Post Carbon Newsletter #37 March 2008

1. Post Carbon Cities
2. Relocalization Network
3. Global Public Media
4. Energy Farms
5. Forthcoming Events
6. April 2008 Preview

1. Post Carbon Cities

We were happy to read Erica Etelson's review of the Post Carbon Cities guidebook in the Spring 2008 issue of Permaculture Activist. Although it's not currently on their website, we've been given permission to share the article: read it on our site.

"Spend a few minutes surfing most of the peak oil websites, and you will quickly arrive at the grim conclusion that civilization is doomed, or worse -- we oil-addicted humans are all going to die of starvation or be killed in the violence of a society in its death throes. Time to close your web browser and open Post Carbon Cities, a reference manual that offers a cautiously optimistic and pragmatic assessment of the looming twin crises of peak oil and climate change."
   — Erica Etelson, in Permaculture Activist, Spring 2008

And while you're there, check out the current state of the local government peak oil responses map and table, which are updated regularly. In late February, we learned that a peak oil task force in Haines Borough, Alaska had just released its final report for public comment. At 2,241 people, Haines Borough is the smallest local government that we know of working on peak oil.

Even further afield, Post Carbon Cities' Daniel Lerch will be in Ireland and the United Kingdom in early April with a full slate of appearances, including presentations to the Dublin City Council, the Belfast City Council, Cultivate Centre's annual Convergence gathering, and the annual Transition Network gathering. See Daniel's full tour schedule here.

And remember, read the Post Carbon Cities blog or newsletter for more news and analysis from our local government support program.

2. Relocalization Network

The Diablo Post Carbon Study Group will be tabling this Saturday, March 15th at "A Surge for Peace" March and Rally in Walnut Creek, CA. To learn more about the group, visit their website and join their mailing list.

On Sunday the 13th of April, SustainaBundy will host their first ever Permablitz as members and supporters work together to help transform a Bundaberg back yard into an oasis of sustainability with a food forest, chickens and a worm farm! The permablitz concept originated with permaculture designer Dan Palmer in Melbourne - it's the permaculture version of a Backyard Blitz. Read more about permablitzes here

North Country Peak Oil Action/Study Group in Canton, New York will be exhibiting at the 2008 North Country Sustainable Energy Fair on April 26-27, 2008, New York's longest running and largest community energy event. Senior Post Carbon Fellow Richard Heinberg will be the keynote speaker, kicking off two days of 50 workshops alongside local exhibitors and vendors. The event will cover over everything from solar, wind, green building and biofuels to peak oil, climate change, off-grid living and hands-on skills.

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!

Tomorrow Matters — Monterey, CA

This month we caught up with Deborah and Spencer Lindsay, in Monterey, California. Together they produce and host Tomorrow Matters, a talk radio program that puts the spotlight on environmental solutions to the global ecological crises — for a better world tomorrow. Topics on the show include climate change, peak oil, permaculture, green business, alternative transportation, renewable energy and more. Listen to this daily program to "learn how the Central Coast is lowering their collective footprint and how you can make a difference in your life, one step at a time, because for all of us, tomorrow really matters." Visit the website, www.deborahlindsay.com for show details. Stay tuned for the April Relocalize Newsletter for a full interview recap with Deborah Lindsay on the inside scoop about running a daily talk radio show!

2008 SustainaBundy Directory and Guide Release

A 100-page guide printed locally in Bundaberg, Australia, on recycled paper with vegetable based inks on a waterless press, The 2008 SustainaBundy Directory and Guide is an annual publication that local residents can keep at the ready!

The publication includes a directory of local businesses to help residents be more environmentally responsible at home and in the office, how-to articles on reducing consumption and waste, harvesting, storing and conserving water, natural resource management, eating fresh, local food and much more. It also includes calendars for keeping tabs on regional, national and worldwide environmental events, a local produce availability guide provided by the Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers, and a guide to the various markets in the region.

For more information about the guide or other Sustainabundy projects, visit sustainabundy.org.

3. Global Public Media

There was a special treat on Global Public Media this month, a reading by Post Carbon Fellow James Howard Kunstler from his new novel, World Made by Hand. After his great successes at visualizing the impact of Peak Oil on our future in non-fiction books like The Long Emergency, Kunstler has turned to fiction to give us a fully-worked out story of people in upstate New York struggling to survive in a post-peak oil world.

For more on Kunstler's views on where we're headed, you can also listen to The KunstlerCast, a weekly audio show where Kunstler and host/producer Duncan Crary explore the tragic comedy of suburban sprawl, with oil depletion as its backdrop. In this episode, James Howard Kunstler describes the impending end of cheap oil, which he calls "The Long Emergency." Suburbia is a living arrangement with no future, and big cities may not do well either. But small cities that exist at a scale that can be rebuilt are the places of the future.

Kunstler and other Peak Oil analysts agree that the U.S. will need millions of new farmers, because our current oil-based system of agriculture cannot survive in a peak-oil world. (See Post Carbon Fellow Richard Heinberg's "50 Million Farmers.") If you want to get a head-start on becoming an organic farmer, listen to "Starting Your Organic Farm," a workshop from the 2008 annual conference of the Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia.

You can also check out the second part of "The Case for a Sustainability Emergency," the second of two interviews with Philip Sutton, coauthor with David Spratt of a recent report titled Climate Code Red: The Case for a Sustainability Emergency. On this section, Sutton discusses how, with a shared sense of purpose and heroic leadership, humans have the technical and social capacity to go into "emergency" mode and design an economic and environmental turn-around in 10-20 years. The first part of this interview is here.

