A LOOK AT MEGAN QUINN BACHMAN
Her interest in peak oil: Her father, Thomas, an award-winning editor at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, turned her onto the idea of peak oil when she was in college. She then read Richard Heinbergs 2003 book, The Partys Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrialized Societies.
Favorite green books: Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines, Richard Heinberg; The Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook: Community Solutions to a Global Crisis, Greg Pahl, Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning, George Monbiot.
HER Living Green Tips
n Food: The unhealthiest food turns out to be the most energy-intensive. So eat less, reduce meat consumption from grain-fed animals, avoid manufactured foods, cook more and eat more fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables and
more beans, whole grains, and nuts. Buy your food from local farmers at
farmers markets and farm stands, or as part of a community-supported agricultural subscription farm, and grow some of your own.
n Housing: After replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, you can plug leaks, upgrade to new windows, create window
covers, replace old refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers, and add insulation, even if it means building new interior walls. The principle is to
thicken and tighten. Downgrade to a smaller home if possible; youll have less
to heat and cool.
n Transportation: Walk, bicycle and use mass transit if possible, or move to a community where it is possible. Otherwise, share rides as often as you can by setting up regular carpools to work, schools and stores, combining trips and planning ahead. Buy a smaller, more efficient car if you need one.
Q. Your film has been called “a marvelous film that provides a welcome abundance of toxic, depressing predictions for the future in the world of post-Peak Oil.” It has an optimistic bent. Why?
A. We saw that people were scared to death by so many of the movies and the articles predicting doom and gloom, and they were so much in a state of despair and denial that they weren’t doing anything. They just continued their overconsumptive lifestyle because they were immobilized by fear. So, we wanted to provide people with some possibilities for action, some practical options. We were so inspired by the innovation and perseverance of the Cuban people when the Soviet Union collapsed and they lost half their oil overnight. We thought we could motivate Americans to do a little bit more and start taking some small steps to address peak oil and climate change before we have a crisis like Cuba.
Q.Has that happened?
A. Yes. I think it has encouraged people to start curtailing their energy use and moving toward more cooperative living. We hear about people who have never gardened before start trying.
But for the most part, the film is a tool to spread the message that our energy-intensive lifestyles cannot go on forever and that we need to develop local and personal responses. We receive reports that the discussions after the film lead to a lot of community efforts. So the film is a way to bring people together so they can get excited about these ideas, and they take off running wherever they see they need to go.
Q.How do you see America handling this peak-oil idea?
A. That is probably the No. 1 question we get asked after the film. We often hear: ‘Well, it worked for Cuba. But they are socialists, an island nation, and more homogenous than we are.’ But I think there are some lessons we can take from Cuba — particularly their transition to small, organic, local farming, decentralized energy generation, and local economic exchange.
A lot of people are describing dark possibilities for America — of fuel shortages and economic collapse leading to marauding gangs ransacking houses, siphoning gas from gas tanks and squashing our sustainable gardens and communities.
That certainly is a possibility. But another possibility, one with much more historical precedence — is of people coming together to take care of each other, share scarce resources, and create more resilient economies. I think that was best demonstrated during the Great Depression and World War II, when we saw a lot of these cooperative efforts.
Q. You’re talking about something that is pretty radical and pretty scary. How do you calm people’s fears?
A. The least fearful people I know are those doing as much as they can to prepare, not just reading about it or watching the news. That doesn’t say they’re not afraid. But they’re trying to transform some of that fear into positive action. One of my favorite quotes recently is, ‘Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”
Q.Why does that quote speak to you?
A. Courageous living, in contrast to sustainable living, implies that it won’t be easy, that it’s going to be a challenge to change our habits. It also implies a deep moral driver to live in a way where we are not contributing to catastrophic climate changes and increased energy vulnerability for future generations.
But at the same time, this quote acknowledges the fear of failing to avoid creating a radically altered climate. We need to find a way to be motivated by this fear, rather than constricted by it, and continue to strive to avoid that possible future.
Q. OK, the automobile is so much a part of who we are. How do you change that?
A. That’s a hard one because the personal car is so convenient, and we think we can just hop in the car at anytime and go anywhere we want. I think the solution for the car, which has probably been the most destructive single device of industrial society, is in developing another way to make decisions beyond monetary concerns. We see a product at the grocery store and we evaluate if we should buy it or not based upon how much it costs. In addition to price, we should think about where it came from and the energy it took to manufacture it and bring it here.
So before buying a car, or driving it somewhere, we should consider how much energy will be burned, and what are the costs to all of society and future generations.
Q. You say “Power of Community” has resonated with people. Why?
A. I think in the sustainability movement everyone is talking about technologies. But we are talking about something that is much more human, about providing for each other’s needs, not just installing solar panels. It’s a more feminine and spiritual approach, as well, because it speaks to greater need of connection with one another. It is also positive because it means that we can live with fewer material resources but be happier because we have stronger relationships.
Q.Did the film resonate in Greensboro?
A.Absolutely.
Q. How does Greensboro compare to other communities that you have been to?
A. It’s moving beyond the just talking about the issue to creating and demonstrating solutions. That is the biggest hurdle to jump over.
Q. How do you see our future, our country’s future?
A. I’m hopeful, and I say that instead of optimistic. Hope is much more grounded in practical action. Hope has its sleeves rolled up, working in the dirt, whereas optimism is sitting on the couch thinking, ‘Somebody will take care of it, and everything will be OK.’ But it’s still going to be a challenge because life may not be as convenient, comfortable, or easy as our current existence, where we can flip a light switch and not think about the consequences or about possible shortages.But it can be a life that is much more rich and fulfilling as we spend more time without our friends and family in our communities and we’re not running around all over the place, interacting with screens instead of people. That’s why I’m hopeful.
Megan Quinn Bachman 