• IFG Teach-in: Confronting the Global Triple Crisis
• Northern California Regional Peak Oil Awareness Conference
• ...and more!

Relocalization Network News:

Welcome to New Local Post Carbon Groups

Please join us in welcoming the following Group Coordinators and their Local Groups to the Relocalization Network. Take a moment to have a look at their websites:

• Eli Beckerman, Earth Crisis Response – Cambridge/Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
• Lee Temple, Crestone/Baca Sustainability Initiative – Crestone, Colorado, USA

: : Go back to table of contents

Boulder Renaissance of Local Conference

If you're anywhere near the Boulder (CO) area September 28-30, don't miss a very special event: A RENAISSANCE OF LOCAL!, a county-wide community festival, conference and expo celebrating all things local: food, energy, economy, culture, and community.

The Post Carbon Institute is proud to be sponsoring this gathering with Boulder Going Local Inc. and Boulder Valley Relocalization, one of the country's most innovative local groups, and, we're happy to say, a member of the Relocalization Network.

"Come and spend three days with us at the Renaissance and I guarantee you’ll go home inspired and full of new ideas about how you can start today to build a sustainable community," said Michael Brownlee, co-founder of Boulder Valley Relocalization and catalyst for Boulder Going Local Inc. "We need to make big changes to stop global warming and manage Peak Oil, and there’ll be dozens of great speakers and demonstrations to show you exactly what to do. And we’ve got great music and local food too!"

Julian Darley, President of Post Carbon Institute, said the conference shows how far the relocalization movement has come in a very short time: "Post Carbon Institute is very happy to be working with these young, dynamic groups," Darley said. "It’s really exciting to see how Boulder Valley Relocalization and Boulder Going Local are showing us the many benefits of going local."

In addition to a wide range of speakers from around Colorado, the conference will hear from Post Carbon's Julian Darley, from Post Carbon Fellow Richard Heinberg (author of the forthcoming Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines), and from Post Carbon Cities program manager Daniel Lerch (see below for information on Daniel's new book).

: : Go back to table of contents

Relocalize.net: features and tips

We've added new screenings to the film resources page - visit www.relocalize.net/screenings. Post your film reviews and discuss the films in the forums. Send in your suggestions for films to screen!

Haven't visited relocalize.net in a while? Forget how to post an event and browse new articles? Contact us and we'll give you a one-on-one tutorial and answer all your questions. Or, try browsing the Help FAQs and online tutorials.

: : Go back to table of contents

Relocalization groups in Australia take action!

A new peak oil course, energy descent action planning, a community education centre, new community gardens, and new relocalization groups - the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia is powering ahead with relocalization ideas and projects.

Group coordinators Sonya Wallace (Creating a Sustainable Sunshine Coast - Nambour to Mooloolah - (CASSC)) and Janet Millington (Sunshine Coast Relocalisation- Noosa Eumundi and Districts (SCReNE)) have been working together to develop new ways to engage the community and begin the process of powering their region down in preparation for energy descent.

Janet, an experienced permaculture educator and a school teacher by trade and Sonya, who has a background in government and corporate communications, started the first Time for an Oil Change course in early August with more than 20 people enrolled.

Week by week participants explore different areas of our lives that will be affected by energy descent and develop projects and solutions based on permaculture principles and ethics. These solutions will become the first Sunshine Coast Energy Descent Action Plan, which will then be delivered to local government.

It all started with the idea for a new course based on David Holmgren's text that applied permaculture to the challenges of peak oil and climate change and a meeting between Andi Hazelwood of SustainaBundy, Janet and Sonya.

From there ideas for an education centre soon developed and the Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre is now open every Saturday morning offering free DVD screenings, workshops and presentations all related to energy descent to the local community.

Janet is involved in the development of new community gardens near Noosa and Sonya has started a new relocalization group in her local town of Eudlo. In her spare time Janet develops school curriculum based on permaculture and is writing a school garden text book for teachers. Sonya is working on a Master of Communication degree, which will be based on her work on peak oil.

The Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre's website is www.seac.net.au.

: : Go back to table of contents

Feature: The 100-mile Diet

Ever thought about doing the 100-mile diet? When the average North American settles down for a meal, the typical distance travelled by each ingredient is at least 1,500 miles.

On the first day of spring in 2005, Alisa Smith and James Mickinnon decided to challenge the conventional food system with a simple experiment. For one year, they would source their food and drink from within 100 miles of their apartment in Vancouver, British Columbia, and write about their experiences.

Since then, James and Alisa have confronted and reconsidered issues ranging from vegetarianism, the family-farm crisis, and the environmental impacts of shipping produce across the globe. Their 100-Mile Diet has inspired a deeper discourse than anyone could have foreseen. In a few short weeks after their first blog entries at The Tyee, it had popped up on other sites across the internet, and then caught the attention of the media, from BBC Worldwide to Utne Magazine.

Hundreds of individuals and community groups have since started their own 100-Mile Diets. Groups in the Relocalization Network who have taken on the 100-Mile Diet through hosting dinners and potlucks, include Boise Sustainable living Community, Sustainable Saratoga Springs, and St. John Relocalization (download their Powerpoint presentation). Last summer, Jason Bradford of WELL and his family took on a local diet for one month – read his daily blog.

In April 2007, Alisa and James published their book in Canada titled, "The Hundred Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating," and in the U.S. titled, "Plenty: One Woman, One Man, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally." Discuss the book in the forums on relocalize.net!