4. Energy Farms

As crude oil reaches record highs of $110 a barrel, the connection between the cost of food and the rise in energy prices is becoming painfully obvious. In a recent statement, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the UN's World Food Program, said the global economy had created:

"a perfect storm for the world's hungry, caused by high oil and food prices and low food stocks... Higher food prices will increase social unrest in a number! of countries which are sensitive to inflationary pressures and are import-dependent. We will see a repeat of the riots we have already reported on the streets such as we have seen in Burkina Faso, Mexico, Cameroon and Senegal."

In other news, while farmers appear to enjoy record commodity prices, the recent spikes in the cost of fertilizer and fuel are eroding gains:

• the price of nitrogen fertilizer risen 113% since 2000
• potash has risen from $225 a ton to nearly $500 a ton
• increasingly scarce phosphate has gone from $312 to between $800 and $900 a ton this year

Also, this month, the world's largest poultry processor closed a U.S. processing plant while cutting 1,100 jobs. The company blames record feed prices for the current industry-wide crisis. Even if you are a vegetarian, this news is still hard to hear. We can see plainly that agribusiness is designed to grow profit, not healthy food. Once their profit margins are at risk, the corporate producers may simply quit the job of growing food.

Brookside Farm

While both the news and data are unsettling, we are all the more confident in the course that our Energy Farm demonstration project is progressing in Willits, California. Our oil-free toolset is proving its value again as we ready spring beds for new transplants and seeding of cool season annuals.

The longer daylight hours are having an effect on cover crops that are adding nitrogen-rich biomass. These crops are crucial for the farm because they provide the nitrogen and micro-nutrients that allow us to secure fertility without off-farm inputs.

To get a sneak peek at our crop plans and calculations, checkout our online spreadsheet. After downloading the spreadsheet you can alter it to match the crops and climate that best suit your locale!

Sebastopol Energy Garden

With spring fast approaching, we've been working on increasing our sheltered growing space as well as our soil building capacities. Currently, we have a worm bin and three bins for compost. We built the new system in the middle of the garden and it will serve as the fourth stage of composting. From this bin, we will sift the compost and create our soil mixes. Because of its placement, it is ideal for distributing the soil and seedlings throughout the garden.

We used twenty-one straw bales for the walls, and onsite scrap lumber for the frame of the cover. The cover is plastic, and we plan on upgrading it with windows from the local recycle center. The growing space is separated from the compost bin by a wall of straw bales.

To integrate the two spaces we cut sections of rain gutter, which was onsite from our water catchment project, and put them through the straw bale wall. This allows the solar gain from the cold frame to heat up the compost pile during the day, and it encourages the compost pile to release some of its heat into the cold frame during the night.

We have extended our growing season, soil building capacity, and when the system starts to decompose the straw will make an excellent top dressing throughout the garden. The cold frame and compost bin are also well insulated by the straw bales.

5. Forthcoming Events

March 26-30, 2008
The Future of Our Shared Environment - Today
The Aspen Institute, Aspen, CO

Participants will begin Day One: Scenes from a Changing Planet by examining the latest research and theories about the environment, move into a discussion of the issues and opportunities in the field on Day Two: Questions, Limits and Challenges, and culminate on Day Three: Environmentally Sustainable Solutions.

March 27-28, 2008
Biodiversity & Ecosystem Finance: Mainstreaming Biodiversity and Ecosystem Finance
New York City, NY

Supported by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and endorsed by UNEP FI, this two day conference will explore all the issues relating to the developing area of Biodiversity & Ecosystem Finance. Speakers will be a balance of industry experts, financial institutions, and early adopter best practice case studies.

March 27-28, 2008
Bioenergy North America 2008
Chicago, Illinois

This major conference on biofuels and biomass will provide an overview of the biofuels marketplace, including the "food v fuel" debate, carbon markets, lessons learned from Brazil, and next generation biofuels.

March 31 - April 2, 2008
Exeter Skills for Sustainability: Putting the Pieces Together
University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

As the key annual sustainability event for UK Further and Higher Education, this important conference will encourage and inspire to identify essential skills and knowledge and go on to equip them to embed skills for sustainability in their own staff and students.

April 7-8, 2008
Energy Information Administration 2008 Energy Conference: 30 Years of Energy Information and Analysis
Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC

The EIA's annual conference features speakers on peak oil, nuclear, coal, LNG, and energy modeling.

April 8-9 2008
Sustainable Manufacturing Summit
Cutting emissions from design, operations, suppliers and consumption
Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA

How can manufacturers grow their business while reducing their total carbon emissions? How can you get smaller suppliers involved in your sustainability initiatives? How can you label the carbon intensity of individual products, and will your customers demand this? The Sustainable Manufacturing Summit takes a detailed view of the relationship between climate response and the manufacturing process. The program covers carbon reduction at every stage of the manufacturing process from design through to consumption.

WEB CAST:

April 10, 2008 - 11am to 4pm EDT
Converging Environmental Crises
Teach-in on Energy, Climate Change, Water, Agriculture and Population (PDF 432k)

Web-based conference on current environment and health concerns with top researchers and practicioners. See the complete speaker list here. (PDF 432k)

April 11-12, 2008
2008 MIT Energy Conference: Solutions that Scale to Meet the Energy Challenge
Marriott Hotel in Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA, USA

The goal of the MIT Energy Conference is to bring together leaders in the fields of technology, policy, industry, and finance to develop solutions for the tremendous challenges present in today's energy markets. The MIT Energy Conference will showcase promising technology and policy approaches that have the potential to achieve critical scale and make a significant impact on the global energy landscape.

