WELL NEWSLETTER – June 1, 2006

Calendar of WELL Events

Monday, June 12 – Special Meeting: Project Updates!

6:30 - 8:30pm Willits Community Center

Come hear the progress of various projects that are happening NOW, in our community and get active.

Friday, June 16 – Film: “The Future of Food”

7pm Willits Library

This film explains the issue of Genetically Modified Foods and compares GMO foods to Conventional and Organic agriculture.

Monday, July 10 – Speaker Event: “Voices of Wisdom”

6:30 - 8:30pm Little Lake Grange Hall – 291 School St.

Come listen to stories addressing traditional values and agricultural practices here in the Little Lake Valley. This event will be co-sponsored by the Willits Grange.

Saturday, July 22 – Special Meeting: “The Future of WELL”

All day – exact times to be announced – Willits Community Center

This all day meeting will culminate in the adoption of WELL’s Membership and Governance structures and the Strategic Plan. Subcommittees have been working hard on drafts, which will be widely available by mid-June. Please come to this meeting to give your feedback, work on incorporating changes, and, to VOTE on accepting these documents. This is the culmination of months of work and visioning.

Saturday, July 22 – PARTY

6-10 pm, at the Bradford home – 284 Redwood Ave.

Join us to celebrate this day’s hard work and all of WELL’s progress. More details to come.

Our schedule is intentionally light this summer. We suspect that people will busy with travel plans, gardening and general warm weather frolicking. The events we have planned should be FUN, as well as informative. It is also our sincere hope that folks will take time to carefully read the documents that our three hard working committees – Strategic Planning, Membership and Governance – will be distributing soon. Broad, carefully considered input is welcome and vital in this process. We hope that by the end of the summer we will have a lot of these details agreed upon and in place, allowing us to turn our attention to further projects – large and small alike.

Other events

This came to us from Janaia Donaldson and Robyn Mallgren of Yuba Gals Independent Media. Some of you may remember them from RLNC.

Richard Heinberg's "Peak Oil" riveting presentation last November in Grass Valley, California will be shared with the world via Free Speech TV's "Keynote" series the week of June 12 (schedule below). Free Speech TV is automatically included in Dish Network's basic service on satellite, channel 9415.

Here's an easy way to inform colleagues, friends and family, and do it fossil-fuel free in their own homes. (Or your group can have a gathering to view and discuss it afterwards). Please forward this message to your relocalization group and personal friends. Some consider Heinberg's presentation to be a perfect follow-on to End of Suburbia.

The show will be aired at the following times: http://www.freespeech.org/schedule/

Monday 12-Jun 1 am

Tuesday 13-Jun 4 am and 8 pm

Wednesday 14-Jun 11 am and 1 pm

Thursday 15-Jun 2 am and 8 am

Friday 16-Jun 1 pm

Saturday 17-Jun 8 am and 12 pm

Sunday 18-Jun 4 pm

The video is a project of Alliance for a Post-Petroleum Local Economy (APPLE of Nevada County)

The Mendocino Ecological Learning Center on Pine Mountain offers great workshops and is an ally in localization. Their website is now fully updated. You can check it out here: http://www.melc.us

There you will find information about their organization, programs, classes, workshops and activities...

There will be a Zero Waste Building Demo in August - contact Ron Woolsey - dragon4ron@hotmail.com - for information

PROJECTS in MOTION - Spring, 2006

WELL has helped spawn projects that form the bridge between our current reality and our desired future. WELL creates a place where ideas, plans, and group feedback are available to initiate and keep projects on track. We offer this list of current projects for those of you who want to DO something. If you have a project happening – let us know.

GRATEFUL GLEANERS This is an ongoing and organized project to collect unharvested produce from local gardens. This produce is then distributed to our local food bank or other community programs.

SCHOOL FARM The 1 acre farm at our local elementary school will provide education opportunities, food for the community & demonstrates local food production

COMMUNITY GARDEN This garden is in a small downtown back yard and has the goal of growing enough food in this space for several families with some to give away as well.

BARN RAISING A monthly get together of anyone who wants to help some project manifest in a Saturday morning - 9-1pm, followed by a shared lunch.

WILLITS WELLNESS NETWORK An open group that meets monthly to explore present and future health care in our area. The Medicine Chest Garden is one of our current projects.

FILM SERIES The "Now and Then Film Series” plans to show films related to Economic Localization and community self-reliance once a month.

COMMUNITY MAPPING “Mapping a vision that will manage future development in the greater Willits area to provide an accessible and sustainable community.”

Want to get involved? Come to a meeting or call the office to get contact information for any of these active and inspiring projects.

Get Involved

Join the Grateful Gleaners in sharing our community’s bounty! The Grateful Gleaners are dedicated to promoting the growth, preservation and sharing of local, seasonal, organic food through communally harvesting fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Generous growers throughout our community offer us their excess, which we harvest and distribute. We donate a portion of our harvest to those most in need in our community, and the rest is enjoyed by growers, gleaners, and the community at large through donations to local events and gatherings. If you grow fruits, veggies, or nuts and have extra to share, or if you’d like to come glean with us, please contact the Grateful Gleaners through Karen Gridley at # 459-2101. By sharing our abundance and resources we strengthen community ties, to create a sustainable, cooperative future.

The Willits City Park Neighborhood Association is one of the groups pooling resources to monitor local governments. They have requested help in monitoring Willits government. Help would be in the form of attending City Council and City Committee meetings, or reading through government documents, or doing research around timely issues, or writing summaries to pass along to those interested.

The WELL Steering Committee is working with some other county folks trying to organize a County research and monitoring group. This group would focus on the unincorporated part of the county, as well as the existing municipal districts in this area [water and sewage].

Even once this is in place, we would still need groups to the cover the three cities- Ukiah, Fort Bragg, and Willits. If you are interested in helping in WILLITS – please contact Ralph Pisciotta - pisciottaelectric@sbcglobal.net

Job Opportunity

You may have seen the following add running in the last few editions of the Willits News. If you’d like to apply, call today as hires are being made presently.

REDI – Renewable Energy Development Institute Introducing 250 Willits homes to HELP, a new Energy Efficiency Program that will provide hands-on, direct assistance to all income levels.

HELP is hiring: Data Coordinator Set-up Excel; Enter and process Survey and Audit data; Produce summaries. $12/hr 12 hours/wk flexible M-Saturday 9AM-4PM June 19 – Oct 27

Household Surveyors Door-to-door; Assist interested households with survey questions. $10/hr 6-18 hours/wk; flexible; M-Thurs 6-9PM; Sat 9AM-4PM July 1 – Aug 12. Training provided.

Energy Auditors Conduct household Energy Audits. 10/hr 12-18 hours/wk; flexible; M-Sat 9AM-9PM; July 10 – Sept 15. Training provided.

Contact George at REDI – 459.1256

HELP

I need someone to volunteer a few sunny hours hanging our next schedule of events around town. I have the posters and a list of locations to post here at the office. Please volunteer – otherwise, it won’t get done!

