In this Issue of Relocalize:

• Relocalization Network News:
• Introducing Asher Miller
• Earth Day 2008: Call to Action!
• Resilient Communities: A Guide to Disaster Management
• Tomorrow Matters Radio Show with Deborah Lindsay
• Sustainabundy 2008 Directory and Guide Launch
• New on Global Public Media
• Post Carbon Cities Update: One year later
• Upcoming Events:
• Eco City World Summit 2008
• 30 Days of Sustainability
• ...and more!

Introducing Asher Miller

Post Carbon Institute is pleased to welcome Asher Miller as the newest member of the Relocalization Network team. As Relocalization Network Manager, Asher will work closely with Coordinator Shelby Tay to support existing members of the Relocalization community and grow the network. Asher has worked in various capacities in the nonprofit sector for over twelve years, most recently as founder of Climate Changers, an organization that inspires people to reduce their impact on the climate by focusing on simple and achievable actions anyone can take. His extensive experience in project management, strategic planning, community outreach, fund development, and web development make him ideal to help take the Relocalization Network to the next level.

Asher shares a little of his story in this blog entry. You can learn more about his professional experience on our Network Team web page.

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Earth Day 2008: Call to Action!

Earth Day is an annual event that was founded on April 22, 1970, and has grown into an international celebration of our collective commitment to building a safer, healthier and prosperous world for all of us, starting in the communities where we live. There are many ways to get involved and no action is too small. On April 22nd, go out and celebrate the earth, volunteer, let your elected officials know your priorities, organize an event - most of all have fun, meet new people, and make a difference where you live.

Download the Relocalization Network's Action Handbook, outlining examples of relocalization projects, or the Earth Day Network's Earth Day in a Box toolkit to get started and organize an event! Learn the basics on running a successful event from contacting the media to potential sources of funding. Make use of fliers with tips to reduce energy consumption at home, at school, at work and with your kids, courtesy of the Earth Day Network. Also, check out Earth Day TV - stay tuned for the next live webcast on April 16th, Chillout: Campus Solutions to Global Warming.

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Resilient Communities: A Guide to Disaster Management

In the April MuseLetter, Senior Post Carbon Fellow Richard Heinberg shares his thoughts on the role of disaster planning as a key strategy in relocalization efforts and presents a ten step strategy for developing Resiliency Plans. But should relocalization groups working on Energy Descent Action Plans or other projects abandon them? The answer is no.

"[W]hile a Community Resilience Plan would seek to maximize the opportunity that crisis affords, crisis management can only get us so far toward our goal of reducing and redesigning the human economy so that it does not degrade nature's carrying capacity. Broad-scale, proactive plans are still essential. Once the crisis has hit, once other remedies have been tried, once the Resilient Communities programs have been adopted, and once "alternatives" begin to become mainstream, then the long-range plans for redirecting economies toward true sustainability will become actionable. Indeed, at every stage along the way we will need some sense of what a sustainable society would actually look like and how we might bridge the chasm between the present and that distant goal." Read more....

Subscribe to the free monthly MuseLetter here and view past issues on Global Public Media.

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Tomorrow Matters Radio Show with Deborah Lindsay

This month we caught up with Deborah and Spencer Lindsay, in Monterey, California. Together they produce and host Tomorrow Matters, a talk radio program that puts the spotlight on environmental solutions to the global ecological crises — for a better world tomorrow. Topics on the show include climate change, peak oil, permaculture, green business, alternative transportation, renewable energy and more.

We first met Deborah Lindsay through her involvement with the Relocalization Network as co-founder of Sustainable Monterey County, one of the first groups to join the Network. She talked with us about how she got started producing the show and their plans for expanding the show in 2008. Read more here.

Listen to this daily program to "learn how the Central Coast is lowering their collective footprint and how you can make a difference in your life, one step at a time, because for all of us, tomorrow really matters."

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Sustainabundy 2008 Directory and Guide Launch

A 100-page guide printed locally in Bundaberg, Australia, on recycled paper with vegetable based inks on a waterless press, The 2008 SustainaBundy Directory and Guide is an annual publication that local residents can keep at the ready!

The publication includes a directory of local businesses to help residents be more environmentally responsible at home and in the office, how-to articles on reducing consumption and waste, harvesting, storing and conserving water, natural resource management, eating fresh, local food and much more. It also includes calendars for keeping tabs on regional, national and worldwide environmental events, a local produce availability guide provided by the Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers, and a guide to the various markets in the region.