April 14-15, 2008
Low Carbon Fuels 2008
Sacramento Convention Center, Sacramento, CA, USA

During this two-day summit, Low Carbon Fuels 2008 will showcase the fuels and technologies, policies and actions, and other ongoing efforts that will allow California to meet its policy goals, reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions, diversify its transportation fuel supplies, and establish a sustainable market for cleaner-burning fuels.

April 15-18, 2008
The American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) 31st Annual Conference
Houston Americas Hotel, Houston, TX, USA

AABE is a national association of energy professionals founded and dedicated to ensure the input of African Americans and other minorities into the discussions and developments of energy policies regulations, R&D technologies, and environmental issues. The agenda for this conference will focus on energy technology, strategy, and policy.

April 20-27, 2008
Appropriate Technology for the Developing World
Chiapas, Mexico

This workshop provides an overview of technologies which promote small scale renewable energy and resource management systems in the developing world. With an emphasis on the unique challenges presented by international project work, the workshop is ideal for people wanting to get involved in sustainable development work, organizations working in rural areas, and those who wish to reduce their own ecological impact. This course will be taught in both English and Spanish. Este curso sera dictado en ingles y espanol.

April 21-22, 2008
Canada's Ocean Energy Future: New Partnerships and Wider Opportunities
Palace Royal Hotel, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

How much renewable energy can Canada gain from the ocean? The Ocean Renewable Energy Group is a non-profit trade association, formed in 2004, which is holding this conference to explore Canada's ocean energy resources and technologies.

April 21-22, 2009
Renewable Energy PowerGen 2008
Radisson SAS, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

This conference is focused on how EU power producers are going to meet the European Commission calling for 20% of energy produced by 2020 to come from renewable resources.

April 26-27, 2008
2008 North Country Sustainable Energy Fair
SUNY Canton Campus Center, Canton, NY, USA

Keynote Speaker: Post Carbon Institute Senior Fellow Richard Heinberg. New York's longest running and largest community energy event will feature two days of 50 workshops and 60 exhibitors and vendors. The event will cover over everything from solar, wind, green building and biofuels to peak oil, climate change, off-grid living and hands-on skills.

6. April 2008 Preview

Bill McKibben is now an advisor to Post Carbon Institute and the Relocalization Network.

Post Carbon Newsletter #36 February 2008

1. Richard Heinberg, Post Carbon Senior Fellow
2. Post Carbon Cities
3. Global Public Media
4. Relocalization Network
5. Energy Farms Network
6. Forthcoming Events
7. March Preview

1. Richard Heinberg, Post Carbon Senior Fellow

Post Carbon Institute is pleased to announce that Richard Heinberg is now a full-time, paid, Senior Fellow. Richard has been collaborating with Post Carbon Institute since its inception in 2003. Richard has written four seminal books on Peak Oil and related topics: The Party's Over, Powerdown, The Oil Depletion Protocol, and Peak Everything. At Post Carbon Institute he will be devoting his time to writing, research, thinking, public speaking and the strategic direction of the organization. Watch for Richard's upcoming article in HopeDance and his monthly column in the Ecologist.

2. Post Carbon Cities

Many U.S. cities have plans in place to reduce greenhouse gases, and a growing number are planning for declining global oil production. But the City of Spokane (pop. 199,400) in eastern Washington has become the first to tackle climate change and global oil depletion together, marking a new step in local government responses to these increasingly urgent challenges.

Post Carbon Cities' Daniel Lerch spoke at the February 6th launch of Spokane's new sustainability strategic planning effort focused on climate change and energy security. The city will be forming its citizen task force in the next month.

And in other news, Post Carbon Cities is honored to be among the Top Ten Websites of 2008, as named by the readership at Planetizen.com. Planetizen is one of our favorite sites, too -- it's widely regarded as the web portal for planners and urbanists of all stripes. Thank you, Planetizen, and everyone who voted for us!

Photo credit: Spokane by pgauthier 2005

3. Global Public Media

New this month on Global Public Media:

4. Relocalization Network

Thanks to all those who responded to the offer of complimentary resource bundles for education and action, announced in the last newsletter, courtesy of Post Carbon Books. We've sent more than fifty bundles to groups all over the world, from North America to Ireland to India to Australia and New Zealand. Visit the website to learn about how groups are planning to put them to use!

Big Sur Powerdown will be holding their next community meeting/potluck and movie this Thursday, Feb 21^st at the local grange hall. They've formed a partnership with the local Grange, which is a great way to outreach if there's an active Grange in your vicinity. The Grange was often the community center for farming communities during the late 19th century and into the 20th. Though the movement has shrunk considerably, in 2005, the Grange had a membership of 300,000 with organizations in 3,600 communities in 37 states. For more on Big Sur's partnership with the local Grange, read this article.

If you're a serious gardener, you know it's never too early to start getting ready for the next growing season. Paths to a Sustainable Future in Milwaukee, WI are busy planning for their 2008 Plant and Seed Swap for this coming May. Seed swaps are a great way for people to share heirloom varieties that did well in their gardens the preceding year and keep broadening the number of gardeners and farmers using these precious seeds.