Office Note: If you would like to be taken off this mailing list, please let me know and I will gladly oblige.

spring@redinet.org

Spring Senerchia, Office Manager

Willits Economic Localization - WELL

Renewable Energy Development Institute - REDI

75 N. Main St. PMB 234 Willits, CA 95490

707.459.1256

An explanation from an Aussie site on the differences between the 3 types of people that make up the Peak Oil movement. I find myself somewhere between the Peaknik and Doomer camp. I hope for the best and continue to prepare for the worst. I have certainly not given up on humanity or its incredible resilience in the face of terrible challenges. We can overcome, but it's going to take a total team effort to cope with this challenge and come out the otherside.

http://www.eclipsenow.org/facts/spectrum.html#Apocalyptic_anchor

WELL NEWSLETTER – MAY 25, 2006

Calendar of WELL Events Monday, June 12 – Special Meeting: Project Updates!

6:30 - 8:30pm Willits Community Center

Come hear the progress of various projects that are happening NOW, in our community and get active.

Friday, June 16 – Film: “The Future of Food”

7pm Willits Library

This film explains the issue of Genetically Modified Foods and compares GMO foods to Conventional and Organic agriculture.

Monday, July 10 – Speaker Event: “Voices of Wisdom”

6:30 - 8:30pm Little Lake Grange Hall – 291 School St.

Come listen to stories addressing traditional values and agricultural practices here in the Little Lake Valley. This event will be co-sponsored by the Willits Grange.

Saturday, July 22 – Special Meeting: “The Future of WELL”

All day – exact times to be announced – Willits Community Center

This all day meeting will culminate in the adoption of WELL’s Membership and Governance structures and the Strategic Plan. Subcommittees have been working hard on drafts, which will be widely available by mid-June.

Please come to this meeting to give your feedback, work on incorporating changes, and, to VOTE on accepting these documents. This is the culmination of months of work and visioning.

Saturday, July 22 – PARTY

6-10 pm, at the Bradford home – 284 Redwood Ave.

Join us to celebrate this day’s hard work and all of WELL’s progress. More details to come.

Our schedule is intentionally light this summer. We suspect that people will busy with travel plans, gardening and general warm weather frolicking. The events we have planned should be FUN, as well as informative. It is also our sincere hope that folks will take time to carefully read the documents that our three hard working committees – Strategic Planning, Membership and Governance – will be distributing soon. Broad, carefully considered input is welcome and vital in this process. We hope that by the end of the summer we will have a lot of these details agreed upon and in place, allowing us to turn our attention to further projects – large and small alike.

Localization in the News

Portland, Oregon joins the Peak Oil movement. The following is the opening paragraph for an article published on the Energy Bulletin website. You can read the full text here: http://www.energybulletin.net/15851.html

“The threat of a peak in global oil supplies has received official attention from the City of Portland. A resolution to create a task force to investigate implications of peak oil was passed by City Council today largely in response to activism from Portland Peak Oil, a local grassroots group. "This task force will focus on preparing Portland for a local response to impending global oil shortages," said Stephen Johnson, a volunteer with Portland Peak Oil.”

School Farm Update from Jason

Ground has been broken – lots of help was given in this on Friday and Saturday, May 12 and 13. The students were out in force on Friday when Jason explained the project to them and then had them make hay piles. They had some good success and then they decided to jump in them. Five classrooms showed up and other kids came by during recess.

On Saturday about 12 people helped with breaking the sod off. We took off the top 2-3 inches on 400 sq ft and made a windrow out of this. Based on this experience, it’s been determined that it takes 1 person hour using spading and pitch forks to remove 16 sq ft of sod, after it has been mowed.

Measurements are being done to sort out what will be required to remove the sod, make thermal compost with it to kill weed seeds, and return this to the field. A tree trimming has deposited several cubic yards of wood chips our next step is to combine these into compost piles. These piles will also need to be watered, checked for temperature, and turned. All these steps involve organization of the work. We think we have a tractor system ready to go when the time is right for more sod removal.

In order to get water on the site we are getting some detailed plans developed through Drip Works where staff are modifying plans drawn by architect John Cross. Once we get these new plans, we can sort out how to put in that new infrastructure.

Without start–up money we are working with busy people and trying to get some spare time and resources out of them. So it is taking longer than we all hope, but we are moving forward with persistence and solid planning. We have about 10 donation cans around town that netted over $100 in a week. We are going to expand this program, removing cans where they are not doing well and are not featured by the stores, and trying new places. Most donations are spare change or dollar bills, but one donation was a $50 check with the note "I've been waiting for this to happen since 1974!" Please look for these cans and help out on the farm.

Special Thanks

I would like to thank REDI for the brand new, well-functioning computer that they recently upgraded to. This makes my life much easier and the work of WELL goes more efficiently and effectively.

Copious thanks also go to Liam UiCearbhail for his outstanding availability and support in getting this new system set up and running smoothly. His volunteer time has been invaluable.

Office Note: If you would like to be taken off this mailing list, please let me know and I will gladly oblige.

Spring

spring@redinet.org

Spring Senerchia, Office Manager

Willits Economic Localization - WELL

Renewable Energy Development Institute - REDI

75 N. Main St. PMB 234 Willits, CA 95490

707.459.1256

WELL Newsletter – April 25, 2006

WELL Calendar

Monday, May 1: General Meeting focused on PROJECTS

6:30 – 8:30pm, Willits Community Center – 111 East Commercial St. Willits

Join us for our monthly plenary meeting. If you have a project happening in the area, or are gearing up for one, please join us to tell everyone about what you’re up to, next steps, and how people can get involved. Now that spring time is finally here, everyone seems ready to get outside – let’s make some good things happen!

Monday, May 15: Speaker Event – WATER – “Your Pond in the Country” and the implications for our County

6:30 – 8:30pm, Willits Community Center – 111 East Commercial St. Willits

Join Park Steiner of Trout Unlimited and the Peregrine Audubon Society and Roland Sanford of Mendocino County water agency to hear about how private water use and county regulations are affecting overall water availability and health in our county.

May 29: Memorial Day picnic Mid-day at the City Park – across from the Community Center.

Bring your kids and family and a picnic for a laid back gathering in the park.

Other Events

TWO CLASSES IN NATURAL BUILDING - MAY 13 - 17 INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL BUILDING

Cob is an ancient earth-building technique time-tested in many climates, from England to Arabia. It is simple to learn, cheap to build, durable and highly sculptural. Straw bale building is sweeping the world due to it's low environmental cost, high insulation value, and speed of construction. Learn the basics of cob and straw bale building.

In this intensive weekend you will learn the basics of both techniques, including materials selection and testing, mixing methods, and wall construction. . Tour beautiful examples of natural straw and earth construction, and watch a slide show of inspirational examples from around the world. MAY 13 - 14 $200.00 includes instruction, meals, and camping (local discount)

Past Events

Regional Localization Networking Conference – RLNC

In early April, after tremendous effort by our planning committee, WELL hosted 120 participants at a highly successful event at the Brooktrails Lodge.

