This past weekend was EarthDay Weekend and it was as close as you can get to a perfect weekend both weather-wise and inspirationally.

Here in Port Townsend, WA, the Quimper Peninsula's most northeast town (We have a restaurant we call "Land's End"), we celebrated our annual version of that event, which we call "EarthDay EveryDay". More and more, as the years go by, the "EveryDay" part of that becomes a major driving force.

This year's EarthDay EveryDay event was the springboard for formally launching the Post Carbon Outpost we refer locally to as "Local 20/20" (or L2020 for short.) Saturday afternoon, the 23rd, was spent giving presentations of the various Action Groups associated with the L2020 effort.

For a little background, Local 20/20 is the resulting adhocracy developed from a presentation that Brian Weller, from Willits, CA, gave back in December when the organizers of EarthDay EveryDay and the newly formed Jefferson Energy Center brought Brian to Port Townsend to discuss the WELL project (see http://www.postcarbon.org/groups/willits.) The following month, in early January, 80 people attended a meeting to explore the creation of an organization that would address the issues Brian had expertly presented. By the end of that meeting those 80 people self-selected into 12 Action Groups consisting of the following areas of interest/concern:

Ag/Food
Community Outreach
Emergency Preparedness
Energy
Giving Back
Health/Wellness
Local Economy
Shelter
Solid Waste
Transportation
Water
Wild Areas

...with more to come as their needs arises - all under the umbrella'd title of "Local 20/20" (There's still some concern and discussion about what we'll finally call ourselves.)

Between then and now, we've continued holding monthly L2020 Steering Committee and General meetings in an effort to further our organizational development and to address certain needs areas for which each Action Group would require a basic understanding. Among the events held was a workshop to explore local resource mapping techniques. Because of the diversity among the various Action Groups, each with their own specific issues and resource requirements, the mapping workshop was a general overview of mapping techniques. That was followed by another workshop a couple of weeks later, this one sponsored by the Jefferson Energy Center, concerned with mapping one's personal energy footprint with a presentation by Larry Owens, President of Shoreline Solar Project and Vice President of Solar Washington leading a discussion of the tools one can use to measure their energy consumption right down to the amount of energy they use for individual electrical appliances.

Two weeks prior to L2020's EarthDay EveryDay roll-out, one of Port Townsend's seven City Councilors, Michelle Sandoval, along with a few other L2020 organizers, brought Michael Shuman, author of "Going Local", to Port Townsend to enlighten people about his economic localization strategies, outlined in his book and which he's been presenting to other communities throughout the US for the past few years. Out of that meeting another 42 locals signed up to receive information about L2020 events and activities.

After this EarthDay EveryDay's well-received weekend, L2020's membership has now swelled to a total of 185 people. Not all are actively involved in the L2020 Action Groups but it is suspected that as the organization grows and continues doing community outreach, education and awareness, more and more folks will find a niche that inspires them to contribute time and ideas, increasing their social capital and building stronger, pro-active and positive approaches to address the issues that both small and large communities all over will be facing in the coming years.

In general, L2020 members recognize that many future changes and adaptations are likely to be a little more daunting and challenging than getting people's attention. However, in East Jefferson County, Washington, which has seen tremendous growth in the past 20 years, it's a well commented on belief by those who've moved here that they sense a special force for people here to connect in supportive ways - both old and new.

While there are very diverse political and ideological differences in our area, there is also a shared growing sense that we're all on one spaceship and some things, like food, clothing, shelter and being able to communicate and socialize, are essential elements for maintaining any semblance of quality of life. With this as our focus we are moving along at an accommodating pace for achieving greater local reliance and self-sufficiency.

As we progress, each L2020 Action Group will assume some responsibility for addressing our greater community's needs through ongoing educational efforts and through exploring viable, sustainable and environmentally restorative activities aimed at easing the transition through our bioregion's changing energy future.