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March 24, 2005

http://www.willitsnews.com/Stories/0,1413,253%257E26908%257E2780387,00.html

How many planets do we need? Speakers compare consumption, resources By Claudia Reed/Staff Writer

Thursday, March 24, 2005 - "We would need three and a half Earth's if all people consumed as I do, and I thought I was Ms Ecogroovy." - Ann Hancock

More than 120 people filled the Willits Community Center on March 14 and again on March 21 to hear speakers sponsored by WELL (Willits Economic Localization), a group dedicated to building a sustainable community in a post-oil world.

"I'm so impressed with how far you are," Ann Hancock, co-founder of Sustainable Sonoma, told WELL participants on March 14. "We took years (and a $10,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant) to do what you guys have done in six months."

Speaking on March 21, John Jeavons, internationally-known teacher of small-scale, high-yield food production techniques, was equally complimentary: "I've been waiting for people to act in a major way as you are doing."

The enthusiasm was mutual, particularly since both speakers were acutely aware of actual and possible disasters caused by depletion of the world's resources, but stressed positive response.

Among the causes of both current and future misery, Hancock said, are economic realities enabling 20 percent of the world's people to control 80 percent of the world's resources. One result, according to a report by Jean Siegler of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, is that 36 million people a year die from starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. The number who are mentally or physically deformed from childhood malnutrition has yet to be calculated.

The problem is generally presented as one of encouraging the rest of the world to "develop" in order to obtain a share of the wealth. If all people lived like the dominant 20 percent, however, several planet Earths would be required to provide the necessary food, energy and other resources required.

The concept was given a name: Ecological Footprint, and a method of measurement, by Mathis Wackernagal, a Swiss ecologist with a Ph.D. in community planning. Websites like www.myfootprint.org enable an individual to calculate his or her footprint: how many earths would be needed if everyone on the planet had the same consumption level.

"We would need three and a half earths if all people consumed as I do," confessed Hancock, "and I thought I was Ms Ecogroovy."

According to both Hancock and Jeavons, even if major consumption remains in the homes and bellies of the relatively few, hunger and disease will intensify as the world's population continues to increase and improper use of resources leads to soil depletion, pollution and global warming.

Subtracting deaths from births, Jeavons calculated the Earth's daily population gain at 213,000 people, "the same as refilling San Francisco every four days." At the same time, he said, the United States alone is losing one and a half square miles of agricultural land per day. The loss, he said, relates not only to conversion to other land uses, but to food production techniques that destroy the soil.

For most of the years since 1987, Jeavons said, the world has been eating more food than it's producing. The impact, he said in a later phone call, is modified by reserves, but the reserves are decreasing. He calculates that in another nine years the current system of mechanized agriculture will produce only enough to feed 64 percent of the world's people.

The trend, he said, can be reversed through bio-intensive farming methods that build soil and can provide a year's worth of nutrients for one individual on 4,000 square feet of land close to home.

As director of Ecology Action, Jeavons has provided related information and training for individuals and projects in more than100 countries.

Ecology Action's instructional material is available in Spanish, Russian, Arabic, French, German, Hindi and Braille.

Hancock, too, is about the business of reversing the trend. Sustainable Sonoma is completing its inventory of energy needs and uses in order to establish a sustainable energy and transportation system. Right energy use, in turn, will affect the nature of local food production.

Hancock was also instrumental in encouraging all nine of Sonoma County's cities to join 600 local governments around the world in a pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to or below 1990 levels in the next decade. That means using governmental regulatory authority and purchasing power to promote sustainability.

"We do not lack for solutions," Hancock said. "They're all around us. What we lack is social and political will."

Monday, March 21, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

JEAVONS WILL SPEAK Willits Economic Localization (WELL) will sponsor a presentation by John Jeavons, Director of Ecology Action, "Principles and Visions of Sustainable Agriculture." The evening will explore what a local agrarian economy would look like and principles to ensure soil health and long-term food security. Jeavon's Pine Mountain-based organization, Ecology Action has helped train millions of people in the high-yielding, resource-conserving "Grow Biointesive" small-scale farming method. These food production techniques are now used in 130 countries. WELL's mission is to foster the creation of a sustainable economy based on local resources. A key aspect of that will be locally produced food. WELL's Food Group will have information about local food producers, and are working with Ecology Action to provide guidance on how to use "Grow Biointensive" methods in the Willits area. A donation is requested at the door. The next meeting of the Energy AdHoc Committee, scheduled for March 21, will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, April 4, in city hall. The next WELL meeting will be held March 28. Willits Community Center 111 East Commercial St.

Monday, March 14, 6:30 p.m.

