Jane Powersrecommends the Convergence festival.
Some random facts about the planet we live on:
• A gallon of oil produces the same energy as five kilograms (11lb) of coal, 10kg (22lb) of wood or 50 people toiling all day.
• We're using more oil each year, and it's becoming more expensive: in 1999 the world spent 1.3 per cent of its GDP on oil; in 2006 it was 4.8 per cent.
• Most of our food requires 10 calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce each calorie in our diet.
• Biofuels are presented as being kinder to the environment than oil, but some are catastrophically destructive. Each tonne of palm oil is responsible for 33 tonnes of carbon dioxide, 10 times the amount produced by petroleum. (Massive amounts of carbon are released when forests are cleared and burned to make way for oil-palm plantations.)
• If we divided the amount of carbon dioxide that earth can safely absorb by the number of human beings living on it, we would each have a quota of 2.5 tonnes a year.
• Ireland's carbon dioxide emissions are the highest in Europe, at about 18 tonnes a person.
Half a dozen facts, plucked from a vast store of similar information that I've garnered over the past year. They all deal with oil and climate change, but they also have something else in common. The above all came to me via Cultivate, in Temple Bar. It's not that the people there know everything about everything (although they have a pretty good grasp on a lot), but in general they know someone who does. They are, you could say, like a human search engine for all things to do with sustainability. They are also a junction for experts (both Irish and international) who lead classes, give lectures or host workshops on all matters related to living with less impact on this planet.
The appropriately named Convergence festival of sustainable living starts on Tuesday and runs until tomorrow week at Cultivate (www.cultivate.ie; 01-6745773). The 12th such annual happening, this year's event focuses on climate change, peak oil and how we might respond to their joint challenge. Seminar and lecture subjects include Ireland's National Sustainable Development strategy, sustainable tourism, biofuels, transport, the importance of local economies and even bicycle maintenance.
This year's emphasis is strongly on community. Davie Philip, one of Cultivate's founders, says: "We've never had as strong a common purpose as the climate issue and the peak-oil issue."
If you feel the same, then Convergence is a good place to start. And if you're too far from Dublin to attend, click on these places on the internet for equally useful offerings: www.localplanet.ie, www.feasta.org and www.sustainableni.org.