This is what the write up in the Post Carbon Institute’s April newsletter had to say:

     "Willits Economic LocaLization (WELL) , one of the most active and influential groups in the RelocalizationNetwork, held a regional localization network conference on April 07-09, 2006. The goal of the conference was to provide a meeting place for groups in the same region working on different aspects of the Relocalization strategy to share information, best practices and develop group problem solving skills. The event was a tremendous success, with over 120 attendees from 30 groups participating in presentations, brainstorming and networking sessions. Led by Post Carbon Institute research fellow, Jason Bradford and WELL member Brian Weller, the two day conference provided group members with information, resources, support and incredible inspiration. Post Carbon Institute was honored to be part of this extraordinary event, and looks forward to continuing to work closely with WELL. The caliber of the attention, wisdom, experience, and future visioning of the participants bodes well for Relocalization in the Northern California region."

WELL is already planning another conference to be held in the fall or early next spring.

A DVD of RLNC will be available from WELL soon.

Read Claudia Reed’s article, from the Wednesday, April 12, 2006 edition of “The Willits News” here: http://www.willitsnews.com/Stories/0,1413,253%257E26908%257E3288747,00.html

I am still working on follow up from this spectacular event. Participants will be receiving contact lists soon. Many power point presentations from the weekend will be posted to our website in the next few weeks, along with lists from brainstorming and breakout groups, links to buy a DVD of the event or a CD of over 60, high quality photos from WELL’s own photographer extraordinaire – Ree Slocum. Please stay tuned for these ongoing details and we appreciate your patience.

Many thanks to all of the participants who made this event successful, our volunteers and work traders, to the Willits Environmental Center for helping us with insurance for this event, to the City of Willits and Post Carbon Institute for their generous underwriting and support, and most especially to our hardworking RLNC committee: Kristin Bradford, Annie Weller, Brian Weller, Jason Bradford, Lanny Cotler and to Maria Brooks for her outstanding volunteer contribution.

Presentation to WELL by Linda Helland on the Built Environment

On Monday, April 3, Linda Helland, Public Health Educator for Mendocino County Public Health came to Willits to deliver her first rate work that talks about how our built environment affects our health and the health of communities. You can check our her presentation here: http://www.willitseconomiclocalization.org/Presentations/BuildingHealthyCommunitiesNPHW040306.pdf

In the Works

Joint Statement

So far, about 14 local organizations have signed on to the Joint Statement. You can see whom and read the statement here: http://www.willitseconomiclocalization.org/JointStatement.pdf

Our next step is to enroll many more organizations and to have everyone who has already signed on write up a brief description of how their group is going to work towards the goals of the statement. In this way, we can grow the support for these ideas and also start taking steps towards realizing them. Please help spread the word!

The Future of WELL

The three committees formed at our weekend workshop in early March of 2006 continue to meet regularly.

The Governance Committee has a detailed draft that was presented at our last Plenary session on April 17. They are working on refining and simplifying this document based on feedback they have gotten.

The Strategic Plan Committee has done a tremendous amount of work in identifying and defining WELL’s focal areas. We are now working on specific goals and projects to meet goals within each focal area.

The Membership Committee has a draft for a membership structure that includes enrollment of local businesses.

Stay tuned for drafts as they are updated and you can anticipate a meeting in the next few months to get some of these new ideas into practice.  If you are interested in joining any of these working committees, please contact me.

Grants

WELL is actively looking for funding from many sources, an important one being grants. Any help from experienced grant writers is much appreciated, as we are not staffed to effectively write grants at this point. Nonetheless, we have managed to pull together two hopeful prospects, with help from our allies.

USDA  - Jason was involved recently in applying for a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. This grant would fund the development of a local food system, focusing on farm and markets development and long term planning. We expect to hear back from them in July of 2006.

The Levinson Foundation -  Eco-City Builders (recent visitors to Willits) and the Renewable Energy Development Institute both applied for this years funding cycle from the Levinson Foundation. Eco-City Builders specifically requested funding for Willits, which would assist in the Community Mapping that is currently underway as collaboration between REDI, WELL, WEC, One-Town One-Vision and the City of Willits. Funds are awarded in July for use in the fall.

Notable Website Updates

If you haven’t ever taken the time, it is well worth it to look through our website which has been diligently maintained by Brian Corzilius. There is a wealth of information there about WELL, Economic Localization and from many guests and presenters who have come to speak to WELL.

Food Security Report -  Jason has done a thorough revamping of this report, which can be viewed in its entirety on our website: http://www.willitseconomiclocalization.org/Papers/FoodSecurityReport.pdf

I have included the summary here:

     "Summary of Findings The population of greater Willits (95490) of ca. 13,500 people requires approximately 12 billion calories per year for their sustenance. This figure can be placed into several different contexts:

1. Currently, Willits is almost entirely dependent upon food transported by truck to a few major grocery stores. There is little storage of food in town or production of food within Little Lake Valley. The food supply of the town is estimated to be a less than a week since stores have daily deliveries and a high turnover rate of their stock.

2. The average amount expended per person per year in the U.S. on food is about $2300. Almost half of these expenses are for food prepared outside of the home.

3. A year’s supply of basic food rations would weight about 500 lbs, take up 75 gallons of volume and cost about $400 at today’s wholesale prices. Community-scale storage systems are lacking.

4. Mendocino County, historically, had a diverse, local food system that included staples such as grains, potatoes, vegetables, dairy, and eggs. We have historic production data for many of these crops.

5. Current agriculture is export dominated in the areas of wine grapes, livestock and some fruits.

6. Much of the knowledge, market practices, farm, storage and processing equipment used to create a diverse, local food supply has been lost. Regaining these are new business opportunities.

7. To grow a diverse supply of food for Willits would require placing about 4000 acres of prime agricultural land into intensive production, rather than keeping it as pasture. This is about equal to the remaining prime ag land in Little Lake Valley."

Recommended Energy Projects - Brian Corzilius has written a detailed document as a follow up to the committee work that produced the Energy Report, which was instrumental in helping the City of Willits take real steps towards energy independence. This new document details two projects that Willits could undertake. I highly recommend reading at least the executive summary, to get an idea of what Brian is proposing. You can read the whole document here and I have excerpted it briefly below: http://www.willitseconomiclocalization.org/Papers/2EnergyProjects.pdf

"1. Executive Summary Energy costs have risen dramatically over the past year and analysts are forecasting additional increases in the near future due to instability in various parts of the world. As energy costs escalate, those that are impacted first are those of low or fixed income. We, as the community of Willits, must work to plan for this potential crisis to ensure a strong community in times of need.

This paper proposes 3 steps the City of Willits can undertake, potentially with substantial grants, to address the looming crisis as well as to decrease the vulnerability of the City itself (and thus the pockets of the taxpayers). These include

1) A renewable energy mix at the water treatment plant to ensure continued operation in the event of a power grid failure,

2) The production of methane, a replacement for propane and natural gas, at the sewage treatment plant to ensure fuel for heating, and

3) the reinvestment of a small percentage of the realized energy savings (from these and similar projects) into a community energy conservation center to provide assistance in reducing energy costs to those most in need.

