple by 2050 as the developing world adopts the same model of transportation.

Readers are most likely familiar with the environmental impacts of making and using these millions of cars, climate change being the ultimate fall-out. However, the mass reliance of the car is also a causal factor in a wide range of other ills facing modern society, for example, the problems of urban sprawl, delocalization and the loss of community space.

Car use has spread out key elements of our lives beyond the human-scale. Rather than walking to the market people drive to the ‘supermarket’ with less human contact along the way. Many people also drive to work and school which has erodes community.

Car use has radically reshaped our neighborhoods and our lives. As long commutes become the norm, local shops and amenities disappear. With the corresponding increase in the size of shops, distance of travel and amounts of roadway, there is, increasing carbon intensity to the most fundamental elements of our lives and we become ‘locked-in’ to carbon intense, individualistic ways of living.

Today we know far fewer of the people we live near then ever before significantly reducing our well being. The car was supposed to usher in a new era of independence and personal freedom but in fact it has made us alienated and fat.

Undoubtably, moving to healthy, happy and sustainable lifestyles will require the modal shift from cars back to human powered transportation. This will improve people’s health, reduce pollution and help rejuvenate communities.

A major challenge to this shift is the forward momentum of ‘business as usual’. Governments have been subsidizing fossil fuels, roads and cars for generations. Today, many people lives have become totally dependent on the car. For these people there is now and intermediary step to a car-free life: car sharing!

Sharing cars reduces the impact of each journey; reduces the number of cars on the road; saves you money; may be more convenient than public transport and is an opportunity to connect with fellow human beings. Furthermore, it is a chance to embrace the idea of sharing resources a tradition we are going to need to remember as we relocalize, rebuild functional communities and radically reduce per capita consumption.

The car is dead! But before you bury it… share it!

New carpooling website launches

carpooling.co.uk is a new car sharing portal to match make you with the lifts you need. With 600,000 lifts on carpooling.com at any one time it means users are likely to find a compatible lift. And the best thing about it: it doesn’t cost a penny to use the carpool service!

The convenience of being able to travel to your destination with a guaranteed seat and departing at the time you wish is appealing, and carpooling.com can make it even more enticing. Drivers can register on our site free of charge and list a one off or regular lift. Carpooling.co.uk provides a cost calculator recommending the appropriate contribution to petrol and also helps users tailor their searches.

In 2011 they introduced a new booking feature which also means users can rate their passengers and drivers. This makes it easier for people to judge whether their potential driver will be compatible with them. It doesn’t ask if you do your makeup at the traffic light, pick your nose in the car or sit in the passenger seat with your shoes off but it does cover important things such as punctuality, keeping to the agreement and level of comfort.

There are security features which have been implemented to the car sharing portal so users can search for lifts where a user’s identity has been verified by us or if females feel more comfortable with female only drivers they can edit their search accordingly. We find users also sometimes add in their wishes such as ‘I like to drive at a fuel efficient 60mph helping users select their appropriate travel buddy easily. If the idea of small talk with a fellow carpooling.co.uk user fills you with dread it is worth bearing in mind that the portal has forged many friendships of like minded people since 2001 and they have also brought together 10 couples who ended up getting married!

Perhaps the potential saving of up to 75% of the driving costs and the option to select your passengers or drivers from the 3.3 million registered users could make you reassess your willingness to extend the privacy of your car into a public space for the length of your journey? If you really feel the need you can always add to the comments box that you would rather your passengers keep their feet firmly in their shoes and their singing to a minimum!

For more information contact: Abi Moore: amoore@carpooling.com +44 (0) 203 2393022 Skype: carpooling.co.uk

The post Kill the Car! (But share it first) appeared first on EcoHustler.

Yesterday evening a group of us met up with Climate Rush in a London square. After a couple of brief rousing speeches we cycled to one of London’s busiest and most polluted junctions and reclaimed it from the cars. Lying on the floor with the pressure of four lanes of motorized traffic baring down, irate drivers pumping their horns and police taking our photos and removing our bikes it did occur to me that we might be mad. Then I realized that either we’re mad, or everyone else is. Here’s why I think the band of rebels lying on the floor are the sane ones.

The car is a magnificent invention; give it an open road and it can get you from A to B quickly, easily and in style. However, the car spectacularly fails in its stated aim of increased mobility, when it is one of many thousands, in an enclosed urban setting. We all know, too well, what cars in cities do, because we have no way of avoiding them. They sit in long, noisy queues belching out toxins. Today traffic in London moves no faster than in the age of the horse and cart. The only difference is that then we got manure whereas today we get climate change, increased rates of asthma and illness and 4000 untimely deaths.

The harm caused by this deranged use of city space goes far beyond pollution. It is a massive missed opportunity reducing the well being of all city dwellers. The cars which are switched on, engines running, pollution smoking out the back with their negligible human cargo are actually dwarfed in number by the cars that are not polluting or carrying human cargo but are just sitting in between buildings. Cars in London are used on average for 4 hours a week. For the rest of the time they just take up space. Cars in use and cars parked, together take up the vast majority of London’s road space despite only being used in 41% of Journeys .

