GAIA theory ... time to get to know what it is all about?

Professor James Lovelock is the originator of the Gaia Hypothesis, which suggests the Earth functions as a single organism which maintains the conditions necessary for its survival.

Many scientists have asked the question ”does the Earth have a thermostat?” Lovelock takes the idea one step further to suggest the Earth acts not as a mechanical system but as a living organism, and responds to threats to its existence by, in this case, creating extreme weather conditions.

Read more on the BBC’s excellent site “Planet Under Pressure” (Link).

Australia first to analyse fuel shortage impacts

Queensland Australia: Parliament member Andrew McNamara chairs the Back bench committee working on a report to recommend how Australia should address oil peaking.
Andrew McNamara began to look into the peak oil issue after reading Richard Heinberg’s book. He quickly realized that his constituent city, Hervey Bay, with poor rail and sea links is especially vulnerable to gasoline price hikes.

To my knowledge it is the first study of a region's vulnerability to energy shortages due to global oil peak.

Speaking in an interview for Global Public Media (Link) he explains how Australian oil production is already in serious decline, and how there is a lack of preparedness for cheap energy shortfalls starting with National policy and going all the way down to local planning.

IFTSP comment: anyone involved in planning should follow the progress of the report and consider a study in their own area. As cheap energy sources may stop within ten years, mitigation planning should already be ongoing.
There should also be a major review of the plans of all organizations to see how much they are based on the assumption that oil prices, for example, will remain in the $30-40 range, and to what extent they address the risk of energy shortfalls.

No Waste Like Home...Starting tonight

Hats off to the BBC for bringing sustainability right into our living room with their program on reducing household waste and saving money.
BBC 2 8:30 pm Thursdays.

It's about time. Industry has been working on these issues a long time, just to see each household using more energy and producing more waste.

Program lead and eco-expert Penney Poyzer visits one of Britain's most environmentally-unfriendly and wasteful households each week, changing their ways and shocking people by uncovering wastefullness and then giving them the eco-know how to save money and become less of an environmentatl hazard.

Great invention. Keep 'em coming!