Friday, May 4, 2007

Die-off donuts and Coop Carpool Non-Profit

One thing I told the carpool buddies is the "die-off" theory, that without cheap oil we'll have a massive die-off of the human population. I don't know if that's true or not, its rather scary for sure. However, some websites that discuss peak-oil almost seem gleeful about it...like overweight people are gonna have a hard time putting up with less food (see, for example, http://www.culturechange.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=1 which admittedly refers more to water supply issues in light of infrastructure breakdown following peak oil).

Frankly, I suspect we'll all benefit from less food, here in the USA anyway, at least for a while. But for us who aren't overweight, less food may eventually mean we get weaker FASTER. I remember an episode of "survivor" when the original guys went back to the island for an all-star episode. That Richard Hatch guy had bulked up for it by eating a lot. He even said at one point that the skinnier people were going to have a hard time of it.

So, in recognition of this, we have designated Fridays as "Die Off Donut" day. We get a dozen and each of us bulks up with 4 of them on the way in.

The only bad thing is they cost more. It DOES seem like everything is costing more lately. This should not be a surprise since transport costs are rising and they have to pass the buck on somehow.

Meanwhile, on the Cooperative Carpool front (I need a good acronym!)...a bulk email looking for folks at work who live near our part of West Knoxville yielded great results. We won't have any problem rounding up 10 - 12 or even more people who want to participate. I'm looking into forming a non-profit, getting a van, and getting this thing in gear. Our employer, who does a lot of work for Dept of Energy, is pushing for 4-10 schedules (4 days a week, 10 hours a day) and we are considering this as well. This would push our gas charges down 20% and perhaps we could charge less each month.

2 comments:

Jane said...

wow -- this is a very creative strategy. I think a 4 day work week is really practical -- smart, makes sense. and it's funny --- with all the walking I'm doing now I probably could eat a dozen donuts a week more and stay the same weight. mmmmm donuts...

I'm Back! said...

you are right Jane, this is very creative strategy and also very funny.Friends you can also Watch Carpoolers Online from here with all episodes nad only in a single click. So guys enjoy this fabulous show!!! i also watched it online.