Local Action for a Sustainable Tomorrow (LAST) in Sequim, WA are preparing for their upcoming Making It Last! Sustainability Event that is scheduled for March 21 & 22. The keynote speaker on Friday, March 21 is Eric Corey Freed, an award-winning architect who will be talking on "The Inevitable Future of Our Buildings: The Emerging Field of Green Building." And on Saturday, there will be workshops, exhibits, computer recycling, and a solar-powered car.

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: Methow Valley (Twisp), Washington

Partnership for a Sustainable Methow (PSM), now entering its 10th year, endeavors to weave together the strands of sustainable culture, including renewable energy, resource cycling, a stable human population, and ecological literacy in the local community.

PSM publishes Sustinere – A Practical Journal of Sustainable Community (three issues per year), which addresses all aspects of sustainable culture, from local to global. (see link below to subscribe)

PSM hosts an annual volunteer-driven Community Harvest Dinner with the goals of building community, helping Methow residents connect with local growers, supporting our local economy, and fundraising to support our programs. Our last Harvest Dinner in October 2007 was a resounding success with over 300 people in attendance. All food and drink was produced locally, with the exception of olive oil and salt!

We also run a year-round educational program called "Sustainability Series," offering a broad spectrum of classes and presentations designed to inspire and educate about living sustainably. Upcoming topics include:

• A "State of the World, State of the Watershed" presentation
• A Bee Keeping Course
• An Edible Weeds Class
• Instruction on Pruning Fruit Trees
• and more!

PSM also co-ordinates sustainable home and farm tours and support two community projects – Classroom in Bloom (an organic garden at the local school, which provides outdoor education and fresh produce that is served in the school cafeteria) and Red Shed (an organic garden that provides fresh produce to the local food bank).

Another upcoming project is our Local Skills, Goods and Services Directory, which will catalog all of our local farmers and organic growers, service providers, artisans, builders and other skilled folks – providing them with an opportunity to get the word out about what they offer, and increasing opportunities for residents of the Methow Valley to support our local economy.

Visit our website, www.sustainablemethow.net, for details about our current projects!

5. Energy Farms Network

Brookside Farm

February marks the beginning of the agricultural season for Brookside Farm in Willits, California. Mid-winter rain and snow has soaked the land, yet sunny weather in the middle of the February is allowing the loam soil to drain so that we can begin preparation of our earliest spring crops of peas and spinach. The work we are able to accomplish in the late winter will mean a few weeks of early produce for new subscribers to the CSA at Brookside. We are excited to have made partnerships with Brookside Elementary School and the neighboring pre-school to get our produce to the cafeteria and the students!

With the winter writing and research drawing to a close, we are eager to get back outside and into the greenhouse. No doubt, we will spend some quality time with the GlaserHoe and Broadfork - two tools that we know are up to the challenge of a Post Carbon era. These tools are appropriate for small-scale vegetable production and can be acquired with minimal capital investment. What is also great about these tools is that they are effective for bed preparation and weed cultivation and do not use fossil fuels or create added pollution. Be sure to check out Jason Bradford's latest offering: Ecological Economics and Intense Vegetable Cultivation - you will never think of your lawn the same way again!

Sebastopol Energy Garden

The rainwater system is complete. We have now constructed a branched drain which directs overflow rainwater, and grey water (pending approval), to fruit tree mulch basinswhich will retain the water. This is in preparation for a dry summer. You can see our report on the water system at http://www.energyfarms.net/node/1493. In the coming weeks we will be planting perennials and starting seeds to plant in spring.

6. Forthcoming Events

February 26 - 27
Energy Design Conference and Workshop
Duluth, MN, USA

The 18th annual Energy Design Conference and Workshop will have a selection of quality seminars and workshops on the wise use of energy resources for professionals, educators, students, and homeowners.

February 28
RESET CONFERENCE 2008
The Living Rainforest near Newbury, Berkshire, UK

Humanitarian Impacts of Climate Change and Peak Oil

March 3 - 4
IISD CONFERENCE: A WAY FORWARD: CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON POST-2012 CLIMATE POLICY
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

The purpose of the conference is to examine the scope and implications of the Action Plan agreed at the 2007 UN Climate Change Conference. The meeting will aim to increase international understanding of key Canadian sensitivities and concerns, and Canadian understanding of international perspectives in regard to the emerging climate change regime.

March 3 - 7
Washington International Renewable Energy Conference
Washington, DC, USA

The U.S. Government will host the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC 2008) at the Washington, DC Convention Center on March 4-6, 2008. The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE), and the leading U.S. renewable energy trade associations will host the concurrent Trade Show, which is anticipated to be the largest business to business and business to government conference and exposition ever held on renewable energy in the U.S.

March 5
Massachusetts Environmental Education Society Annual Conference
Worcester, MA, USA

This year's conference focuses on Energizing EE and Going Green. The Conference will help educators plug into Environmental Education with GREEN hot topics, concepts, impacts and solutions. Download the full brochure and registration form. Schedule (view the workshop matrix)

March 11 - 13
Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's BuildingEnergy08
Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, MA, USA

Conference and trade show for renewable energy and green building professionals.

March 12
Green Feast
The Living Rainforest, Berkshire, UK

Food is a hot topic, with consumers advised to make ethical food choices, like 'organic', 'fair trade' and 'rainforest friendly'. Explore the different and sometimes conflicting meanings of 'sustainable food' with leading experts in the field.