………… In a nutshell, the two parts of the proposal are as follows:

1) At the Water Treatment Plant, we propose situating a solar array of sufficient size to keep one pump running during part of each day (if the power grid fails) to ensure potable water to the primary storage tank for the City. This would ensure the hospital and much of the valley floor community has water in times of disaster. In conjunction with the solar array would be a small hydroelectric generator to provide electricity to the water treatment maintenance facility. This would provide power for at least minimal system monitoring and maintenance operations through the crisis.

2) At the Sewage Treatment Plant, we propose modifying the ‘headworks’ to divert a significant portion of the incoming solids into a ‘biodigester’. The purpose of this biodigester would be the production of methane gas – a natural byproduct of sewage treatment and an equivalent of natural gas and propane. This methane would be fed directly into a gas turbine generator to produce electricity to offset the sewage treatment’s energy needs. Excess gas could then be compressed and distributed to the City and community in times of need. Such gas, in compressed form, could be used interchangeably with propane for home heating as well as to power City and emergency vehicles."

In the news

San Francisco Board of Supervisors passes Peak Oil Resolution

From the Post Carbon Institute’s Newsletter:

     "Members of San Francisco Oil Awareness, a Local Post Carbon Group, successfully lobbied the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to unanimously pass a peak oil resolution. The resolution, passed on April 11, 2006, acknowledges the threats posed by peak oil and calls for the establishment of a city-wide study to assess San Francisco's vulnerability to peak oil. Due to the persistence and dedication of the members of this Local Post Carbon Group, San Francisco has become the first city in the United Sates to formally address this issue. The results of the study will indicate possible policies the city may adopt to reduce the impacts of energy supply disruptions and price shocks on San Francisco."

The Resolution is available online at http://www.sfbayoil.org/sfoa/media/resolution_to_board.pdf.

Interviews on this resolution with members of San Francisco Oil Awareness are available online at http://www.globalpublicmedia.com.

WELL volunteer of the month

Letter from Brian Corzilius: Dear fellow WELLies; I wanted to express my sincere appreciation for the Volunteer Award presented at the March 20th meeting. I am somewhat embarrassed by this award, first because there are so many of my fellow WELLies that deserve the award just as much (if not more), and secondly because I was not present to receive the award and to personally acknowledge all of those involved.

Regardless of anything that has been said, the work I have done within WELL is the result of all of us working together towards a common goal -- that of ensuring a sustainable community. Without a group of wonderful people, as each of you are, the opportunity would not have existed to have participated at the level I have. So it is a sincere thank you I extend to each of you, not only for the award, but for the opportunity to work together as a community, towards a better future; and I hope you'll accept my apologies for not being present to accept the award in person...

Sincerely, with great appreciation to all of you Brian Corzilius

Volunteer Opportunity

Now that spring time is here, we need some help in the WELL/REDI front yard. We’re looking for someone with some gardening experience who can come in for a few hours to do some weeding, pruning and a few other light jobs to get our office looking good and ready for new growth. Please let me know if you can help.

Thank yous

My deep appreciation to three fine and talented men: Michael Hackelman, Howard Letovsky and Liam UiCearbhail for their generous and extensive help in getting this new computer up and running – their knowledge far exceeds mine and they stepped in at a time when my frustration was deafening.

Whew – that’s all folks.

Enjoy the sunny weather.

It has been a slightly rocky transition to this new computer, if you were put on this list mistakenly, I apologize. If you’d like to be taken off this list for any reason, please just let me know.

Spring Senerchia, Office Manager

Renewable Energy Development Institute (REDI)

Willits Economic Localization (WELL)

spring@redinet.org

707.459.1256

75 N. Main Street PMB 234 Willits, CA 95490

WELL NEWSLETTER - MARCH 23, 2006

Calendar of WELL Events

Monday, April 3 - General Meeting of the Working Groups

6:30 - 8:30pm Willits Community Center

Join us for our monthly meeting of our working groups and get involved with their projects.

Special Event: THIS IS RLNC — "OUR LINK" TO SUSTAINABILITY

Calling all Economic Localization groups in Northern California to join together for a Regional Localization Networking Conference An information exchange opportunity sponsored by the WELL April 7-9, 2006 — Keynote Address by David Schaller - Sustainable Development Coordinator, US EPA

The purpose of this conference is to improve our region’s economic localization efforts through sharing best practices; developing consistent messages for the general public, business community, and political leaders; and enhancing regional communication between groups. The goal for this conference is not to raise the general awareness of the issue of economic localization, but rather to share ideas among those who are presently encouraging this transition in their communities.

An application, including more details for this event, is attached as is a schedule for the conference. Now is the time to register for this event. We have many localization groups coming - please join us.

If you are a member of WELL, please call about reduced rates.

April 17 - Special Meeting: Reports from committee on follow-up to "The Future of WELL"

6:30 - 8:30 Willits Community Center

This will be a time for the three committees formed at our weekend workshop in March to report on their progress. These committees are: Membership, Governance and Strategic Planning.

This is a good time to learn the details of the work that went on during our workshop.

Monday, May 1 - General Meeting of the Working Groups

6:30 - 8:30pm Willits Community Center

Join us for our monthly meeting of our working groups and get involved with their projects.

Monday, May 15 - Speaker Event: WATER - "Your Pond in the Country" and the implications for our county

6:30 - 8:30pm Willits Community Center

Join Park Steiner and possibly other guests to learn about how private water use affects the quality of water for everyone, including non-humans. Park is a member of Trout Unlimited and the Peregrine Audobon Society. He has studied these issues thoroughly.

May 29 - Memorial Day Picnic in the Park Mid-day at the City Park, across from the Community Center

Bring a lunch, bring your family and friends to join us for an informal picnic.

Other Events of Interest

Coming in April - Community Emergency Response Team training April 4th, 11th, 15th, 18th, 25th & 26th Location: City of Ukiah Fire Department 300 Seminary Avenue, Ukiah, CA 95482

Presented by Mendocino Emergency Services Authority and City of Ukiah Fire Department: The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program was developed in California in the mid-80s as a way to train people to better prepare for emergency situations in their communities. Since then, it has become a national model for helping people respond to emergencies. When emergencies happen, CERT members can give critical support to first responders, provide immediate assistance to victims, and organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site. CERT members can also help with non-emergency projects that improve the safety of the community. CERT training classes include disaster preparedness, disaster fire suppression, basic disaster medical operations, and light search and rescue operations.

The target audience for the first course will be individuals throughout the City who are interested in putting together teams within their neighborhoods.

Registration: Contact Cindy Stanford (707) 463-6261 stanford@cityofukiah.com

For Information: Kurt Latipow, Chief, City of Ukiah Fire Department (707) 463-6263 klatipow@cityofukiah.com

Cost: There is no cost for this training Date/Time: April 4th - 6:00-9:30p.m. April 11th - 6:00-9:30p.m. April 15th - 8:00a.m.-5:00p.m. April 18th - 6:00-9:30 p.m. April 25th - 6:00-9:30 p.m. April 26th - 6:00 p.m. - Graduation

NEWS

More recognition for WELL from elected officials:

On Monday, March 20, representatives from WELL, REDI, Willits Environmental Center and the City met with aides for Barbara Boxer and Congressman Mike Thompson. During our meeting, the aides learned about our economic localization efforts with an eye towards how federal assistance could make Willits a model, green city.

