• Southern California Sustainable Living Intensive Workshop
• Earth Works Exposition - Colorado
• Southeast Convergence for Climate Action

Relocalization Network News:

Relocalization System Catalysts - CELL

Even when things seem overwhelming, one way to avoid burn-out is to remember that a series of small accomplishments is how every large goal is reached. Nothing is accomplished overnight. Deb Smith from CELL says that “any movement towards our goals matters a lot. ‘Getting it right’ would mean reaching our goals 100%, and that will take time. A steady series of constant accomplishments, both large and small, have a very good chance of getting us where we need to go.”

Read more...

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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:

• Edward Culp and Peter Lunsford, Washington County Peak Oil – Beaverton, Oregon, United States
• Andi Hazelwood, SustainaBundy – Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia

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Dave Strongman Blog: 'Routes of Relocalization' Photo Essays

The Relocalization Network supported David Strongman’s project and trip, the “Routes of Relocalization”, where he visited Local Post Carbon Groups along the Northwest Coast of the United States. David documented his travels, capturing his experiences and personal encounters through photography and audio recordings. David visited several communities along the way, including Bellingham WA, Orcas Island WA, Portland OR, Astoria OR, Ashland OR, San Francisco CA, Oakland CA, and Willits CA. You can read all about David’s trip through his travel blog at www.relocalize.net/davidstrongman.

"The ‘Routes of Relocalization’ is a journey about the people and places that make up the Relocalization network. Because the structure of the network exists entirely on the internet, I felt it was necessary to move outside of the box and communicate directly with the people that form the backbone of the Relocalization groups, those that committed to make a real change in their communities, inspiring us to redefine our relationship with energy, nurture new relationships with our neighbors and celebrate the diversity of life that we’ve been entrusted with on this planet." - David Strongman (2006 Relocalization Network Report)

David's first photo essay, "A Proper Connection to Food: An interview with Slow Food Chef David Voeller," can now be see on www.relocalize.net.

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Relocalize.net: Google Map of Groups

This month the tech team has been preparing to upgrade the website to the new Drupal 5 platform. The new platform will allow us to incorporate more powerful networking tools. Browse the new Google map of groups in the Relocalization Network!

Post your comments
What do you think about the articles and interviews on Relocalize.net and Global Public Media? Register on any of Post Carbon's websites, and then start browsing. Click on the phrase "Add a Comment" (which appears at the bottom of every item) and share your ideas, questions, criticism, links to other articles or websites...it's up to you.

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Post Carbon Cities: Table of Municipal Responses to Peak Oil

Post Carbon Cities will be helping cities respond to the challenges posed by peak oil and climate change. The program provides technical assistance and resources to the people who work with and for local governments, from elected officials and staff to consultants and non-governmental organizations.

Spurred by a request from a Relocalization Network member, we have posted a table of municipal responses to peak oil online. Visit www.postcarboncities.net and contact program manager Daniel Lerch if you are pursuing peak oil responses in your municipality!

Our long-awaited guidebook for local governments, Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, will be available for pre-order in just a few weeks! Visit postcarboncities.net/guidebook for summary information and to read or download the Executive Summary.

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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.

     Dr. Albert Bartlett, In Depth - 22 Jun 2007
     Roger Bezdek Sydney Smart Conference keynote address - 21 Jun 2007
     Michael Brownlee, Boulder Valley Relocalization - 20 Jun 2007
     The Reality Report: Local Biofuels Production - 18 Jun 2007

Peak Moment Television

Two Post Carbon Fellows are featured in recent Peak Moment Conversations. Tour Jason Bradford's Brookside Energy Farm and hear Richard Heinberg's latest hot topics, including why gas prices won't be going down. Julian Darley's illustrated presentation "Relocalize Now" can be viewed on Global Public Media, and DVDs are available from Peak Moment Television, a Post Carbon group in California.

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Timebanks Pilot Project Update

In February, 2007, the Relocalization Network began sponsoring Project Port Lyttelton, a Local Group in New Zealand to test out TimebankUSA's Community Weaver software. Here's is an excerpt from PPL Timebroker Chris Twemlow's blog:

"Time Bank offers a model of exchange that promotes a lifestyle of building cohesive communities. When we invite a Time Bank member to help with an activity, trust is established and our understanding of our community increases. We discover who can share in taking our kids to school in the morning. We get to know a trustworthy person to collect our mail and keep an eye on our home when we go on holiday. We get to offer skills we want to provide. In building communities in this way we become more self sufficient, potentially taking pressure off tax subsidized services." Read more...

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Local Newspaper Publishes Interview with WCPO

This month's feature article was published on July 11, 2007, in the Forest Grove News-Times and features the work of Washington County Peak Oil, a Relocalization Network group in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. In the following excerpt, WCPO talks about the three things they would like the group to do in this calendar year (click here to read the full article):

[WCPO] The first and most important is to bring the message to as many residents of Washington County as possible -- "raise the alarm" so to speak. The more people who understand the issue and its implications, the more people there will be working toward solutions, even if independently. That also means more people letting their government officials know how important it is that this be taken very seriously. Our public meetings and book club are examples of this approach.

The second is to assist the municipalities within the County to both publicly acknowledge the challenges (which provides credibility to the issue), and to have at least developed and adopted a set of high-level goals to begin working toward to mitigate the risks. An example of such a goal would be to establish and staff a Sustainability Program Management function within each municipality, and a County Sustainability Office to liaise with and coordinate activities with the municipalities, and with Metro at the regional level. There needs to be region-wide coordination. Economies of scale.

And third is to have become a recognized and sought after catalyst within the County to incubate a viable community network which identifies and shares individual and collective strategies to effectively cope with the peak oil crisis.

Read more...

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.

Southern California Sustainable Living Intensive Workshop

July 9-15, Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies, California State Polytechnic University, California
The Solar Living Institute has partnered with the Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies to offer a comprehensive series of workshops in sustainable and regenerative living.

Earth Works Exposition

July 27-29, Denver Merchandise Mart, 451 East 58th Avenue, Denver, Colorado
Richard Heinberg, recent recipient of a Gold award from Foreword Magazine for The Oil Depletion Protocol, offers the Exposition a keynote address titled, “Peak Oil: Challenges and Opportunities at the End of Cheap Petroleum." Visit the eventwebsite for details.

Southeast Convergence for Climate Action

August 8-14, Asheville, North Carolina
See www.climateconvergence.org for details and registration.

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