Joined: Sep 04, 2006 Posts: 6 Location: Helsinki, Finland
Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 10:03 am Post subject: Peak Oil activity in Helsinki, Finland
Hello.
A handful of young people concerned about peak oil have been gathering up through irc-galleria and irc (#peak_oil in Ircnet). We are planning to meet 18.00 this saturday (9.9) at the main entrance of Helsinki Railwaystation, under the statues.
We are relatively clueless as to what we should do, and what's gonna happen. We don't even have a good place for holding a meeting. If the weather allows, we'll probably go to a park or something. If not, then to someone's home or a cafe or whatever we'll come up with.
I understand that the people coming are, like me, mainly youth (students), and have little expertise or "credibility" to back up our message or plan significant action. I personally believe that our first goal should be to get in touch with ASPO, environmental groups acting in Finland etc. to offer our help and get advice in planning action. Also we could contact and follow the example set by other existing local peak oil groups like the ones in Portland, Arizona etc.
To all the finns and especially people living around Helsinki, I think it's high time to start actually organising local activity preparing for the coming oil crisis, informing people about it and everything. I understand that there is no organization in Finland concerning Peak Oil. Even Luonto-liitto, Maan Ystavat, finnish Greenpeace or WWF etc. aren't addressing the issue, or at least I can't find anything on their websites.
Someone should've made this post earlier, but better late than ever. I understand that perhaps no one will be able to show up to our first meeting from this forum, but please post any thoughts. Maybe it would be a good idea to get our own sub-forum at peakoil.com for finnish peaksters?
Sorry for a long and rambling post. I posted in english, because I think it's good for everybody, not just finns, to know of our local efforts.
Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:43 am Post subject: Re: Peak Oil activity in Helsinki, Finland
Awesome. You guys are very well-suited to dealing with PO due to geography and geology as well as a unified nation politically speaking. Hope the you manage to hold off the Swedes again and let them just kick Norway's ass for the nth time.
Keep your summer cottage in shape, your connection to Finland's rural past in mind, and get ready to ride the bull market in commodity export businesses.
You guys are situated in the #1 post-peak nation in the world, with the possible exception of Russia. Russia does have a buttload of nuclear missles aimed at it which kind of knocks it down to #2.
I hear the Finn Mauser was a very kick ass rifle, by the way.
Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 12:19 pm Post subject: Re: Peak Oil activity in Helsinki, Finland
muumiponi wrote:
but please post any thoughts. Maybe it would be a good idea to get our own sub-forum at peakoil.com for finnish peaksters?
I have seen alot of finns in this forum, the forum statistics indicate also that.
I thought it would be great if someone made a website www.maailmanloppu.fi (armageddon.fi), containing a forum with similiar topics such as peakoil.com, peak oil, environment, bird flu, economy, ufos and conspiracy theories, etc. but in Finnish.
Armageddon, yes, I am a bit pessimistic how these events turn out.
Joined: Sep 04, 2006 Posts: 6 Location: Helsinki, Finland
Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 2:13 pm Post subject: Re: Peak Oil activity in Helsinki, Finland
Tuike wrote:
I have seen alot of finns in this forum, the forum statistics indicate also that.
About time for us all to get together and discuss things from our local perspective and in finnish, ain't it?
Tuike wrote:
I thought it would be great if someone made a website www.maailmanloppu.fi (armageddon.fi), containing a forum with similiar topics such as peakoil.com, peak oil, environment, bird flu, economy, ufos and conspiracy theories, etc. but in Finnish.
Armageddon, yes, I am a bit pessimistic how these events turn out.
I'm not familiar with that site but... I've had enough of reading "bad news". I'm convinced about peak oil. And I'm not alone. It's time to start thinking about creative solutions, put our minds to do some positive work instead of dooming and glooming.
It won't be easy, it might be impossible, whatever. But no harm in trying, is there? The Peaksters are getting more and more influential. It strikes me as pretty odd that there is practically nothing going on in Finland, while for example ASPO comes from our neighbouring country, Sweden.
Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:17 am Post subject: Re: Peak Oil activity in Helsinki, Finland
Hi Muumiponi, and others.
Hope to meet lots of people there. Dont stress too much on what to do or such - lets start out by just seeing what kind of people are there and get networked a little. Talk a little. Maybe organize the next meet.