We encourage everyone to write or call the offices of Thompson and Boxer to thank them for their visit.

Mike Thompson's office: heidi.dickerson@mail.house.gov 707.962.0933

Barbara Boxer's office: jennifer_tang@boxer.senate.gov 415.403.0116

School Farm News

Last week, in a special meeting, the Willits school board approved the Brookside School Farm! The farm will get started this spring and be a small community supported farm that will be integrated into student learning.

Many thanks and congratulations go to Jason Bradford for his whole hearted committment to seeing this project through the laborious beginning stages.

A VERY SPECIAL THANKS

At the general WELL meeting held last Monday, March 20, we appreciated one of WELL's dedicated volunteers, Brian Corzilius - thank you for all you have given.

Honoring Brian Corzilius March 20, 2006

The WELL Steering Committee would like to periodically publicly honor and thank dedicated people in our community working towards economic localization.

Tonight, this person is Brian Corzilius. Brian is perhaps best known for his work on energy issues. He led the way on compiling data and writing two reports related to our current energy use, envisioning local, sustainable energy supplies, and recommending projects that bridge that gap. I believe that this research was instrumental in convincing the City of Willits to take renewable energy seriously. So compelling was this work that Willits is aiming to become, apparently, the first City in North America to attempt to cover their electricity budget on solar energy technology. And more projects related to these reports are on the way.

Brian is also known as the creator of our web site, www.willitseconomiclocalization.org. He has also been vigilant at updating that site, and went to the trouble and expense of purchasing the domain name and the server time for the next few years. This web site gets hundreds of visits per day, is a great repository of information about WELL, and keeps many of us informed of what is up-coming.

Brian has also been a great promoter of economic localization and has enrolled local businesses to donate supplies to WELL from time to time. He even created a sticker to promote WELL, which everyone here is invited to take and spread around town.

These are the big things Brian has done, and there are many more little things too. As we have gotten to know each other by coming to WELL meetings and events, we have also found opportunities to help each other the way friends do. I can’t even recall the many ways Brian has helped, but I know based on the way I and others feel about him, that he is wonderful person to have around.

As a token of WELL’s appreciation to Brian, and in the spirit of “preparedness” and “frugality” that typifies the WELL ethos, I present, on behalf the WELL Steering Committee, this can of Pure Drinking Water, which says it is impervious to nuclear fallout and recommended for emergency uses. It also makes a great paperweight.

Jason Bradford, for the WELL Steering Committee

Review

Richard Register and Kirstin Miller bring Eco-City to WIllits

Read Claudia Reed's article about this event, published in the March 22nd issue of The Willits News, here: http://www.willitsnews.com/Stories/0,1413,253%257E26908%257E3273393,00.html

Read Lanny Cotler's letter to the editor regarding the same event, published on the same day, here: http://www.willitsnews.com/Stories/0,1413,253%257E33095%257E3273400,00.html

To see the presentations by Register and Miller and to read the notes from the breakout groups and citizen committees formed during the workshop, including the Green Mapping team, visit WELL's website using the link below: http://www.willitseconomiclocalization.org/Papers/Papers.htm

In the News

WELL is featured in an in-depth article in the on-line magazine Salon, you can read it here: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/03/22/peakoil/index.html

Important Office Note:

I will be out of the office for three weeks: from Friday, March 24 until Sunday, April 16.

During this time, if you have an urgent matter, please email Jason: jason@redinet.org or leave a message at the office - 459.1256 - which someone will return within a week. We all appreciate your patience.

spring@redinet.org

Spring Senerchia, Office Manager

Willits Economic LocaLization (WELL)

Renewable Energy Development Institute (REDI)

75 N. Main Street, #234 Willits, CA 95490

(707) 459-1256

Hi All:

I first read about these soils in " Botany of Desire " but I did not realize their potential. This entire thread on 'Terra Preta' soils I feel has great possibilities to revolutionize sustainable agriculture into a major CO2 sequestration strategy.

 http://forums.hypography.com/earth-science/3451-terra-preta-9.html

The Georgia Inst. of Technology page: http://www.energy.gatech.edu/presentations/dday.pdf

There is a soil ecology going on in these soils that is not completely understood, and if replicated and applied at scale would have multiple benefits for farmers and environmentalist.

 I've sent it to the researchers at M-Roots, who make Mycorisal fungus inoculations for acceleration of the reestablishment of the symbiotic fungal / root relationship. Here's the M-Roots site: http://www.rootsinc.com/

Erich J. Knight

WELL NEWSLETTER - MARCH 8, 2006

Calendar of WELL Events

Friday, March 17 6:00 - 8:00pm

Willits Community Center Community Mixer and slide show with Richard Register and Kristin Miller of Eco City Builders on creating healthy communities - this is event is open to everyone and free.

Saturday, March 18 9:00am - 3:00pm Special Workshop: Richard Register and Kristin Miller of Eco City Builders Willits Community Center

Richard and Kristin will present examples and solutions for creating walkable, healthy and car free communities. Topics addressed will include: Land use planning, Peak oil, Climate change, Alternative transportation and Economic localization.

There is a $20 fee that includes lunch.

This event is co-sponsored by the City of Willits, REDI, WAG, EDFC, MCRS and NCO.

This is a great opportunity to work on specific changes citizens would like to see to county and city plans and regulations to move them towards alignment with expressed community goals for greater self-reliance, minimal environmental impacts, and improved health.

To register, please see the attached flier.

For more information please call Cathy: 459.7128

Monday, March 20 - General Meeting of the Working Groups

6:30 - 8:30pm Willits Community Center

Join us for our monthly meeting of our working groups and get involved with their projects.

Special Event Coming in April:

THIS IS RLNC — "OUR LINK" TO SUSTAINABILITY

Calling all Economic Localization groups in Northern California to join together for a Regional Localization Networking Conference.  An information exchange opportunity sponsored by the WELL April 7-9, 2006 — Keynote Address by David Schaller - Sustainable Development Coordinator, US EPA

The purpose of this conference is to improve our region’s economic localization efforts through sharing best practices; developing consistent messages for the general public, business community, and political leaders; and enhancing regional communication between groups. The goal for this conference is not to raise the general awareness of the issue of economic localization, but rather to share ideas among those who are presently encouraging this transition in their communities.

An application, including more details for this event, is attached as is a schedule for the conference. Now is the time to register for this event. We have many localization groups coming - please join us.

If you are a member of WELL, please call about reduced rates.

Other Events of Interest

FRIDAY, MARCH 10, Sustainable Laytonville's Film Series presents: "Ancient Futures"

7:00pm - Old BAND ROOM, Laytonville High School

The first night of our three-session film/ LHS Band session played to a packed house. DON'T MISS THE SECOND OF THESE FUN EVENINGS! Continuing with SUSTAINABILITY as the THEME, the LHS BAND and SUSTAINABLE LAYTONVILLE will present another BAND/FILM night for your entertainment.

Sustainable refreshments will be available for purchase.

A $3 donation per person is suggested for the evening, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Please join us!

