Relocalization

One response to the global crisis that is gaining enthusiastic momentum is the Transition Towns movement. Jennifer Gray, a pioneer in the Transition Initiative in the UK and cofounder of Transition US, describes it as "a community-led response to the twin crises of peak oil and climate change. It's ... positive, pro-active [and] engages the whole community in building resilience into their world." Episode 139.

Responding to peak oil will require reshaping our communities. These two interviews, taped in September 2008 at the ASPO-USA conference, are with Megan Quinn Bachman of Community Solutions, and Bryn Davidson of Dynamic Cities Project. Episode 134.

From the ASPO-USA 2008 conference: two long-standing peak oil awakeners: author James Howard Kunstler (The Long Emergency) and Post Carbon Institute Founder and President, Julian Darley. Episode 133.

How much energy does a town consume? Brian Corzilius sleuthed that out for Willits, California, and got a big surprise: in this community of 13,000 people, nearly 25% of after-tax revenue leaves town to pay for energy--gas, diesel, electricity and natural gas. Episode 125.

In this article for HopeDance Magazine, Post Carbon Institute founder Julian Darley
discusses the connections between food and energy, both globally and as locally as your kitchen table.

In this freewheeling conversation, Jason Bradford and Brian Weller, co-founders of Willits Economic LocaLization (WELL), discuss local food security, creating a farm at a nearby grade school, being rooted in community, urban / rural friction in wealth and land use, regional trading partners, reinventing local public transportation, and more. Episode 95.

Jason Bradford and Brian Weller, co-founders of Willits Economic LocaLization (WELL), discuss their group's approach to educating and enrolling their townsfolk about declining oil and the imperative to reduce dependencies on imported energy, food, and other goods. They view their group as a mid-WIFE: a Watchdog, Incubator, Facilitator and Educator. They're pioneering "rediscovering where we live--and it's exciting." Episode 94.

Jay Martin of Provident Organic Farm in Maryland talks to GPM volunteer Brian Magee about the nuts and bolts of practically implemented community supported agriculture (CSA). Martin also consults for LESSON, Lower Eastern Shore Sustainable/Organic Network.

Author James Howard Kunstler talks with Duncan Crary of the Institute for Humanist Studies about the tragedy/comedy of suburban sprawl, what makes a successful town, and the fantasy of alternative fuels.

In November 2007, Deconstructing Dinner attended one of the first regional food security conferences ever held in Canada. With a population of less than 10,000 people, the City of Nelson, British Columbia, hosted over 250 people for the first evening of keynote speakers. With an equally impressive 170 in attendance on the second day of keynote speakers and workshops, the conference acts as an example for other communities wishing to begin organizing themselves to take greater control over the food available to them.