You can also listen to their appearance on Deconstructing Dinner on Global Public Media (or read the transcript).

: : Go back to table of contents

Post Carbon Cities: Release of guidebook for local governments & tour

Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, our new guidebook for local governments, is now available for pre-order ($30, 113 pages; delivered October 2007) at Post Carbon Books. You can also download an abridged preview version of the Guidebook at www.postcarboncities.net/guidebook. This free download includes the Executive Summary, the Introduction, a guide to making a local government statement on peak oil, and a guide to establishing a peak oil task force.

Starting this month, Post Carbon Cities Program Manager Daniel Lerch will be traveling to promote Post Carbon Cities. His tour will include public presentations and meetings with government agencies and citizen groups working on local responses to peak oil and global warming. Watch www.postcarboncities.net in the coming weeks for Daniel's full itinerary, and contact him if your group would like to set up a meeting or host a presentation when he's in your area.

Preliminary tour schedule:

• 9/14 - 19: Washington, D.C. area (partly at IFG conference)
• 9/20 - 21: Oakland, CA and Berkeley, CA
• 10/16 - 20: Houston, TX (partly at ASPO-USA conference)
• 10/22 - 23: Montreal, QC
• 10/26 - 11/2: New England (partly at CommunityMatters07 conference)
• 11/5 - 9: New York City / New Jersey / Philadelphia area
• 11/12 - 16: Toronto, ON area

: : Go back to table of contents

New on Global Public Media

Global Public Media, an initiative of Post Carbon Institute, is an internet broadcasting station that streams long format audio and video interviews with world experts. Click on the links below for the latest additions on GPM.

     Richard Heinberg's Museletter - Peak Everything
     Deconstructing Dinner: Slow is Beautiful
     Peak Moment: The Social Effects of Peak Oil
     Energy Bulletin's Bart Anderson on The Reality Report
     The Lifeboat Radio Show - New Episodes

: : Go back to table of contents

Northern California Post Carbon Regional Networking Meeting

The Northern California Post Carbon Network is a network of coordinators of groups in the Northern California region. They met for the first time on February 4th, 2006. The purpose of the meeting was to determine how a network of groups can most effectively share resources, information, and experiences with the overall goal of supporting regional relocalization efforts.

These regional meetings offer a chance for coordinators to meet one another and to share information on what their groups are working on and challenges that they have encountered. The meetings also focus on developing strategies on how the local groups can support each other by sharing resources and information and collaborating on projects.

The upcoming September meeting, co-led by a coalition of Bay Area groups, is open to all concerned citizens who are active in peak oil/relocalization or related groups. The meeting will be held on September 29 at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 DeHaro Street, San Francisco. For details, visit the website.

: : Go back to table of contents

Upcoming Events

Have an event you would like to share with the Network? Please send an email to Shelby by the last week of the month and we will include it in the next issue of Relocalize.

IFG Teach-in: Confronting the Global Triple Crisis

Sept. 14-16, 2007, Washington, DC, USA
Climate Change, Peak Oil, and Global Resource Depletion & Extinction. See www.ifg.org for more information.

6th Annual ASPO Conference

September 17-18, Cork, Ireland
The annual conference of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas, led by founder Dr. Colin Campbell (who is also a Post Carbon Fellow).

Northern California Post Carbon Regional Networking Meeting

September 29, San Francisco, California, USA
Co-led by a coalition of Bay Area groups, is open to all concerned citizens who are active in peak oil relocalization or related groups. See online for details.

A RENAISSANCE OF LOCAL! Relocalization Conference

September 28-30, Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, Colorado, USA
Boulder County Going Local!, one of the country's most energetic relocalization groups, presents "A RENAISSANCE OF LOCAL!," a three-day community festival, conference, and expo on all things local. Julian Darley, president of Post Carbon Institute, Post Carbon Fellow Richard Heinberg, and Post Carbon Cities program manager Daniel Lerch will all be speaking at the conference, Boulder, CO. Call (303) 494-1521 or visit http://www.bouldergoinglocal.com. (See above article for additional details.)

Pioneer Valley Relocalization Workshop

September 30, Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
Come hear from inspired local grassroots organizations blazing the trail for revitalized, sustainable communities in the Pioneer Valley. The event will feature workshops, tabling, local food, arts & keynote speaker, Frances Moore Lappé, who is launching her new book called "Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, & Courage in a World Gone Mad." See online for details.

ASPO-USA 2007 Houston World Oil Conference

October 17-20, Houston, Texas, USA
See www.aspo-usa.com for details and registration.

18th Annual Bioneers Conference

October 19-21, San Rafael, California, USA
See www.bioneers.org/conference for details and registration.

Community Matters '07 Conference

October 23-25, Burlington, Vermont, USA
See www.communitymatters.org for details and registration.

The Community Solution: Planning for Hard Times 4th Annual Conference

October 26-28, Yellow Springs, Ohio, USA
See www.communitysolution.org for details and registration.

: : Go back to table of contents

If you have any comments about this Newsletter or suggestions for the next, please contact us.

Best,

The Relocalization Network Team

Post Carbon Institute
Tel. +1 707 827 3221
+1 800 590 7745 (toll-free)
Email Us
327 Murphy Avenue
Sebastopol, California, 95472, USA
www.relocalize.net
www.postcarbon.org