Joined: Sep 04, 2006 Posts: 6 Location: Helsinki, Finland
Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:38 am Post subject: Re: Peak Oil activity in Helsinki, Finland
kaktus wrote:
Hi, how did it turn out? perhaps you reached some plan of action we could copy here across the water in Stockholm?:)
best regards
Nothing turned out yet.. We're meeting the day after tomorrow, on saturday. But, we'll keep you updated, rest assured. :-) _________________ Subscribe to the finnish peak oil newsletter! oljyhuippu-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Joined: Sep 04, 2006 Posts: 6 Location: Helsinki, Finland
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 3:14 pm Post subject: Re: Peak Oil activity in Helsinki, Finland
So, on saturday the twelve of us gathered to discuss Peak Oil and related activity in a cafe at the Helsinki centre.
First of all, I think we all found it very nice to have a chance to discuss the issue face to face with other "believers", instead of the usual waiting for doomsday to come in front of your monitor.
Besides introducing ourselves and general free speech around the issue, we made some actual progress too:
- We tried to phrase some kind of a collective vision and mission for our group. We came up with things like informing the media, public and politicians about Peak Oil, supporting the conservation of energy and a less consuming lifestyle and preparing for the coming crisis amongst ourselves and also on a larger scale.
- Everyone's name and email address was collected to enable a crude form of an email newsletter.
- A finnish Peak Oil website was decided to be created. (I am one of the people responsible for it, we have started to design them already.) The website will be a finnish peak oil news portal, include finnish material like a peak oil primer and relevant articles translated from english and perhaps written by some finnish researchers etc.
- The next meeting was scheduled for 7.10.2006. _________________ Subscribe to the finnish peak oil newsletter! oljyhuippu-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 9:34 pm Post subject: The energy consumed in Finland
What is so especially great about Finland, viewed from the Peak Oil aspect, may I ask?
Finland imports more than 59% of the energy consumed in Finland. That is mostly fossile fuels, but also electricity imported from Sweden and Russia.
I have been told that Finland could produce great amounts of liquid fuel from peat. But nobody has told me how expensive would that be.
About two fifth of the consumed energy is produced in Finland. Nearly two fifth of that is produced in nuclear power plants. All the nuclear plants sit on the South Coast. If the sea level rises few meters, Finland will lose all nuclear power generation.
Russia has attacked Finland many times in history. I include also the Soviet invasion attempts. How should we know that they won't try that again?
Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 8:36 am Post subject: Re: The energy consumed in Finland
Veli_Hopea wrote:
What is so especially great about Finland, viewed from the Peak Oil aspect, may I ask?
This is what I wrote about Finland and PO on another forum:
Pros:
- low population density
- decent agricultural basis (we can feed ourselves now, but will need oil-free ways to produce fertilizers and run tractors and harvesters)
- decent railway system across the country
- remote location (no large refugee hordes expected)
- little corruption, cohesive society, homogenous people --> good chances to avoid major civil unrest
- abundant supply of clean fresh water
- abundant supply of wood for energy from wood pellets
- can produce 70% of current energy without oil (although prices for imported NG and uranium will certainly rise, too)
Cons:
- no natural fossile energy sources
- exports mostly mobile phone technology and paper products - no priority stuff during a desperate global energy crisis --> will probably have to survive mostly on its own
- dependance upon Atlantic thermohaline current a.k.a. Gulf stream (should it turn off, the surviving 1% would be herding reindeer)
- short growing season is rather vulnerable to temporary cold periods as well
- average farmer is 50+ years of age, many farms face closing down in the next years
- relatively long distances between population centers; eventually we'll probably have to use horse & carriage again (with electricity/steam-run trains for longer transports)
You're welcome to make corrections if you see any errrors in my above assessment.
Joined: Aug 04, 2005 Posts: 425 Location: Traded the man in front of the tank for a cat playing the banjo
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:48 am Post subject: Re: Peak Oil activity in Helsinki, Finland
I think you forgot about the russians in the "cons" part. _________________ When someone interprets as derogatory almost anything that is said about him (or about groups with whom he identifies) we conclude that he has inferiority feelings or low self-esteem.
Joined: Oct 27, 2006 Posts: 760 Location: Soviet Canada
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 12:29 pm Post subject: Re: Peak Oil activity in Helsinki, Finland
Good job my Finnish friends!
Some people will ask "Why bother?", but even if you don't make it to your destination, the journey will have been worth the effort. You make friends, learn quite a bit, and who knows? You might just make a difference.
Don't get discouraged, like I said...the journey is often more rewarding than the destination.
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