Brockville Climate Action Group

Bill McKibben, 350.org founder, appears on the David Letterman Show to talk about our campaign to put solar back on the White House and the upcoming 10/10/10 Global Work Party this October 10, when millions of people around the world will get to work on climate solutions.

British Medical Journal / Angela E Raffle / 01 September 2010

Some cities in the UK are aware of peak oil implications. For example, leaders in Bristol commissioned a report in 2009 on the implications of peak oil. This has helped stimulate work to develop a Bristol Energy Company and a local currency, to analyse the vulnerabilities of the current food supply system, and to adopt a “climate change and energy security framework.” Incorporating peak oil preparedness into England’s official local government planning mechanisms—local transport plans and local development frameworks—is an uphill struggle because central government policies still favour the needs of big food corporations, construction industries, and the road lobby above the need for resilient local systems.

The healthcare conclusions in Bristol’s peak oil report are that oil is a primary raw material for many drugs, equipment, and supplies; that transport for patients, staff, deliveries, and services is heavily oil dependent; that currently suppliers are not required to provide business continuity plans around fuel supply shortages; and that rising oil costs would seriously affect health service budgets. On the positive side, the report noted the resilience afforded by the following facts: most people live within a mile of their nearest general practice; the NHS is used to responding to emergencies and making rapid changes; walking, cycling, and locally grown food are good for health; and the NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy for England does acknowledge peak oil. What this means is that health care will change, whether we like it or not, and that carbon reduction, fuel depletion, and financial stringencies have to be looked at together.

Experts on peak oil and health experts have examined this challenge together at three workshops, and some common themes emerge. These concern the need for simpler more robust systems that are capable of local maintenance, and the importance of fairness regarding access to food, water, transport, and essential health care. The box [see Full Article] summarises possible features identified as characteristic of a healthy prosperous society in the future. Because the workshops explored success not failure the goals may appear idealistic. The alternative could be very different.

[ FULL ARTICLE HERE ]

A Transition Perth group has just recently registered as a Transition Town "muller", prior to becoming a fully-fledged TT initiative.

[ MORE INFO ]

Pocono Record / Joe Lamp'l / 04 September 2010

If you enjoy eating the freshest food possible, and you have the desire to know where your food comes from, you have great options.

You can grow organic fresh fruits and vegetables in your own backyard. Or you can grow food in a community garden or visit your local farmers markets. Today, with an increasing number of people wanting to eat more locally grown food — "locavores" — the options are growing each year in communities all across the country.

Yes! Magazine / Fran Korten / 02 September 2010

People are hurting — they can’t pay their mortgages, send their kids to college, pay their dental bills. Young people are wondering if they have a place in the work world.

So the economic pundits cheer when car sales go up, housing starts rise, consumer confidence strengthens. But as the oily ooze in the Gulf tars yet another beach, we all sense something is terribly wrong. We can’t keep tearing up the planet to keep ourselves employed. There must be another way.

So—imagine a no-holds-barred “summit” that comes up with ideas to solve both our job and environmental problems. What might it come up with?

Here is my starter list. You can add your own ideas in the comments to this article on the YES! website.

[ FULL ARTICLE HERE ]

Human growth has strained the Earth's resources, but as Johan Rockstrom reminds us, our advances also give us the science to recognize this and change behavior. His research has found nine "planetary boundaries" that can guide us in protecting our planet's many overlapping ecosystems.