FILM: Ancient Futures Ancient Futures is a remarkable look at the root causes of our environmental and social crises, and a powerful challenge to re-examine what we mean by "progress." Ladakh, or "Little Tibet," is a harsh, beautiful land high in the Western Himalayas of India. A model of sustainable living, the traditional Ladakh culture has prospered, virtually free of crime and pollution. Now, centuries of ecological balance and social harmony are eroding as the result of western influences.

Saturday, March 11 - Ecovillage Emerging T

he Cloud Forest Institute is in the beginning stages of developing a plan to purchase land collaboratively in order to build a Self Reliant Educational Community in Potter Valley. If you would like to help make this vision a reality please refer to us individuals and ngo's that you know of who are interested in exploring the idea. You can also participate in our on-line forum, Ecovillage Emerging at the www.cloudforest.org wiki website.

On March 11, at noon the Cloud Forest Institute will host a potluck lunch to visit the site and hike the property. Email jen@cloudforest.org for more information.

Saturday, March 11 7-9pm Slideshow and talk about Russian biointensive projects United Methodist Church in Willits - corner of Pine and School streets

Vladimir "Volodya" Loginov, founder of EcoInform, Kurganinsk, Russia, and Carol Vesecky, Director of Biointensive for Russia (BfR), Palo Alto, CA, will offer a free presentation of their work. Volodya has taught sustainable cooperative lifestyles to older teenage boys who have graduated from a school for orphans in Kurganinsk, in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia near the Black Sea and the Caucasus mountains. Some of the techniques he has taught include Biointensive gardening, nutrition and cooking, pruning high trees using ropes, carpentry, car and motorcycle mechanics, and straw bale building.

Volodya also will address some of the ways in which he has striven to become "independent of the corporations" including developing a well and a water purification system, building a windmill for pumping water, heating with an efficient wood stove, growing and preserving his own food using local varieties (garden and orchard), composting, a biotoilet, and using solar energy for cooking, heating water, and lighting his home. He is deeply involved with regional environmental efforts as well, working with the Independent Ecological Group of Experts of the Northwest Caucasus. For example, in 2005 they helped ensure that public hearings be held prior to major development of the port of Taman. For more information contact Dave Watts at 459-9009.

For information on BfR, visit http://www.biointensiveforrussia.igc.org/.

Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18 - Nonviolent Communication workshop with Mair Alight

Three Jewels Hall - on the coast

Deepen your practice of the four elements of nonviolent communication, grow your insight and increase your capacity to listen and speak from the heart of compassion: the art of clearly observing the events happening around us (without diagnosing, judging, labeling or fixing,) expressing feelings that develop around our needs relevant to those events (while expanding our consciousness of the spectrum of those fulfilling needs), and building a vocabulary for making requests from a place of calm awareness...that we are the source of our experience by the way we interpret and hold what's happening around us...

We are requesting a deposit of $50 and ask participants to check out their willingness to contribute anywhere from $50~$200 at the end of the event, based on their feelings of fruitfulness (some of you may remember the "duck index" ~)...

For more information, please call: Cristie Holliday 937-3439

Coming in April - Community Emergency Response Team training April 4th, 11th, 15th, 18th, 25th & 26th Location: City of Ukiah Fire Department 300 Seminary Avenue, Ukiah, CA 95482

Presented by Mendocino Emergency Services Authority and City of Ukiah Fire Department: The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program was developed in California in the mid-80s as a way to train people to better prepare for emergency situations in their communities. Since then, it has become a national model for helping people respond to emergencies. When emergencies happen, CERT members can give critical support to first responders, provide immediate assistance to victims, and organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site. CERT members can also help with non-emergency projects that improve the safety of the community. CERT training classes include disaster preparedness, disaster fire suppression, basic disaster medical operations, and light search and rescue operations.

The target audience for the first course will be individuals throughout the City who are interested in putting together teams within their neighborhoods.

Registration: Contact Cindy Stanford (707) 463-6261 stanford@cityofukiah.com

For Information: Kurt Latipow, Chief, City of Ukiah Fire Department (707) 463-6263 klatipow@cityofukiah.com

Cost: There is no cost for this training

Date/Time: April 4th - 6:00-9:30p.m. April 11th - 6:00-9:30p.m. April 15th - 8:00a.m.-5:00p.m. April 18th - 6:00-9:30 p.m. April 25th - 6:00-9:30 p.m. April 26th - 6:00 p.m. - Graduation

In the news

Jason sends this link from the Energy Bulletin in which Representatives Roscoe Bartlett and Tom Udall distribute a NY Times op-ed piece to their House colleagues.

Read the article, by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Robert B. Semple, Jr. and the summary of the House bill these representatives have introduced about Peak Oil: http://www.energybulletin.net/13396.html

Review

The Future of WELL Workshop - March 4 & 5

We had a wonderful turnout - each day there were almost 30 people, over the course of the weekend we had nearly 40 participants. Everyone was respectful and dedicated to the process, which was, at times, challenging.

We successfully identified our top 11 common values that underlie the work of WELL, which will be further refined:

Sustainability,

Personal responsibility,

Working cooperatively within community,

Healthy community,

Sustainable community,

Stewardship,

Fun,

Sharing resources,

Justice,

Expression of spirit and

Ethics.

These values led us into a visioning process that was hands-on and invigorating and resulted in the following vision statement, of which we are proud:

An enduring local economy that provides health and security for our community.

Our values work also identified the top five areas of WELL's work: Community, Health, Sustainability, Localization and Security.

These areas will make up the core of our Strategic Plan. We began work crafting short, medium and long-term goals, with more specific objectives and strategies, in each of these areas. Work will continue to organize these five areas into a comprehensive plan that includes funding needs and sources.

We ended our day with a speedy look at our organizational structure. The current Steering Committee was unanimously empowered to continue work, including follow up to this workshop, for the next six months - until the beginning of September.

As a first step in overhauling and clarifying our organizational structure, a committee was formed to address membership. In the next month they will define the terms of membership - based on our large group discussion on Sunday - and organize a membership drive. This membership will be charged with, among other things, approving our steering committee members and responsibilities.

With very few exceptions, everyone present volunteered many hours each week to work on follow-up to this workshop and other WELL activities. Although we still have much to sort out and strategize, a very strong foundation has been built.

A very sincere thank you:

To all of the folks who gave precious weekend time to reinvigorate and clarify WELL.

To Annie Weller for helping set up the space and provide snacks and coffee.

To the steering committee for helping to create the agenda and work out the details of this event.

And especially, to our two committed facilitators who gave us so much time and energy -

I am quite sure we wouldn't have come away with the quality we did without your expert help.

Lost and Found:

There were two items left at our weekend workshop: a small, black velvet scarf and a black umbrella.

And one black wool coat left at the health panel.

Please claim your items at the REDI office.

