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Relocalize Newsletter #20 : : May 2008

Wed, 2008-05-07 16:53 — Shelby Tay


Relocalization Network: Local Communities. Global Connections


IN THIS ISSUE:


Who's Driving the Conversation?

Gas Prices

In this month’s Relocalize, Post Carbon Institute is turning an eye to transportation—specifically new and old ways to use or replace the good ol’ automobile. And we’re not the only ones. Millions of Americans are now paying over $4 per gallon for the first time.

Every single day, $1.34 billion is spent fueling Americans’ driving habits. In April, American drivers spent more than $37 billion on gasoline—the most in U.S. history. That’s more than a 7% increase over the previous month and 21% over April 2007. And we haven’t hit the peak travel season yet, when prices tend to be highest.

Granted, gas prices in the U.S. are still relatively low, compared to places like Scotland where prices reached $8.30 a gallon and shortages have taken place. But people are paying attention. The downturn in the economy and skyrocketing food and fuel expenses have led to fewer sales of new cars and trucks—particularly SUVs and other gas guzzlers.

In his latest blog entry, Asher Miller looks at the financials behind the hotly debated “gas tax holiday” and shares some ideas for alternative ways to cut costs at the pump. Read more here.

Richard Heinberg: What Car Do You Drive?

From Senior Post Carbon Fellow Richard Heinberg's Museletter #193:

The question inevitably arises soon after readers or lecture audiences first become acquainted with global oil depletion and climate change. I must be asked it at least once a week. Sometimes I reply by reciting how I didn’t buy my first car till age 40, how I later drove an old diesel Mercedes while belonging to a local biodiesel co-operative, how I scrapped that fume-belching heap of metal and replaced it with a Toyota Yaris to protest the Brontosaurian dimensions of the typical American SUV, and how I now often get around town on an electric scooter. But that answer, while respecting the query’s intent, fails to advance the conversation. The question presumes a continuation of car-centered culture, and that is precisely what must be called into doubt. Read more here.

Carpooling, Carsharing and Walking School Buses

Transportation is a major focus for planners in cities and municipalities, and while increasing gas prices are being felt across the board, they are much more evident at the pump. Nationwide spending on gas in the US has increased by 26% to 5.2% on average overall. How can one curb spending on gas and all the related costs of car ownership while still getting around? Shelby Tay offers some examples of community activities that can help us make the transition away from our gas guzzling ways. Read more here.


Online Resources

VACC bike to work

This time of year also brings the start of awareness campaigns around the world, including Bike-to-Work week and car-free festivals that encourage us to be smarter with our travel. May is national bike month across the United States. Check out 50 ways (large PDF) to celebrate Bike Month and browse bike advocacy groups by state to find one near you, courtesy of the League of American Cyclists. Here are some more resources to give you some ideas.

Post Carbon Cities Update

"I will say that it is amazing how quickly we have been able to get the attention now of elected officials. Current fuel prices and significantly underestimated fuel budgets seem to be providing more than enough impetus."
- Abraham Palmer, NCPowerdown

Photo by Elizabeth Thomsen

For a long time, our map of local government responses to peak oil had a conspicuous empty patch covering the southeastern U.S. We knew that there were relocalization groups at work there, but we just hadn't heard anything about local government action on the issue.

That changed this past month when we heard from the group NCPowerdownabout incipient movement in not one, but two North Carolina towns: Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Laurel Hoyt shares news from the Carolinas and elsewhere, along with an invitation for other Relocalization Network groups interested in engaging their local governments. Read more here.

New on Global Public Media

GPM logo

Julian Darley: From the Pump to the Plate: Rethinking & relocalizing our food and fuel systems
Julian Darley: The Day the Gas Dried Up
Richard Heinberg's MuseLetter #193: It's Happening
Deconstructing Dinner: Global Hops Shortage / Biodynamics and Microorganisms
The Qingdao Ecoblock project: mass-produced sustainable living?
The Reality Report: Mary Wood on Government as the Trustee of Common Assets
KunstlerCast #10: Children of the Burbs
Gail Tverberg: The Expected Economic Impact of an Energy Downturn
What does somebody "in the know" do to be prepared on the home front?
Watch Peak Moment episode 100: "Suburban Permaculture with Janet Barocco and Richard Heinberg

Relocalization Network Group Updates

This month, Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre will be presenting local solutions happening on the Sunshine Coast and ways to get involved at the upcoming Think Global - Eat Local Film Screening night in Chevallum (Australia). Washington County Peak Oil will be presenting a talk to the Washington County Public Affairs Forum on May 19th. Paths to a Sustainable Future is working on building a Seed Swap Inventory database to manage their plant and seed swap for 2008. For more info about Relocalization Network group projects, visit www.relocalize.net.

Please join us in welcoming the following local groups to the Relocalization Network. Take a moment to have a look at their websites:

Upcoming Events

Navigating the Carbon World
May 15-16, 2008 - San Diego, CA
This conference is the California Climate Action Registry's 6th annual conference, this year in collaboration with Point Carbon. Over 1000 policymakers, businesses, academics and NGOs from across the globe will gather in San Diego, CA for this two day event that focuses on providing a complete understanding of the climate programs being built around the world.

3rd annual Regional Localization Networking Conference
May 17, 2008, Little Lake Grange, 291 School Street, Willits, CA
Presented by: WELL and the City of Willits. The conference will feature presentations from local City Council and Chamber of Commerce members, as well as representatives of local foundations and organizations. For reservations call the WELL Office at (707) 459-7076 or email office@willitseconomiclocalization.org

Green Festival
May 17-18, 2008 - Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
Hosted by Co-op America and Global Exchange, this green festival showcases more than 350 diverse local and national green businesses displaying and selling eco-friendly, fair trade and sustainable products. More than 150 visionary speakers appear for standing-room-only panel discussions, presentations and main stage speaking events.

Idaho Green Expo
May 17-18, 2008 - Boise, ID
The Idaho Green Expo is an event that promotes the various paths to sustainability through exhibits, workshops and networking that contribute to the knowledge of our community as we embrace the emerging green economy.

In Safe Hands – Agricultural Biodiversity Fair
May 19-21, 2008 - Bonn, Germany
This event, organized during the ninth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, aims to show the importance of genetic diversity for food sovereignty and food security and how agricultural biodiversity is linked with cultural diversity. Presenters will argue that “the only safe place for the diversity of our farm seeds and animals is in the hands of local people and communities worldwide.”

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).

International Conference on Peak Oil and Climate
May 30-31, 2008 - Grand Rapids, Michigan
Richard Heinberg and Julian Darley will be presenting via video link.
*when possible we are trying to reduce our speakers fuel usage by using a video link

Harmony Festival
June 6-8, 2008 - Santa Rosa, CA
Post Carbon Institute will have a booth in the Eco-Village at the largest cultural event in Sonoma County.

APPLE, NC: Living Well in the New Economy
June 7, 2008 - Grass Valley, CA
Relocalization Network group Alliance for a Post-Petroleum Local Economy (APPLE) is bringing Richard Heinberg to Grass Valley to present updated information on global resource depletion, discuss actions that can be taken locally to develop a more resilient community, and explore how we can deal with this “long emergency” on a personal, psychological level.

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Photo credits:
Walking School Bus, gak
Carrboro Farmers Market, Elizabeth Thomsen

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


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