SUSTAINABLE SONOMA LEADER will speak at WELL meeting

Ann Hancock, a leader in Sustainable Sonoma and a member of the board of directors of the Global Footprint Network, will discuss The Ecological Footprint: Time to Lighten Up? at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 14, during the biweekly meeting of Willits Economic Localization (WELL) in the Willits Community Center.

³The "ecological footprint¹ calculates how many acres of land are used to support someone¹s lifestyle, explains WELL member Lanny Cotler. ³For example, a tank of gas requires a certain area of forest to absorb the carbon dioxide released, or it could be replaced by acreage devoted to growing crops for biodiesel or ethanol.

The Global Footprint Netwrok standardizes ecological footprint analyses. WELL has been taking an economic inventory of the Willits region, ³and parts of this can be analyzed as an ecological footprint, Cotler said. The results will be presented at the meeting.

For example, the energy use of the Willits area (the 95490 zip code) is equivalent to harvesting more than 96,000 acres of biomass per year, or about 7 acres per person, he noted. Since much of this energy is imported in the form of electricity or fossil fuels, we are mostly unaware of this impact.

WELL is asking participants to calculate their own ecological footprint, Cotler added. We will create a community chart with this information during the event.

The "footprint" takes about five minutes to create by going to www.myfootprint.org.

To see the Willits area energy inventory visit these websites: www.greentransitions.org/WillitsEnergyUsage.mht,

www.cloudforest.org/Willits_Economic_Localization/Energy/Research_Questions

More about Hancock's work with Sustainable Sonoma can be found at:

www.pressdemocrat.com/opinion/columns/26closeprerung.html.

www.sustainablesonoma.org.

March 14, 2005

Amazing syntony

Something amazing is happening in Willits; the right energies, the right focus, the right peopleat the right time. Willits is clearly becoming part of the leading edge of the coming zeit geist. What is that "spirit of the times"? Sustainability!

We've been meeting for five months now, every other Monday night at our community center. What is it that has brought back 70 to 80 people each time? Once or twice, yes, curiosity will do that, even a sense of duty or frustration or desperation during these trying times. But consistently for five months. Magic is afoot!

And that magic is syntony: the state of being adjusted to, or in harmony with, the needs and longing of our citizens, our community and our planet. Somehow, Willits is feeling it can become the hero of its own life, the cause of its own sustainable future, come what may

I encourage anyone who understands this and who would like to become part of that in his/her own community to come, learn, join, or visit us during our next meeting. Part of that meeting will be ongoing work among our action-groups (Health/Medicine, Food, Energy/Transportation, Media, Shelter/Housing, and Social Organizations); but most of the meeting will be given to Ann Hancock who will talk to us about the concept of our "Ecological Footprint".

See the article elsewhere in this newspaper to learn more about Ann Hancock and her talk.

Only we can create our sustainable future

Lanny Cotler

Willits

March 11, 2005

Projects for a sustainable future underway

By Claudia Reed/Staff Writer

Visions of a post-oil economy are not only emerging from the fertile ground of Willits Economic Localization workshops, but starting to bear fruit. If the next meeting of the WEL, starting 6:30 Monday, March 14, at the city hall Community Center, is anything like the last one, action is expected.

On February 23, prompted by Councilman Ron Oren-stein, a WEL participant, the Willits City Council authorized the creation of an ad hoc committee to look into installation of alternate energy systems for city buildings and equipment. The committee will also help promote the same for local residents and back the creation of related local industries.

On February 28, WEC's energy group formed a subgroup to spearhead the ad hoc effort.

On March 7, the new committee went into action:

Phil Jergensen, president of the Renewable Energy Development Institute; Ron Cole, an energy consultant for the City of Ukiah; Brian Corzilius, an electrician and mechanical engineer; and Richard Jergensen, co-creator of a solar rail vehicle, identified solar installations and bio-mass "gassifiers" as the most feasible alternate energy sources for the City of Willits.

Orenstein asked officials at PG&E for an "energy audit" to determine exactly how much energy is used by city government and in which way. In the short term, the audit will help identify ways to improve efficiency and save money. In the long term, it will form the basis for creating alternate systems.

Funding possibilities include grants secured with the help of grant writers Gary Owen and Chris Wagner, and creation of regional buying cooperatives with interested cities. Ukiah and Fort Bragg have recently completed their own feasibility studies for solar energy. WEL's energy workshop as a whole is also looking into other aspects of local energy use, including new transportation systems, shared private transportation, and home energy conservation.

"A target is 50 percent (energy) reduction through conservation," Corzilius said.

The WEL food workshop is also moving forward, with community gardens and related grants as a primary focus. Locations for the gardens include local schools and the grounds of the new hospital expected to be on line in 2007.