Happy International Women's Day - honor the women in your life!

spring@redinet.org

Spring Senerchia, Office Manager

Willits Economic LocaLization (WELL)

Renewable Energy Development Institute (REDI) 7

5 N. Main Street, #234 Willits, CA 95490

(707) 459-1256

Last fall Michael Shuman spoke at the 2nd US Conference on "Peak Oil" and Community Solutions in Yellow Springs, OH. He was very upbeat and has solid practical ideas regarding preserving a local economy in the age of globalization. You can read about his presentation in Willits, CA: http://www.postcarbon.org/files/ProgressinWillits.pdf

Also, you can listen to the presentation he gave at the Bioneer's Conference in San Rafael, CA last October:
http://www.bioneers.org/podcast/2006/01/going-local-creating-self-reliant.htm

Lester R. Brown is the President of the Earth Policy Institute

May 23, 2006

Peak oil is described as the point where oil production stops rising and begins its inevitable long-term decline. In the face of fast-growing demand, this means rising oil prices. But even if oil production growth simply slows or plateaus, the resulting tightening in supplies will still drive the price of oil upward, albeit less rapidly.

Few countries are planning a reduction in their use of oil. Even though peak oil may be imminent, most countries are counting on much higher oil consumption in the decades ahead, building automobile assembly plants, roads, highways, parking lots, and suburban housing developments as though cheap oil will last forever. New airliners are being delivered with the expectation that air travel and freight will expand indefinitely. Yet in a world of declining oil production, no country can use more oil except at the expense of others.

Some segments of the global economy will be affected more than others simply because some are more oil-intensive. Among these are the automobile, food, and airline industries. Cities and suburbs will also evolve as oil supplies tighten.

Stresses within the U.S. auto industry were already evident before oil prices started climbing in mid-2004. Now General Motors and Ford, both trapped with their heavy reliance on sales of gas-hogging sport utility vehicles, have seen Standard and Poor’s lower their credit ratings, reducing their corporate bonds to junk bond status. Although it is the troubled automobile manufacturers that appear in the headlines as oil prices rise, their affiliated industries will also be affected, including auto parts and tire manufacturers.

The food sector will be affected in two ways. Food will become more costly as higher oil prices drive up production costs. As oil costs rise, diets will be altered as people move down the food chain and as they consume more local, seasonally produced food. Diets will thus become more closely attuned to local products and more seasonal in nature.

At the same time, rising oil prices will also be drawing agricultural resources into the production of fuel crops, either ethanol or biodiesel. Higher oil prices are thus setting up competition between affluent motorists and low-income food consumers for food resources, presenting the world with a complex new ethical issue.

Airlines, both passenger travel and freight, will continue to suffer as jet fuel prices climb, simply because fuel is their biggest operating expense. Although industry projections show air passenger travel growing by some 5 percent a year for the next decade, this seems highly unlikely. Cheap airfares may soon become history.

Air freight may be hit even harder, perhaps leading to an absolute decline. One of the early casualties of rising oil prices could be the use of jumbo jets to transport fresh produce from the southern hemisphere to industrial countries during the northern winter. The price of fresh produce out of season may simply become prohibitive.

During the century of cheap oil, an enormous automobile infrastructure was built in industrial countries that requires large amounts of energy to maintain. The United States, for example, has 2.6 million miles of paved roads, covered mostly with asphalt, and 1.4 million miles of unpaved roads to maintain even if world oil production is falling.

Modern cities are also a product of the oil age. From the first cities, which took shape in Mesopotamia some 6,000 years ago, until 1900, urbanization was a slow, barely perceptible process. When the last century began, there were only a few cities with a million people. Today there are more than 400 such cities, 20 of them with 10 million or more residents.

The metabolism of cities depends on concentrating vast amounts of food and materials and then disposing of garbage and human waste. With the limited range and capacity of horse-drawn wagons, it was difficult to create large cities. Trucks running on cheap oil changed all that.

As cities grow ever larger and as nearby landfills reach capacity, garbage must be hauled longer distances to disposal sites. With oil prices rising and available landfills receding ever further from the city, the cost of garbage disposal also rises. At some point, many throwaway products may be priced out of existence.

Cities will be hard hit by the coming decline in oil production, but suburbs will be hit even harder. People living in poorly designed suburbs not only depend on importing everything, they are also often isolated geographically from their jobs and shops. They must drive for virtually everything they need, even to get a loaf of bread or a quart of milk.

Suburbs have created a commuter culture, with the daily roundtrip commute taking, on average, close to an hour a day in the United States. While Europe’s cities were largely mature before the onslaught of the automobile, those in the United States, a much younger country, were shaped by the car. While city limits are usually rather clearly defined in Europe, and while Europeans only reluctantly convert productive farmland into housing developments, Americans have few qualms about this because cropland was long seen as a surplus commodity.

This unsightly, aesthetically incongruous sprawl of suburbs and strip malls is not limited to the United States. It is found in Latin America, in Southeast Asia, and increasingly in China. Flying from Shanghai to Beijing provides a good view of the sprawl of buildings, including homes and factories, that is following the new roads and highways. This is in sharp contrast to the tightly built villages that shaped residential land use for millennia in China.

Shopping malls and huge discount stores, symbolized in the public mind by Wal-Mart, were all subsidized by artificially cheap oil. Isolated by high oil prices, suburbs may prove to be ecologically and economically unsustainable.

In the coming energy transition, there will be winners and losers. Countries that fail to plan ahead, that lag in investing in more oil-efficient technologies and new energy sources, may experience a decline in living standards. The inability of national governments to manage the energy transition could lead to a failure of confidence in leaders and to failed states.

National political leaders seem reluctant to face the coming downturn in oil and to plan for it even though it will almost certainly become one of the great fault lines in the history of civilization. Trends now taken for granted, such as urbanization and globalization, could be reversed almost overnight as oil becomes scarce and costly.

Developing countries will be hit doubly hard as still-expanding populations combine with a shrinking oil supply to steadily reduce oil use per person. Such a decline could quickly translate into a fall in living standards. If the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer and importer, can sharply reduce its use of oil, it can buy the world time for a smoother transition to the post-petroleum era.

http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/Seg/PB2ch02_ss6_7.htm

In a facinating article on theoildrum.com, the author speaks about swarming as a military tactic where the perpetrators act like bees. In an instant, they all come out of the hive, attack with a force beyond their numbers, and then quickly disperse.

It is this same technique that the insurgents are using in Iraq. Although our military is far stronger- in numbers, technology, and arms- the insurgents are causing us hell because they swarm. "Meet at such-and-such intersection at such-and-such time, swarm, then get the hell out." After the attack, everyone again splits up into their individual pursuits and individual hives. Though, for an instant, it seemed like the insurgents were thousands strong due to their incredible localized force.

From another discussion about a food exchange the idea of having a neighbourhood garden program came up.

Here's a link

http://neighbourgardens.affinitybridge.com

The concept as I understand is matching people with gardening land with people without. Great idea.

If any one is interested feel free to discuss it here.

WELL NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 21, 2006

CALENDAR of WELL EVENTS

March 4 & 5 - Workshop: "The Future of WELL"

10am - 5pm both days, at the Willits High School Food Center

This workshop will have three parts:

1. review of what we've accomplished, what's working, what's not, organizational structure

2. visioning of what we'd like to create in our community based on core values - including a long term vision and a succinct vision statement

3. strategic plan for our next year of work, to include fundraising plan, outreach plan, organizational structure and key projects.