March 12 - 14
Wisconsin Renewable Energy Summit
Milwaukee Area Technical College, Milwaukee, WI, USA

The fifth annual Wisconsin Renewable Energy Summit for 2008 is titled "Green Jobs" Growing Wisconsin's Economy. The focus of the Summit will be on the role that renewable energy, such as wind power, solar energy, geothermal, green buildings and bio-energy technologies will play in supporting Wisconsin's economic well being. Renewable energy in Wisconsin has the potential to produce 35,000 jobs in the next 10 years.

March 12 - 14
GLOBE 2008
Vancouver, BC, Canada

North America's largest international gathering of senior representatives from the public, private and NGO sectors involved in the business of the environment. High level dialogues about pressing environmental issues such as corporate sustainability, energy and climate change, finance, and building better cities.

March 26-30
The Future of Our Shared Environment - Today
The Aspen Institute, Aspen, CO, USA

Participants will begin Day One: Scenes from a Changing Planet by examining the latest research and theories about the environment, move into a discussion of the issues and opportunities in the field on Day Two: Questions, Limits and Challenges, and culminate on Day Three: Environmentally Sustainable Solutions with an in-depth look at the best current approaches to environmental problems.

March 27-28
Bioenergy North America 2008
Chicago, IL, USA

In-depth analysis of the key issues in emerging bioenergy markets including energy security, food security, climate change and sustainable development.

March 31 - April 2
Skills for Sustainability: Putting the Pieces Together
University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

As the key annual sustainability event for UK Further and Higher Education, this important conference will encourage and inspire to identify essential skills and knowledge and go on to equip them to embed skills for sustainability in their own staff and students.

7. March 2008 Preview

Solar-powered car sharing services.

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:

• NASA research scientist Dr. Pushker Kharecha discusses peak oil and climate change with David Room
• Former BP Chief Petroleum Engineer Jeremy Gilbert talks to David Strahan about limits to reserve growth
• Ron Cooke writes about consumer price index (CPI)
• Henry Groppe tells David Strahan that the IEA is to blame for the $100 oil price spike.
• Richard Heinberg muses: What Will We Eat as the Oil Runs Out?
• Tim Winton of The Permaforest Trust Centre for Sustainability Education in Australia explores Pathways to a Low Carbon Future.
• Megan Quinn-Bachman from the Community Solution reports on Planning For Hard Times: The Fourth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions.
• New episodes of Peak Moment Television, the Reality Report and Deconstructing Dinner

.

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.

Post Carbon Newsletter #31 September 2007

1. Putting the Heat on Lomborg
2. Julian Darley Reports from ASPO Conference in Ireland
3. CNN's Money.com Listens to Post Carbon
4. Post Carbon Cities
5. Global Public Media
6. Relocalization Network
7. Energy Farms Network
8. Forthcoming Events
9. October Preview

Post Carbon is happy to announce a new website, Putting the Heat on Lomborg, where you will find the most complete and up-to-date information about a best-selling new book that claims global warming is not going to be much of a problem. Written by controversial Danish statistician Bjorn Lomborg, Cool It: A Skeptical Environmentalist Looks at Global Warming, is a shallow but sophisticated effort to downplay the need to take action to stop global warming. At Putting the Heat on Lomborg, you will find a blog, reviews of the book, background information on Lomborg, and a great list of books, DVDs, websites, and blogs that present reliable information about global warming.

2. Julian Darley Reports from ASPO Conference in Ireland

Post Carbon Institute President Julian Darley attended the 6th annual conference of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas, held this year in September in Cork, Ireland. ASPO, which was founded by Dr. Colin Campbell, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of the phenomenon of Peak Oil and raising awareness about it. The conference brings together leading experts on Peak Oil from around the world. Here's Julian's quick report on some highlights from the two day conference:

I wish every subscriber to this newsletter could have been in Cork with me - there was much more going on than any one person could take in, and it was a great opportunity to sample the richness of the research and analysis about the arrival of Peak Oil. I was struck that a number of speakers working in the oil industry were in agreement that a peak was coming. Ray Leonard, now vice president at Kuwait Energy Company, predicted peak production at 95 to 100 million barrels per day (mbd) before 2020. But Chris Skrebowski, the editor of the Petroleum Review, whom I greatly respect, showed from publicly available data (EIA) that world oil production has been on a plateau at about 84 mbd for almost two years. After looking at these numbers, it is hard to imagine that we will ever get up to 100 mbd, unless there is a completely unexpected huge new discovery of easy oil before 2010.

CERN Physicist Michael Dittmar cast grave doubt on the hype about the "resurgence" of the nuclear power industry. Dittmar showed that there just isn't enough uranium out there to support a major increase in the number of nuclear plants. Only about 50% of the uranium going into today's plants was just mined; the rest is being recycled from retired nuclear warheads. And even so, prices for uranium have soared by over 1000% in the past few years.

Dittmar's presentation touched on a theme that ran through the whole conference: we need substitute technologies that we can deploy now, at scale that we know will work sustainably. Nuclear advocates talk of fast breeder reactors as a way around the looming shortages of uranium, despite the fact that this technology is not even remotely close to commercialization. And as Dittmar noted, the nuclear industry is still shackled with its failure to come up with politically and environmentally acceptable solutions for disposing of nuclear waste.