Food workshop members will be studying the potential for self sustaining agriculture modeled by the Church of the Golden Rule at Ridgewood Ranch, learning about planting and cultivating grapes from Richard Jeske, and arranging to glean and distribute the remains of regional harvests that would otherwise be wasted.

For now, those in the water workshop are focusing on combating water waste and contamination. One small but easy contribution to cleaner water, participants said, is substituting baking soda and vinegar for harmful chemical cleaning agents that could be washed down the drain and into local waterways.

Those in the health group have identified the 10 most important herbs for medicinal gardens and are organizing classes in the production of medicines. They have also been active in supporting trails and exercise courses, particularly at the incoming hospital.

Those in the shelter workshop are promoting eco-friendly building materials and joining participants in the social organization workshop in exploring co-housing opportunities.

Those in the latter group are also involved in matters as practical as organizing carpools and as visionary as the role of creativity and the need for inclusivity in a self-sustaining community.

Community seems to be a key word for the WEL gatherings as a whole, which have been taking place since October.

"This is empowering," said one participant at the opening session that preceded the break into workshops. "I look around at our weeks in this group and I realize these are my people."

March 9, 2005

California's first green' hospital?

Eco-friendly planning underway for new Frank R. Howard Memorial

By Claudia Reed/Staff Writer

If all goes as planned, the relocated Frank R. Howard Memorial Hospital may be the first eco-friendly medical care center in the state. Experts in alternate energy systems and energy conservation are meeting today and tomorrow with those financing and designing the new hospital building. Plans call for construction of a 75,000-square-foot medical center on a 33-acre, creekside parcel on East Hill Road donated by the Harrah Marital Trust.

Among those at the meeting will be staff from Marshall Erdman and Associates, a firm specializing in hospital design hired for the project.

"They're really excited about it," said Margie Handley, president of the Frank R. Howard Foundation. "We'd be the first green hospital in California and they really want to build it."

Handley said the company, based in Madison, Wisconsin, already has staff dedicated to alternate energy design and has been instrumental in helping to set some of the building industry's "green certification standards."

Local experts, including representatives from Willits' Renewable Energy Development Institute (REDI), a consulting firm with a client base that includes the City of Sacramento, are expected to help define the possibilities, given the resources available in this area.

The project will also be shaped by funding limits and by the legally required approval from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.

"[Approval] can take a year," Handley said. "I don't know if they've even dealt with a green hospital before."

Accordingly, construction of the new building, costing an estimated $21 million, is not scheduled for completion before 2007.

In the meantime, Handley, REDI, and others will be looking for grants to help finance such eco-friendly concepts as built-in solar energy systems, and building orientation and window placement designed to maximize winter sunlight for both light and heat.

"You can do all sorts of things with insulation and lighting," Handley said. "The thing I like about [the planning process] is trying to involve the whole community in this community hospital."

With community input in mind, Handley has been attending the alternate-Monday Willits Economic Localization (WEL) sessions, workshops dedicated to planning a self-sustaining local economy that will outlast the world's oil supply.

At the last session, she cheerfully identified herself as the group's only Republican, prompting a reminder of the need for inclusiveness by City of Willits Councilman Ron Orenstein, who participates in WEL's energy workshop.

"An us and them' mentality. That's what we're trying to overcome," agreed Handley in a later phone call.

She added that the hospital foundation began studying alternate energy possibilities before the WEL sessions began.

"We asked (the designer) to look at this way before we realized the whole community was doing this project," Handley said.

New concepts, however, are being offered by WEL's food and health workshops, including an interface with practitioners of alternate medicine, on-site organic gardens to help provide food for the hospital, and a surrounding trails and exercise course to improve the health of patients, medical staff, and neighbors.

While Republican environmentalists may be a new concept for California, they are an established part of the political landscape in Washington State.

In 1998, for example, the voters of Camano Island, a forested upscale community about an hour's drive northeast of Seattle, elected a Democratic county commissioner for the first time since former president Richard M. Nixon was in office. The voting switch was prompted by the genuinely conservative desire to keep their island home from being destroyed by rampant development.

Four years later, a rival candidate who promised to work for environmental protection reclaimed the office for the Republicans.

March 2, 2005

http://www.willitsnews.com/Stories/0,1413,253%257E27832%257E2738984,00.html

Powering down

The end of oil-based civilization; Author Richard Heinberg draws a bleak picture of an oil-starved age and offers hints on how to prepare for it

By Brian Corzilius

Dr. Richard Heinberg's February 17 presentation, "Power Down, the Post-Oil Economy," at the Willits Community Center drew a crowd of more than 200 people. And while some residents wished Heinberg had concentrated more on what to do to prepare the north county for the decline of oil, everyone appeared captivated as the author presented slides and talked about how much energy Americans are consuming and how much is left in the world. Through the 1950s, Heinberg said, the United States was a net producer and exporter of oil as well as of manufactured products and tools. By 2005, this trend had reversed, including off-shoring jobs.