For more information about the guide or other Sustainabundy projects, visit sustainabundy.org.

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New on Global Public Media

Global Public Media, a program 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.

Crop to Cuisine: Why Localism Matters
Peak Moment: To Be of Use - Serving the Community
Deconstructing Dinner: Backyard Chickens I (Farming in the City III)
KunstlerCast #8: The Glossary of Nowhere
The Case for a Sustainability Emergency, Part II
The Reality Report: Low energy methods for home food preservation and storage

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Post Carbon Cities Update: One year later

The Postcarboncities.net website was launched one year ago this month. Its goal then and now is to help local governments understand the challenges posed by energy and climate uncertainty, and to provide resources for them to develop plans and responses appropriate to their communities.

In April 2006, now Post Carbon Cities Program Manager Daniel Lerch wrote one of the first local government reports on peak oil, a policy white paper for the Portland (OR) Metro regional government outlining challenges and opportunities. Since then a number of local governments across the U.S. and Canada have responded to peak oil, with major firsts being San Francisco's peak oil resolution in April 2006, Portland's peak oil task force report in March 2007, and Spokane's (WA) launch of a joint peak oil - climate change task force in February 2008. Today, nearly 20 local and state governments in the U.S. and Canada have made some kind of official response to peak oil, with other efforts underway in Australia, the U.K. and elsewhere. Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Climate and Energy Uncertainty (released Fall 2007) is currently going into its second printing, and this very month Daniel is meeting with officials in Ireland and the UK.

Washington County Peak Oil, one of our Relocalization Network groups, uses items from the Post Carbon Cities website to help create a regular email bulletin that goes to mayors in that Oregon county. Tune in next month for more information on how Post Carbon Cities resources can help Relocalization Network groups work with their own local government officials and staff.

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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.

Future Ready -Think Global Act Local

April 18-19, 2008, Lake Kawana Community Centre, Bokarina, Queensland, Australia
Presented by Permaculture Noosa Inc., this event will explore practical information and strategies for the future challenges in our daily lives. Participate in workshops to learn practical steps, hear expert speakers and browse displays by eco businesses and organizations. For info and registration visit futureready.org.au.

Eco City World Summit 2008

April 22-26, 2008, Earth Day Week, San Francisco, California
The Ecocity World Summit (7th International Ecocity Conference) will be convening an international community of inspired change-makers; courageous individuals who are addressing problems of the world's environment with thoughtful long-range solutions that are truly sustainable, ecologically healthy and socially just. Visit www.ecocityworldsummit.org for details.

30 Days of Sustainability

April 22-May 21, 2008, Vancouver, British Columbia
30 Days of Sustainability is an annual celebration and empowerment of the people-powered movement of sustainability and its natural role in our lives. 30 Days will be a showcase of sustainability initiatives across the lower mainland - highlighting what people are doing to make our communities more resilient and livable. Visit www.30days.ca for event details and volunteer information. Click here to add your event to the 30 Days calendar.

2008 North Country Sustainable Energy Fair

April 26-27, 2008, SUNY Canton Campus Center, Canton, NY, USA
Keynote Speaker: Post Carbon Senior Fellow Richard Heinberg. New York's longest running and largest community energy event will feature two days with 50 workshops and 60 exhibitors and vendors. The event will cover many issues, including solar, wind, green building, biofuels, peak oil, climate change, off-grid living and hands-on skills. For info and registration, visit www.ncenergy.org, call 315-379-9466 or email: fair@ncenergy.org.

Chicago Green Festival

May 17-18, 2008, Navy Pier, Chigaco, Illinois, USA
Green Festivals feature more than 125 renowned authors, leaders and educators; great how-to workshops; cutting-edge films; fun activities for kids; organic beer and wine; delicious vegetarian cuisine and diverse live music. Visit www.greenfestivals.org for details and information about other upcoming Green Festivals in Washington D.C. (Nov 8-9) and San Francisco (Nov 14-16).

Going Local: A Relocalisation Convergence

May 23-25, 2008, Brisbane, Australia
Ethos Foundation will host a visit to Australia by Judy Wicks, co-founder and director of the US Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE).

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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. +1 707 823 8700
Email Us
6971 Sebastopol Avenue
Sebastopol, California, 95472, USA
www.relocalize.net
www.postcarbon.org