I know someone who is married to a diplomat assigned to a country in Africa. They were living on a the top floor of a six floor apartment building, but the constant electricity outages made it difficult to carry a baby stroller and baby up and down six floors on the stairs.

So, they moved into a private compound area, where every house had a standby generator. So, for those with the money, you can (for now) have electricity 24 hours per day.

A glimpse of our future, as forced energy conservation moves up the food chain?

Hello WT,

I emailed selected African countries some time ago asking them to go to full Peakoil Outreach and biosolar conversion--of course no replies.

If they had merely looked ahead [instead of practising denial], they could have easily built rideable spiderwebs, bicycles and wheelbarrows, solar heated community baths and washing facilities, humanure recycling, and other mitigative infrastructure in sufficient quantities to avert much of what is happening now. Such is life.

I hope North America gets its act together soon, or Zimbabwe's decline will be seen as mild compared to what will happen here. Building a strategic reserve of bicycles and wheelbarrows would be very cheap insurance, and would last much longer than our SPR.

http://www.uni-kiel.de/sino/ar/sk/12a_1970s.jpg

Bob Shaw in Phx,Az Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?