Hello everyone,

In the fall I'll be teaching a "break petroleum dependence" class at Elgin Community College (Illinois). I'd love to do a pre-test/post-test to measure students' behavioral change, i.e., in what ways and to what degree they are making the transition away from oil. The findings might help us identify what teaching strategies are most effective in getting members of the general public to use less petroleum.

Does such an inventory already exist? If so, please send me a signal

donna dot askins at gmail dot com

Many thanks.

Donna.

Explaining the approach of Peak Oil
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A peek at Peak Oil
Roel Meijer

Demand continues to accelerate as new oil discoveries dwindle

The first half of the Age of Oil is drawing to a close, and possibly much sooner than projected

"Thirty years from now, oil will be little used as a source of energy... Our grandchildren will say, 'You burned it? All those beautiful molecules? You burned it?'"
- Kenneth Deffeyes, Professor Emeritus, Princeton University

We have grown up with the idea that there will always be enough, in some instances more, though deep down we know nothing lasts forever. That is the message of Peak Oil: We are close to the point where the increase in available oil will halt, and after that forever decline. That will be the end of the first half of the Age of Oil.

As Oil Prices Go Up, Companies Struggle to Contain Their Costs

By Steven Mufson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 11, 2006; D01

When Hawaiian Electric Co. submitted a rate plan to regulators last fall, it included a worst-case scenario in which oil prices would start at $70 a barrel and escalate over time to $119 a barrel.

Today, the worst-case scenario has come true for current prices.

"When we did the scenario at the $70 range, it did seem high at the time," said Lynne Unemori, a spokesman for Hawaiian Electric, which unlike most utilities relies on oil for three-quarters of its fuel needs. Company planners thought prices were more likely to be "in the $40 to $50 a barrel range," she said. Now the company says that the rate increases it received last September aren't enough and that it will seek more from regulators.

Fuel prices may affect farmers' planting decisions
Posted 5/8/2006 4:14 AM ET
By Sue Kirchhoff, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — High energy prices are increasing farmers' production and living expenses, adding burdens at a time when agricultural income is already coming off recent record levels.
Farm fuel costs are expected to rise at least 10% this year, with prices 113% above 2002 levels.

Energy inflation might be affecting planting decisions. A March U.S. Agriculture Department survey found farmers intend to plant 5% less corn and 7% more soybeans this year than in 2005.

One possible factor is that soybeans, which can convert nitrogen from the atmosphere, cost much less than corn to plant and fertilize. Pricey natural gas accounts for the most of the cost of producing nitrogen fertilizer.

Look here-

In the late 1800's, the populists hosted a conference in order to fuel the populist movement. They trained 40,000 public speakers to go back home- to town meetings, and churches, street corners and civic organizations- to spread the word about banking cartels and the dangers of a centralized and centralizing government.

Look back at that number: 40,000. The population of the United States then was far less than forty million. 1% of the population were trained as public speaker to instigate change. Although the populists were later co-opted by the progressives, they started a train rolling that still has roots today that yearn to be heard.

Hi Everyone,
Recently I started a long process of researching world "trends" and "myths" and would like to share my findings with you. Here is that information compiled into a website report. My hope is that this information will help people save time and hardship in the future. Here is the link:

http://mypage.uniserve.ca/~willg/

Note: There are 10 pages (including the reference page) with many graphics, so if you are using a slow dialup connection, you may want to save each page to your hard drive to read later; otherwise your browser will want to download the graphics each time you move from one section of the report to the next.

Guys, a short list of areas to explore as part of this group for the future of CK.

A link for community strategic planning from the Ontario government that may have some points to consider:

http://www.reddi.mah.gov.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_6_23107_1.html

Other areas (excuse any repeats in some topics)

Water, rain barrels, wells, sewage treatment, water treatment, water purification, power sources for water and sewage treatment plants

Food, tilling without fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, permaculture, seed banks, transport to markets, local food needs, mills, preserving food, storage, refridgeration, animal husbandry

It seems to me that an important move in the near future would be to begin some sort of organization within communitites (or cities) with large populations, namely big urban centers, as a way to prepare for the time when it will be necessary for many of the able bodied/minded people from around the region to move to the industrial agriculture areas of various regions. In effect, I'm talking about members from communitites organizing "would be" migrant groups and resources that would be able to move to these areas and suppliment the agricultural produce reduction.

Groups that would be able to effectively move, begin building communities, begin production, and establish transportation systems to move this produce to other communities that don't have the capacity to produce enough for themseleves. Included would be considerations of irrigation/water supplies as well as maintaining this migrant population until production begins to yield.

This article and list of articles are taken from Dale Allen Pfeiffer's Website, surviving peak oil. I spoke with Dale in NYC. He's very approachable and would be available to come to CK to speak. His speaking fee is far too genergous for the amount of information he conveys in his talks. He is originally from Michigan and is a geologist by training.

http://www.survivingpeakoil.com/article.php?id=transition_post-tech

http://www.survivingpeakoil.com/articles.php

 I was out with my Mom and Dad  the other day hitting all the discount stores in Chatham, like bibles for missions and Sally Ann ( Salvation Army). At one of the stores someone had donated an excersise machine that used arm and leg muscles to life the person's body weight against a resistance. I thought with an extremely small modification, it could be turned into a pump. If you manually pumped your water to a water tower you could convert a bit of that energy to generating Electricity when gravity took over. The electricity could be used for all kinds of things if you could store it well. Now that is the real challange. Super large inducter, capacitor circuits may be able to be used instead of chemical batteries ( notablly inefficient and dangerous to the environment, unless you used one based on copper and aluminium in human liquid waste ), in the mean time you would have presurized water going to where you need it and you got some excersise in .

EROEI refers to Energy Returned on Energy Invested. How much you get back for the amount of effort you put into it. Or in the case of energy, how much energy it costs to get energy back. If you're doing 100 calories of work to get 500 back, you're doing pretty well. However if you were doing 500 calories of work to get 100 calories of food, you're going to starve rather quickly.
In the case of Peak Oil when EROEI is 1 for 1 it will no longer be economically viable to continue to use this resource as a form of energy. When the energy descent occurs the EROEI ratio will continue to decrease until it reaches one to one or less than one for one unit of energy expended.

BigIsleForester, ckaupp, and czlockhart are all Big Island residents! Perhaps you should get together and start something there!

Ben on Maui

I would like to hear from people about how you see the purposes of our group APPLE-Shasta.  Some folks want to focus on helping each other "homestead"--cut our energy use and increase our food production at home.  Other folks want to work as a community--educating others and seeking ways we can increase our self-reliance as a community.  Obviously, I think we can do both.  Some folks may feel called to work with the City Council and Country Supervisors.  Others may want to hold public educational events.  Still others may want to focus on the community g

 I posted  an article about my neighbours. I have lived in the same spot for over a decade and I have gotten to know my nieghbours pretty good. I was saying that four houses in a row including mine have open backyards. I was also saying that when a fall happens, we could join up the backs of our properties and start a small communal garden. That is just one of many ideas that has been going through my head. Any comments would be welcome.

Michael J. Kaer, owner of www.2bitpixel.com and www.mikesworms.com