ASPO will be selling conference proceedings on DVDs, which will be worth studying. Send an email to this address for more details. aspo6dvd@aspo-ireland.org

3. CNN's Money.com Listens to Post Carbon

CNN's Money took a look at Peak Oil in September, with a nice mention for Post Carbon Institute and Post Carbon Fellow Richard Heinberg. The piece was titled, "The end of oil: A small--but growing--group of experts think world oil production will peak in the next few years to devastating effect." There's a quote or two from the "we'll never run out of oil" crowd, but the thrust of the article is that Peak Oil is coming, and that the impact will be huge. Click here to read the article.

4. Post Carbon Cities

Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, our new guidebook for local governments, will be available October 5 ($30, 113 pages) at Post Carbon Books. You can also download an abridged preview version of the Guidebook at www.postcarboncities.net/guidebook. This free download includes the Executive Summary, the Introduction, a guide to making a local government statement on peak oil, and a guide to establishing a peak oil task force.

This month, Post Carbon Cities Program Manager Daniel Lerch is traveling to promote Post Carbon Cities. His tour includes public presentations and meetings with government agencies and citizen groups working on local responses to peak oil and global warming. Watch www.postcarboncities.net in the coming weeks for Daniel's full itinerary, and contact him if your group would like to set up a meeting or host a presentation when he's in your area.

Current tour schedule:

• 10/16 - 20: Houston, TX (partly at ASPO-USA conference)
• 10/22 - 23: Montreal, QC
• 10/26 - 11/2: New England (partly at CommunityMatters07 conference)
• 11/5 - 9: New York City / New Jersey / Philadelphia area
• 11/12 - 16: Toronto, ON area

5. Global Public Media

The big news on Global Public Media in September was the appointment of Queensland Parliament member and peak oil proponent Andrew McNamara to the Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation by the state's new Premier, Anna Bligh. On the heels of the announcement of McNamara's newly created portfolio, Queensland's prominent Courier-Mail newspaper gave front page news coverage to McNamara's eagerly-awaited report on "Queensland's Vulnerability to Rising Oil Prices." A number of governments have by now completed reports on oil vulnerability, but as far as we know, Queensland was the first to commission such a report anywhere in the world, back in 2005. Andi Hazelwood from Global Public Media spoke with Minister McNamara, as well as ASPO Australia member Stuart McCarthy and Paul Syvret, the journalist that broke the story of the soon-to-be-public report.

Oil prices hit record highs of over $80USD/barrel in September, and Julian Darley of Global Public Media discussed it with Chris Skrebowski, editor of the UK's Petroleum Review. We've featured numerous new episodes of Peak Moment Television, oil exploration geoscientist Jeffrey J. Brown on the Reality Report, and a new episode of Deconstructing Dinner. Finally, this month on GPM Richard Heinberg previewed his forthcoming book, "Peak Everything."

6. Relocalization Network

This month we welcome three new groups: Oil Independent Berkeley in California, Crestone/Baca Sustainability Initiative in Colorado, and Earth Crisis Response in Massachusetts.

Relocalization groups across the Network have been busy gearing up for fall activities. In southern Ontario, the County Sustainability Group (CSG) is in the process of starting a LETS alternative currency system for the local community. Read more about it below.

In Virginia, US, two citizen-led subcommittees of the Loudoun County Committee for a Sustainable Society (LCCSS) met in the summer of 2007 to develop questionnaires for Loudoun County candidates to "learn their positions regarding sustainability-related projects and platforms, and educate them on ways their office can advance our County's economic and environmental health." The results from the collected survey responses will be posted online at www.lccss.org and sent out in a press release in later this month. LCCSS is also sponsoring an Energy Summit with George Washington University.

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: County Sustainability Group, Ontario

County Sustainability Group adopts LETS (Local Exchange Trading System)

We got the following report from the County Sustainability Group on Prince Edward Island, Canada, about the organization beginning to work with a Local Exchange Trading System:

As more and more people are learning that our future will not be a smooth continuation of the past, the CSG hopes that our island community will begin to see the many reasons that LETS will enhance the "buy local" slogan already promoted here. One of our members found an easy to use free software system online. A few CSG members joined fist, and we are now beginning to invite the public. We note that other relocalization groups have taken similar steps, like Project Port Lyttelton in New Zealand, and Post Carbon Sweden's alternative currency, where cog stands for Circle Of Gifts.

Our hope is that the LETS idea can some day be expanded to include GETS, (Global Exchange Trading System) in order to facilitate local and international trade. Peak Oil is only one of the potential apocalyptic horsemen that will soon stop the "growth forever" mantra of today's global economies. Gaia, Earth's natural system, is shifting state from global warming and other pressures of the human footprint: And yet population growth is still nearly exponential. The fiat dollar is in runaway mode, now expanding by billions annually to prevent inevitable collapse - today's fiat dollar will not be suitable in a sustainable future.

We need a global standard to represent real human wealth that accommodates human well-being and happiness, both now and in the future. Naturally, this needs include a relatively stable Gaia. There are many change organizations working in specific areas throughout the world in issues such as: monetary reform, new sociopolitical systems, population issues, and footprint measurements. Perhaps these groups could be brought together to establish an international standard for real human wealth, suitable for the world at large, and individual nations and in local regions. And this could become the basis for a dollar use in our local LETS.

7. Energy Farms Network

In the 2007 season, the Energy Farm Program has been working to manifest a portion of the Relocalization vision as it pertains to a local food and biofuel system. The farm is a natural place to establish any local economic system because it produces items of tangible value for the community. Thus, we talk a lot about CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), a means of encouraging "prosumers" to not only invest in the products of an organic farm, but also to support practices that build healthy soil, provide examples to the youth, and strengthen bonds between friends and neighbors. Read more.

