Post Carbon Newsletter #34 December 2007
1. Post Carbon Cities
2. Global Public Media
3. Relocalization Network
4. Energy Farms Network
5. Putting the Heat on Lomborg
6. Forthcoming Events
7. January Preview
1. Post Carbon Cities
 Although the East Coast book tour is over, enthusiasm around Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty is still going strong. We've sold nearly 750 copies in barely two months and with minimal advertising. Austin, Texas and San Francisco, California have copies for their new oil/energy depletion task forces, and the city of Providence, Rhode Island ordered 50! Individuals all over the U.S. and Canada are buying it either for themselves or to share with their local officials.
The East Coast tour produced evidence of such interest that a Spring 2008 New England conference is in the works for New England officials and staff from the public, private and non-profit sectors. We're also working with interested parties to release both a version in French and an English mass-market version.
Daniel Lerch, Post Carbon Cities author and program manager, has been invited to present at the 2008 American Solar Energy Society conference in San Diego and Sustainable Ireland's annual "Convergence" conference in Dublin. Daniel will also be co-hosting a session on energy and climate uncertainty at the 2008 American Planning Association conference in Las Vegas. Early 2008 will see many other Post Carbon Cities presentations in California and the Pacific Northwest; we'll update the tour schedule at postcarboncities.net as it develops.
The Post Carbon Cities website added a weekly blog this month, providing a forum for PCC staff and guest bloggers to write about emerging themes in planning, policy, and urbanism in relation to energy and climate uncertainty. Daniel and Post Carbon Cities program assistant Laurel Hoyt inaugurated the blog with a series of posts about the Post Carbon Cities East Coast tour. Read the blog at http://postcarboncities.net/blog or subscribe to the rss feed at http://postcarboncities.net/blog/feed.
2. Global Public Media
 New this month on Global Public Media:
3. Relocalization Network
 Here's a recap of some of the events and developments over the past month.
Toban Black of Post Carbon London took to the mic at the December 8th International Demonstration on Climate Change in London, Ontario (Canada). Read his speech online. Washington County Peak Oil recently joined the Relocalization Network community, bringing the relocalization strategy to Beaverton, Oregon (US). Founders Donna Maebori and Peter Lunsford were interviewed for Willamette Week, the leading weekly paper in Portland. Washington County Peak Oil has also sponsored Peak Moment TV for the coming year - a daily television series on positive responses to energy decline and climate change through local community action.
The Lifeboat Show, a program of the Relocalization Network's Titanic Lifeboat Academy (Astoria, Oregon), presented Post Carbon Fellow Dr. William Rees from the University of British Columbia, discussing our ecological footprint on December 17. Check Global Public Media for updates if you missed it.
After months of hard work and community consultation - Australian relocalization group coordinators, Sonya Wallace and Janet Millington have seen more than 150,000 hits on their website, numerous supporting emails and hundreds of visitors dropping in to their community education centre, the Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre. Finally, they're taking a well-earned break but will be back in full swing for February 2008. In the meantime, they will be developing new courses and drafting Australia's first Energy Descent Action Plan. Stay tuned!
What are your plans for the coming year? If you or your group is interested in joining the Relocalization Network and building a strong and collaborative network of community groups, contact us!
Subscribe to the monthly Relocalize Newsletter and visit www.relocalize.net to stay current with all the Relocalization Network activities!
Featured Post Carbon Group: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
 Paths to a Sustainable Future is a grassroots organization dedicated to increasing self-reliance in the Greater Milwaukee region to address the impending global crises of climate change and the decline of fossil fuels. We strive to increase public awareness, advocate for progressive government policies, facilitate the re-establishment of lost skills, and develop community strategies for energy descent.
We began meeting in February 2007 at the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee. We joined the Relocalization Network in November, 2007, and since establishing a listserv, our group has grown to about 75 members. In t he last few months, we have sponsored film screenings, presentations by our own members and visiting speakers, home and garden tours, and potlucks, covering topics ranging from peak oil to intentional communities. A book discussion group also recently began meeting monthly.
We have a volunteer steering committee that meets approximately every 4-6 weeks. The steering group members come from a variety of backgrounds and have experience in grant writing, teaching, marketing, and organic farming in both urban and rural settings. We have also connected with the Director of the Mayor's Office of Sustainability, and several local organizations addressing various aspects of sustainability, including the Milwaukee Urban Agriculture Network.