Is it really sane to fill our densely populated urban space with vast numbers of largely empty machines which contribute nothing to the well being of the metropolitan population? Once we have ring fenced key arteries into the city, along which essential freight can come in, why don’t we re-imagine what we do with the other roads? Most people in London cannot afford to run a car but all of us must suffer their negative consequences. Could we not, through a democratic process, agree better uses for the shared space between buildings?

It is highly likely we will want cycle lanes and paths for walking, but perhaps these could be tree lined or pass through orchards? Inner city kids are driven nuts with nowhere to play or let off steam. Let’s have sports pitches, basket ball courts, action zones and playgrounds. Let’s stop hauling all the food we eat into town from miles away. We can convert southern facing roads to urban farms with communal composting areas. All of these changes will boost residents well being and make the city a better place in which to live.

To the furious commuters blasting their horns we were a bunch of whack jobs hell bent on ruining their otherwise delightful, slow crawl through town. For those of us lying on our backs praying to survive the day there was something else going on. We successfully managed to take and hold one of London’s busiest junctions long enough for the story to get into the media. In doing so, maybe we can spread the idea that the space we have in cities is vital for our wellbeing and that filling it with cars is bonkers. When everyone is doing something one way you are considered mad to suggest another way; but pretty soon it will seem obvious that our cities should be car free. Until such time we will continue to lie down in the road and stop the traffic. It is the right thing to do.

More Info

• Article in the Guardian: Move over climate change: air pollution is the new issue in town here
• The Solution to Pollution here
• A Critical Mass of Dissent on Wheels here
• Demotix photos here

The post Fresh Air Flash Mob Debrief appeared first on EcoHustler.

[Find out what happened: Fresh Air Flash Mob Debrief here]

She is coming to the fresh air flash mob

• Are you tired of breathing in the same toxic fumes every day?
• Are you concerned that over 4,000 deaths in London each year are attributed to poor air quality?
• Would you like to see london’s road space reallocated away from the private car towards more positive public use like: urban farms, activity zones for young people, more space for culture and the arts, more trees and increasing pedestrianization and bike lanes?

If YES join Climate Rush and friends in Soho Square on Wednesday, July 13th 6:30pm - 9:30pm for ROADBLOCK – We’re all gonna die!!! Full event info here.

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Sound track for the fresh air flash mob

EcoHustler is bringing down a sound system on the back of a bike. What is some relevant tunage for the event? Some  options are below. Lets us know your other ideas and bring your ipod!

More info

• The Solution to Pollution here
• Facts from: CityAir: City of London air quality campaign here
• Over 4,000 deaths in London each year are attributed to poor air quality
• Long-term exposure to poor air quality contributes to the premature death of around 29,000 people each year in the UK
• The effects on mortality are worse than passive smoking
• Vulnerable people could have their lives cut short by 9 years
• The lung capacity of 8 and 9 year-olds in Tower Hamlets is 5% lower than the national average
• The economic cost of the health impact in the UK is estimated to be £15 billion

The post Flash mob 4 fresh air appeared first on EcoHustler.

I may never know what motivates the bottled water buyer, but after repeatedly coming face to face with the bullshit, I knew it was time for EcoHustler to strike. Check out what I nearly cycled into in the bike lane on my morning commute to work:

An Eden truck in a bike lane

This is disfunctional capitalism driving a bizarre step backwards in progress. Under the roads that we cycle on are a sophisticated network of pipes which carry high quality drinking water to every building in London. Since the engineering genius of the Victorians all we have had to do is turn on a tap and hydration is sips away. Now, 150 years later this company has decided to turn the clocks back and turn a profit by delivaring water to paying customers (morons) above ground, contributing to the congestion of the city. There is evidence that bottled water is actually less good for you but the real issue here is the massive waste of resources and, therefore, the unnecassary impact on the environment.

Water in underground  pipes is delivared incredibly efficiently; friction is minimal and there is no packaging associated with the water. Using lorries to delivar plastic bottles is millions of times less efficient. It wastes valuble fossil fuels; it increases the air pollution of the city and it makes cyclists lives more dangerous. Why is this legal?

Eden water blocking a bus lane

This is a different part of my commute to work but look; same problem. Eden, the ‘water solution experts’ are not only blocking bikes, they are now blocking a whole bus lane. Hhhmmm, great ‘solution’ guys! I don’t know what bugs me more… that this company names themselves after the unspoilt, natural womb from whence we came, or that they seem to suggest that they have some kind of ownership of the ubiquitous health benefits of water. These guys are douche bags and anyone that buys this product is also a giant DOUCHE BAG.

Whatever!

Same crap business model equally disingenuous name:

'Angel' bottled water

Wicked bike in the front of this shot!!

This chart showing broader issues with bottled water is using US data but much of it applicable for us in the UK too:

Presented by Online Education

The post The Worst Named Companies in London (/ the Earthly Realm) appeared first on EcoHustler.