Last night's film night was an interesting one. 10 people came, almost all of whom had heard of 'peak oil'. After 'End of Suburbia', we pulled our chairs into a circle, filled our teacups and had a fascinating discussion.

We covered water issues, and the apparent inability of our local governments to allow us to do the simplest, most sensible of things, such as fitting our rainwater tanks to internal taps, or processing our own grey water with reed beds. If our system won't allow us to manage our own resources effectively, then not only is it not doing its job, it's actually preventing us from doing it instead.

That shifted us onto two parallel concepts: forming our own 'Hinterland Shire' and Civil Disobedience. I'm sure we'll be talking more about those.

There was an explosion of practical ideas, including:
* Setting up a regular stall at the new Witta Markets (to commence shortly on the 3rd Saturday of each month)
* Asking our elders to teach basic skills such as agriculture, manufacture, etc to us and our children
* Attempting to network with other groups with similar concerns
* Starting a 'grower's table' at the Witta Markets to swap backyard veges and fruit
* Write more letters to The Range News -- get the relocalisation concept out there
* Applying for a grant, or combining funds to start an energy farm
* Assess the suitability of Maleny for various alternative energy sources
* Maleny precinct should be a food production zone
* Kinsale Energy Descent Action Plan

...and more. Unfortunately I didn't write em down!

The night went on a little past our booked timeslot, and as we packed up the room, a number of smaller discussion groups formed. I'm sure we could have stood around chatting for another couple of hours.

We seem to all agree that we should hold more film & discussion nights. I'm thinking to show 'The Power of Community - How Cuba Survived Peak Oil', which describes the incredible changes Cuba went through when its oil imports stopped after the Soviet Union collapsed. The average Cuban lost 20 lbs in body weight as the agricultural system went into crisis and was forced to change to organic overnight. See: http://www.communitysolution.org

Next time I think perhaps we book for an extra hour and we take a little cheese and wine?

And don't forget, on Aug 23rd, the wise and well-spoken Richard Heinberg, (author of 'The Party's Over' and 'Powerdown') is teaming up with the great guru David Holmgren (co-originator of the Permaculture concept) and are touring Australia to speak about peak oil and community solutions, starting with Brisbane. Go to the Brisbane Institute to book for the 2-4pm event ($50) or Northey Street City Farm for the 6pm one ($20). But be quick, apparently tickets are selling fast.