Inspired by the Boulder County Going Local campaign, we are planning a campaign to increase local self-reliance, known as Live Local Milwaukee. We contacted Michael Brownlee of Boulder Valley Relocalization, one of the pioneer groups in the Relocalization Network - he was very supportive and helpful, and sent us some of their written materials. We're most impressed with what they've done and are grateful to have found a model that feels right for our group.
The goals of the Live Local Milwaukee campaign are to:
- Create a coalition of organizations working toward relocalizing the Greater Milwaukee region.
- Increase community awareness of the benefits of and need for relocalization.
- Increase local self-reliance and community cohesion, and strengthen the local economy.
Click here to read more about our six proposed campaign themes.
4. Energy Farms Network
Brookside Farm
 Within the past month, we have beautified Brookside Farm and taken its educational component to a new level with help from the local permaculture guild. Max and Maria Myers of Mendocino Ecological Learning Center (MELC) worked with Post Carbon Institute to plant perennial guilds (plants with similar habits of growth and nutrition) in and around fruit trees. We selected plants based upon their suitability to the climate and for functionality, with the main intention of bringing new smells, textures, and colors to the farm for students and after school programs.
We interplanted common culinary herbs such as sage, thyme, mint, and fennel among nitrogen fixing lupines, beneficial insect-habitat plants (yarrow and calendula), and nutrient accumulating plants such as comfrey. . We mulched the guilds to conserve water and keep weed competition low as the new plants establish themselves. We are thankful for the help from MELC and are sure that these guilds will spark further conversation around permaculture design, stacking functions, and the benefits of a polyculture system.
Since the agricultural season has slowed, we have more time for writing and analyzing our efforts in 2007. We live in an exciting time with emerging challenges related to food, energy, and the environment. Visit the recent blogs from Jason Bradford and Christoffer Hansen and join the dialog as we address the vulnerabilities and opportunities related to local food and energy security. We'll be transforming the website in the coming months, so check back frequently to view and comment on new material.
5. Putting the Heat on Lomborg
 The outlook from the world global climate change conference in Bali gets grimmer by the day, as the United States appears to be succeeding in blocking any substantive collection action. Where did global climate deniers and delayers like Bjorn Lomborg come from? Check out the workings of The Denial Machine to see how corporate-funded climate denial sprang directly from the tobacco industry's cover-up of smoking and cancer.
6. Forthcoming Events
1 January 2008 - 31 December 2008
UN INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF PLANET EARTH
The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the year 2008 to be UN International Year of Planet Earth. The Year's activities will span the three years 2007-2009. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been designated to organize activities during the Year, in collaboration with UNEP and other relevant United Nations bodies, the International Union of Geological Sciences and other Earth sciences societies and groups throughout the world.
January 4 - 5, 2008
Make A Film That Matters! -- Green Reel Environmental Film Festival
Vaughan, ON
The GREEN REEL ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL is a two-day event held in Vaughan, ON, that serves both as a showcase for environmentally-themed productions and as an awareness forum for community green groups.
January 12, 2008
Paradise Lost? Climate Change in the Northwoods
UW Madison Center for Biology Education, Madison, WI, USA
This is an environmental art and science exhibit that, amongst other things, highlights local and statewide efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
January 21 - 23, 2008
 World Future Energy Summit
Abu Dhabi, UAE
WFES will be the world's largest conference and exhibition on renewable and future energy solutions, innovations, policy and vision. Speakers include world ministers, politicians, business leaders, environmentalists, and opinion makers. Plus 200+ international exhibitors will showcase tomorrow's energy solutions. Global Public Media correspondent David Strahan will be attending, watch for reports.
January 22 - 23, 2008
Future Fuels Rail Traction
London, UK
This conference is a bit off the beaten track. Faced with rising fuel costs and pressure to reduce greenhouse gases, the rail community faces the challenge of finding a cost effective, energy efficient, and sustainable alternative to diesel oil
January 24 - 25, 2008
Wisconsin Local Food Summit & Midwest Value added
Eau Claire, WI, USA
This year's Wisconsin Local Food Summit celebrates the diverse array of local food initiatives underway in the state. The Summit will be held in conjunction with the 10th annual Midwest Value-Added Agriculture Conference, which helps people explore new market opportunities and learn from farmers, business people and experts involved in value-added farm enterprises
7. January 2008 Preview
The importance of car sharing for cutting carbon use & emissions.
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