September Garden Tours: A Harvest of Hope

Post Carbon gardener Aaron Friedman reports on the open house for the Energy Garden at Post Carbon's Sebastopol headquarters at the end of September:

Post Carbon's Energy Garden was a featured attraction for three days at the end of September, as both a demonstration of how productive even a small tract of suburban land can be, and as an educational laboratory for small-scale farmers.

On Tuesday, September 25th the Permaculture Class from the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC) arrived with thirty people to see the Energy Garden. Well informed and inspired by the holistic education delivered by Brock Dolman and other teachers at OAEC, the students engaged in an interactive tour and design session at Post Carbon's Energy Garden. To see the details of the design charrettes please see the blog at http://energyfarms.net/node/1397. The students learned about the context of Peak Oil and the purpose and reasons behind the Energy Farm Network. We here at Post Carbon also benefitted from their understanding of permaculture theory and design as they suggested several great ideas to improve the Energy Garden site.

Three days later, on Friday, September 28th, Post Carbon staff ran a full day of garden tours and free workshops on ethanol production, appropriate technologies, and relocalization. On Sunday, September 30th, we had more than 40 people turn out for another round of tours and workshops, including many children. The kids brought an extra burst of enthusiasm, as people harvested vegetables from the garden, used a leg powered Japanese winnower and mill to process wheat and barley, and talked about the benefits and problems of biofuels.

The tours marked the end of summer for us at the Energy Garden. Soon the fifteen-foot high Jerusalem artichokes will be gone, and we will have harvested the millet, corn, and sorghum, and some crops that even seasoned local gardeners have never seen, like kenaf, switchgrass, and quinoa. As we transition into the rainy season, we are planting winter crops to feed the soil. Working in the garden, I love to see cars slow down to look into our "yard," checking out the progress we've made with during the Energy Garden's first full year. Now it's time to enjoy the autumn.

8. Forthcoming Events

October 17-20, 2007
ASPO-USA 2007 Houston World Oil Conference
Houston, Texas, USA

Speakers include T. Boone Pickens, Matt Simmons, Henry Groppe, Chris Skrebowski, Roscoe Bartlett, Robert Hirsch, Roger Bezdek, David Hughes, Peter Tertzakian, Debbie Cook, Stuart Staniford and many more.

October 19-21, 2007
Bioneers 2007 Conference
Marin Center, San Rafael

The Bioneers Conference is a major gathering of leading experts and speakers on every aspect of making the transition to a sustainable world. Sustain Spokane will host a downlink site, combining local sessions with feeds from the main conference. Relocalization Network coordinator Shelby Tay will participate in the Spokane panel on Friday the 19th.

October 23-25, 2007
Community Matters '07 Conference
Burlington, Vermont, USA

October 26-28, 2007
Planning For Hard Times: The 4th Annual US Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions
Kelly Hall, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio

9. October Preview

Stay tuned for news about why nuclear power is not the answer to peak oil or global warming.

Post Carbon Newsletter #26 April 2007

1. Post Carbon Cities is Here!
2. Global Public Media
3. Relocalization Network
4. Energy Farms
5. Featured Post Carbon Group
6. Tech Report
7. Job Postings
8. Forthcoming Events
9. May Preview

1. Post Carbon Cities is Here!

Post Carbon Institute is pleased to announce the official launch of our new Post Carbon Cities program, and the unveiling of the Post Carbon Cities website at postcarboncities.net.

We've started Post Carbon Cities to help cities respond to the challenges posed by peak oil and climate change. The program provides technical assistance and resources to the people who work with and for local governments, from elected officials and staff to consultants and non-governmental organizations.

The Post Carbon Cities website at postcarboncities.net has daily updates on news, policy tools and other resources related to local government actions on peak oil and global warming. This spring we are also releasing a guidebook for local government officials and staff in the U.S. and Canada, Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty. The guidebook explains the relevance of peak oil and global warming to local needs and concerns, and presents case studies of previous municipal actions as well as resources for developing local responses.

Please visit us at postcarboncities.net and spread the word about this great new resource to your local government officials and staff!

2. Global Public Media

At Global Public Media, we pride ourselves on bringing together a far-flung flock of interesting, insightful people who challenge us to see the world in new ways. But we also find great subjects right on our new front door in California: in this case, Post Carbon fellow Richard Heinberg, who shares his thoughts on why the United States appears poised for an air attack on Iran's nuclear energy facilities in an interview hosted by Post Carbon's president, Julian Darley.

As for people who challenge our way of thinking, we've got 2 good ones this month: first, a Reality Report audio interview with ecological philosopher and author Derrick Jensen, who questions whether civilization itself is sustainable; and the well-known irascible critic of auto culture, James Howard Kunstler, who talks about our recent illusions of keeping our cars running on biofuels rather than facing what he calls, "the twilight of Happy Motoring."

On a more cheery note, Post Carbon's Richard Bell reports that in what was billed as a "debate" with Senator John Kerry on global warming, even that crusty Republican Newt Gingrich endorses global warming and the urgency of reducing CO2 emissions.

