Gaiaoo ??
If you have been following peakoil.com or if you used news.google.com to search
for "global warming" you may have come across the press release at
http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/4162/
which states,
NewswireToday - /newswire/ - London, UK, 03/10/2006 - Gaiaoo’s objective is to help the environment by reducing the amount of distance people, food and goods need to travel through communicating local alternatives.
<p>
A seemingly innocuous website called Gaiaoo could be part of the answer to help resolve the Global Warming and the Energy Crisis. The site is deliberately named after the Gaia theory which has been making people realise that changes in our environment are taking place as a result of human activity.<P>
Gaiaoo’s objective is to reduce the amount of distance people, food and goods need to travel. It is a resource which enables members of the public to publish information and news relating to their town and the local area in which they live, such as car sharing, locally sourced food from farmers, second hand goods available locally and recycling.<p>
It is generally accepted that we are a wasteful society and this is partly due to lack of choice. What Gaiaoo does is provides the technology which will enable individuals to be informed of a local alternative. If you have access to the Internet then this service is free.<p>
There have been various proposals put forward to the Gaia issue by leading academics from increasing the number of nuclear power stations to colonisation of the moon , all of which require huge investments and will take a long time to implement. Gaiaoo is a solution that is available now and accessible to all that is easy to use and has the potential, if widely adopted, to help achieve a sustainable future.<P>
The savings that Gaiaoo would make to the environment cannot be calculated. But we can predict that if we all reduce the distance travelled for products, services and food it will make a significant contribution.<P>
What you can do to help the environment is to visit Gaiaoo and register your interest in supporting this initiative. This will cost you nothing but a few minutes of your time.
Upon going to gaiaoo.com however, and creating
a new account login/password, all the site showed was a message that
Subscribe
The entry subscription is free for the first month and then $29 per month (max 10 entries). Please click on the Paypal button below to subscribe and make your entry live.
Maybe I missed something. OR maybe the site is well meaning but clunky,
with real content to be shown once they get their act straight...but otherwise this is
a scam at worst and a waste of time for those concerned about relocalization at best...
If it looks like a duck... I recommend that you frequent and support (read: buy lots of stuff) from your local Farmers Market. They are almost certain to be local and looking into the eyes of your supplier has a way of building community that is not present in WalMart. We do not need mega-web sites to redo what is already being done.
While at NOFA-VT's Winter Conference last month, I heard an interesting rally cry: "Grow Local!" Evidently, in some regions, there is so much demand for locally-grown produce that supply falls short! We need to remember that buying local is only one facet of our efforts; We need to encourage local food production using sustainable techniques as well. Buying local is one of the best ways to do this, as are starting/maintaining backyard and community gardens. Commitment to a CSA or local food-buyers club is yet another way to show your solidarity to the relocalization movement.
Peace, Jim Zack
Jim,
That's great news!
Industries spring up when the demand is clear. I think that's why relocalization will ultimately succeed; it's driven by a sustainable desire to reconnect to each other.
As opposed to, for example, the manner in which the hydrogen economy is being foisted on us.
Zack and Steve,
I am a CSA member and certainly
encourage others to do the same. I mostly
agree we need de-centralized solutions
but some local-maps type single common database
would be useful. We somehow need to grow
the local food production capacity but
it's a chicken and egg. In fact it's 1,001
chicken-and egg problems at the same time,
but not in a terrible way. I think we'll need
to ramp up local democracy, local currencies,
local manufacturing, local food production,
etc, at the same time, and each piece of the puzzle
can help with many others.
Post new comment