Wash less

Having recently read in Time to eat the dog? that washing clothes reduces their life, I saw the same message on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) website. It also uses resources.
As I am in charge of laundry at our house I will be implementing a policy of selectively airing clothes instead of washing and giving several wearings before washing. Will my beloved notice the change in policy?

Eat the dog!

A book with the analysis on how to live sustainably, with some friendly calculations:
Time to eat the dog? - the real guide to sustainable living by Robert and Brenda Vale- ISBN 978 0 500 28790 3.

The summary for what is under my control:
1) FOOD - eat organic food and eliminate waste food. Eliminate packaging. Grow your own or buy local from open air markets.
2) ENERGY - Use less and eliminate waste. Make short showers. Use cold water in the laundry. For me this would be using the fan not the air conditioner.
3) TRAVEL - Cycle, walk, use public transport, use cars to capacity
4) STUFF - Maintain things, repair things, buy less, buy second-hand, share
5) HOUSING - build smaller, share more (bathrooms and bedrooms), renovate less, use the patio and verandah
6) HOLIDAYS - don't fly.

Smokey highway

I had plans for a caravan holiday but the many bush fires made a leisurely outback caravan holiday inadvisable. Instead we travelled the coastal highway to the big smoke.

I drive a newish (2018) Mazda CX-5 Diesel. I am still learning about its features.
It is a great leap forward from my previous car a 2005 Ford Falcon (LPG). Very impressive on the highway was the control to set a maximum speed limit and a set a distance to any car ahead. Occasionally it looked like a string of cars had this feature with a line of cars going near maximum speed but maintaining good distance inbetween.

The sky was all smoke haze for the whole trip. I monitored the local ABC AM radio to ensure the way ahead was clear. AM radio is fantastic for emergency broadcasts - it is resilient long distance communications infrastructure. It is longer distance than DAB+ or FM and less prone to failure than mobile telephones or internet.

The big smoke was indeed smokey with public health authorities advising all to stay indoors. Radio personalities were mocking those who were seen to be doing exercise outdoors. The days I travelled were not the most intense fire days and still there was a hazy white sky with the sun a fuzzy glow.

Only parts of the bush are burning now. There is lots more that could burn next fire season. Is it possible that extended intense fire seasons will make the areas east of the bush fire zones undesirable or uninhabitable because of the prevailing winds?

Water less

The bushfires burn and will continue until it rains. Dam levels here are at 60% -and we are lucky, other towns have no water. The desalination plant is turned up to full capacity - so we get more water and more carbon dioxide.

I have modified the toilet to reduce the flush. I have restricted external watering to vegetable garden only.

The creek is no longer flowing and only deep pools remain. I can access the foot of the bank to plant native species into areas usually difficult to reach.

The bright side:
The smoke haze reduces the heat of the sun.
The cane toad tadpoles (Bufo marinus - pest species) are dying as the creek dries up.

If trees were planted upwind of the dams catchment then it would rain more. Refer to Thom Hartmann, The last hours of ancient sunlight : The fate of the world and what we can do before it's too late, revised 2004 page 45 (ISBN 978-1-4000-5157-1)

$uper $uper

I worked for numerous employers over the years. I am now able to be retired because I took care of my superannuation. Three employers failed to pay my super:
1) A family company that fell behind because they did not have the cash flow and never managed to catch up. When the Tax Office chased them for payment, the principals made re-payment arrangements. Then they went bankrupt when it was time to pay.
2) A family company that failed to pay voluntary superannuation deductions into the superannuation fund.  The Tax Office will not chase voluntary superannuation deductions.
3) A one man company that  did not have proper accounting procedures. The superannuation was eventually paid after the Tax Office intervened. But he went out of business soon afterwards.

Some companies elect to only pay superannuation at the end of the quarter, then they have a month to pay and the Tax Office will not chase up for a month. So some of the superannuation may be 5 months old before you realise it will never be paid.

The lessons are clear
1) Do not work family companies or one man companies.
2) Do not work for companies that pay superannuation only once a quarter.
3) Do not make voluntary salary deductions to your superannuation until the company has paid compulsory superannuation consistently.

November 2019, Los Angeles

I have seen Blade Runner - The Final Cut at a movie theatre. A fantastic movie about what it is to be human.

The pollution, the crazy weather, and disappearing animals are the background - they have come true. Though the weather in California is more wildfire than rain. Flying cars and interplanetary migration are still fantasy.

One thing that is quietly in progress is the robot revolution. There are ten-storey warehouses being built in Australia for major grocery retailers. No people handle the goods - all de-palleting, storing, repalleting, scheduling is by robots and algorithms. There are no lights because they are not needed. Each warehouse replaces hundreds of jobs.

If you liked the movie there is a great novel set in the same universe -
Tears in Rain by Rosa Montero.
Another book with a similar theme - of being human - is The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi.

Capture the cool

Today the weather was predicted to be extremely hot with a hot wind. So, today, when I woke I closed the windows to the house to trap the cool air inside.
now near noon the interior of the house is much cooler than outside. Tonight when it cools off I'll open the windows to get cool air inside again.

I learned this years ago in Melbourne at an engineering consultancy. The consultancy was upstairs in a historic building with thick walls and openable windows. On pleasant days the window were open admitting the sounds of the street with the breeze. When extreme heat was forecast the principal mechanical engineer ensured that all the windows were closed to exclude the heat. When the cool change came through the windows were opened again. It was very pleasant when the windows were opened to hear the hooves of the horse pulling tourists in a buggy and the surge in sound of the lunch time crowds.

Sacred Ochre

I was in the local creek to help restore the local bush. I was planting Lomandra hystrix at the foot of the bank. The bank was eroding and showed layers of gravel and clay. One layer was reddish and gritty; I thought it was old brick, building waste perhaps. Digging a piece out I moistened it in the creek and it became soft. I drew across my skin. Bright shiny and rich earthy red marked me.

In her book Colour (2002), Victoria Finlay describes how red ochre is sacred and is mens business. But here in the local creek the link to the aboriginal people seems broken, and even the plants and animals are threatened.

Gritty softened lump
Wet red ochre marks my skin
This earth is sacred.

The Detectorists

The Detectorists is an uplifting show with an enchanting theme tune.
Sing the song to smile.

Will you search through the lonely earth for me
Climb through the brier and bramble
I'll be your treasure

I felt the touch of the kings and the breath of the wind
I knew the call of all the song birds
They sang all the wrong words
I'm waiting for you
I'm waiting for you

Will you swim through the briny sea for me
Roll along the ocean's floor
I'll be your treasure

I'm with the ghost of the men who can never sing again
There's a place, follow me
Where a love lost at sea
Is waiting for you
Is waiting for you

By Johnny Flynn

Why things bite back

Why things bite back by Edward Tenner 1996 (ISBN 978-0-679-74756-7)

Subtitle - Technology and the revenge of unintended consequences.

Haiku summary -

Acute problem fixed

Now chronic issues remain

Monitor forever.

Disasters happen
Society learns and acts
It's backdoor progress