3. Relocalization Network

Relocalize.net continues to buzz with activity. Beyond Oil NYC has put together a report "Moving New York City Toward Energy Independence," and submitted it to NYC Council. Willits Economic Localization Link (WELL) is sponsoring the 2007 Regional Localization Networking Conference on May 18-20, 2007, in Willits, California. Click here to download the information and a sign-up package. Peak Moment Television has produced five new online videos focusing on community localization topics from local currency to electric cars, including a conversation with Richard Heinberg. You can watch or listen at www.peakmoment.tv and Global Public Media.

Visit www.relocalize.net for updated news and events posted by all the local groups around the world.

4. Energy Farms

Chris Hansen reports on the growth of the Energy Farm Network, and on what's happening as the Willits Energy Farm moves into spring:

In the last month, the Energy Farm Network has expanded to five sites. A site on private land in Rogue River (OR) will be growing Peredovik sunflower seeds and developing an oilseed press to be used at other farms in the network. Laguna Farms, a 400 member CSA in Sebastopol, CA will be looking to create a biogas digestion system that converts plant matter to combustible methane gas. Finally, Post Carbon Institute is teaming up with a professor at Kentucky State University to look for alternatives to tobacco cultivation as the site experiments with sweet sorghum processing for small-scale production of ethanol.

The Willits Energy Farm evolves by the day. Over 800 Sq Ft of spring annuals are in the ground, and more are on the way. Kale, spinach, chard, lettuce, beets, onions, turnips, and cabbage are spaced in beds utilizing certain aspects of the Grow Biointensive methodology. Each bed in the spring annual section has been prepared using the toolset and petrol-free bed preparation methods that are being tested at the Willits Energy Farm. By the end of April, we plan to ready another 1800 Sq Ft for the cultivation of potatoes. In spite of limited rainfall, the spring grain and legume crops are established and we are curious to see how they will perform under dry-land farming conditions. A dry-land demonstration is important because it provides farmers an agricultural option in which they can adapt to the demands of a changing climate and a lack of energy to power large scale irrigation systems.

Besides the cultivation of spring crops we are working hard to establish necessary farm infrastructure, including a composting area, irrigation system, and a solar array for on-site power. Thanks to the help of Rachael Adaire and a local irrigation supply company, we will be looking to install the plumbing components of the irrigation system by the end of April. The system has been designed to be flexible in order to accommodate four main annual sections that will remain in constant crop rotation. We also built a 4 Ft by 8 Ft worm composting bin this month. It will process food scraps from a nearby restaurant and convert them into nutrient-rich worm castings. The bin has the capacity to process 30 pounds of food scraps a day when fully stocked with 64 pounds of red worms! We will start small, but plan to expand to three additional bins that will someday be able to manage the lunchroom wastes from Brookside Elementary School.

5. Featured Post Carbon Group

Dan Minor from Peak Oil NYC sent us this report about the direction that energy activists in New York City have been taking to tackle the massive problem of moving the city away from its dependence on fossil fuels and foreign energy supplies. Dan is also the author of Moving NYC Toward Sustainable Energy Independence, a report issued through the Sierra Club New York City Group, available online at www.beyondoilnyc.org. For Dan's update on New York City, click here.

6. Tech Report

Relocalize.net custom page templates are in production. Groups can now customize banners and have their own menus per group. You can see an example of the new group lay out at the Sustainable Maleny Project site. The development team is focused on improving the group themes, mapping and calendaring tools in the coming month, as we move forward to drupal 5.

The past month has also seen many changes behind the scenes to Post Carbon Institute's information infrastructure. We've been busy installing powerful new internal management tools, including the Zimbra email/calendar program, and a new web-based project management system, in order to serve the growing needs of the Post Carbon programs.

7. Job Postings

Post Carbon Institute is currently hiring for the following three positions:

*Relocalization Network Manager

*Global Public Media Coordinator

*Web Services Programmer

For job descriptions, responsibilities, and qualifications for all three positions, click here.

8. Forthcoming Events

The Sustainable Energy Summit: Community Action for a Clean Energy

April 28, 8:30 AM -- 5:30 PM, Northhampton, MA, USA

At the Smith College Mendenhall Center for the Performing Arts. Workshop topics include: environmental justice, and municipal and school sustainable energy options. Special guest lecturer, Richard Heinberg.

Global Warming: Understanding the Big Picture & Solutions

May 4, 7:00 PM, Dance Palace, Pt. Reyes Station, California, USA

West Marin Alliance presents a discussion of climate chaos, peak oil, economic consequences, and what we can do. Featuring noted authors, including Jerry Mander and Richard Heinberg.

Creating Economic Localization Through Relationship Building: Regional Localization Networking Conference

May 18-20, Brooktrails Lodge, Willits, California, USA

An event to encourage effective communication and relationship building with Economic Localization community groups through presentations, theater, panels, and discussions. Featuring keynote speaker Peter Russell, internationally renowned futurist, environmentalist, speaker, and author.

Lane County Relocalization Conference

April 27-28, 2007, Eugene, Oregon

Global challenges demand local integrated solutions! Post Carbon Eugene invites you to join together with other local concerned citizens and Lane County planners for an exciting culture changing opportunity. Special guest speaker is Post Carbon Cities Program Manager Daniel Lerch, author of Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty.

9. May Preview--Post Your Comments on Global Public Media

What do you think about the articles and interviews on Global Public Media? Register on any of Post Carbon's websites, and then go to Global Public Media. Click on the phrase "Add a Comment" (which appears at the bottom of every item) and share your ideas, questions, criticism, links to other articles or websites...it's up to you.