U.S. oil production peaked in 1970, Heinberg said, and worldwide production is expected to peak between 2006 and 2007. Peak oil is defined as the point where half the world's known reserves have been consumed. After that, the cost extracting the remaining oil from the ground begins to rise, both in terms of cost and the reduced quality of the oil. Natural gas, long a waste-product of the industry, has already peaked and more than 50 percent of California's electricity is currently produced using it.

Every U.S. citizen consumes the equivalent of 8,000 pounds of oil, 5,150 pounds of coal, 4,700 pounds of natural gas and 1/10-pound of uranium each year, he said. And while the current U.S. energy mix includes 6 percent renewables, only 3 percent of that (0.0018 percent of total) is wind and solar, while almost 50 percent is wood stoves (3 percent of total). And, Heinberg added, the United States is starting at zero to build a renewable base of wind and solar energy .

Global oil resources have been overstated for "political reasons," Heinberg believes, and U.S. policy has been to purchase non-OPEC oil first. The ramifications of that policy, he said, have become obvious with increasing U.S. involvement in the Middle East.

In the future, Brazil, Russia, India and China will become critical players in the race to grab a share of remaining world energy resources, Heinberg said. China recently became the world's number-2 oil importer, after the United States, surpassing Japan in its consumption, he noted.

Heinberg believes the global oil peak will have profound ramifications on the world's economies (the cost to change to another energy source), transportation systems (both public and private), food and agricuture, and political stability, as nations commence the inevitable jockeying for control of remaining resources.

What can Amerricans do to soften the blow here? Heinberg recommends:

Use less (remember, oil is used in many everyday products).

Talk about "peak oil" with others. Ensure local food security. Ensure local water security. Reduce transportation needs. Support the local economy. Foster local manufacturing of essential goods. Resist war and oppression. Support media alternatives. Globalization, Heinberg charged, has been all about destroying local economies. If we are to survive, we must focus our efforts there. During a question-and-answer period following Heinberg's presentation, a Native American speaker noted, "We have always done with less. The successful model is not always to pursue more. Look around, then at yourselfAsk what do I need to live successfully?"

Heinberg felt the comment was a perfect way to end the evening.

For more information: www.museletter.com. Additional refernces: www.postcarbon.org and www.energybulletin.net.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Brian Corzilius is a Willits resident.

Jan 27, 2005

By Ed Burton

Sustaining Willits and the world without oil 100,000 years in a day On the wall of the big meeting room at the city hall was a large beautiful diagram of how we sustain ourselves by farming, fishing, mining and manufacturing today. It was created by Brian Weller.

Only a few of us who attended the meeting of Sustainability Willits took time to study how inventions, trade and our democratic capitalistic system have provided us with the things we need, with very little knowledge or effort on our part.

The media is full of stories how fat, idle and unhappy many of us have become. You should take time to go to the city hall auditorium and study this large layout of how we now survive and prosper on this fragile planet.

As you look at each division of labor, industry and knowledge you should ask these questions:

Is this product or service really needed for our food, shelter, education, health or safety?

Does providing this product or service consume oil, or natural gas directly or indirectly?

When oil or natural gas is scarce or gone, are there other sources of energy available here in Willits, in San Francisco, in China, in Norway?

Does the growing, harvesting, hauling or using these other sources involve the use of natural gas or oil?

When oil and natural gas is limited, will it still be hauled or piped to Willits?

When we are without oil or natural gas, what goods or services can we produce and ship out so others will pay us money or provide us with good and services?

I could go on, but those are tough enough questions that must be answered because we are going to run out. It may be sooner than you think.

Some geologists made a "guesstimate" it would take 100,000 years for nature to produce and store the amount of oil and gas the world uses in one day.

Most of us think, "How are we going to get to town and haul our food home without gas for our car?" That is true of course, but that is just the beginning. Think about money, medical care, heat, air-conditioning, education and entertainment. Maybe most important: Who can protect us from bad guys with AK47s?

The media has a few stories and programs about the coming oil crises, but big SUVs and pickups are still being sold. Subdivisions and highways are still being built without sidewalks or bike lanes.

Most of the world's known oil reserves are in lands ruled by undemocratic, unstable governments that envy us, dislike us, and want what we have.

That is why some of us are using only solar or wind energy to treat wastewater, so we can grow fish, redwoods and fruit trees. We are also using only solar-charged battery power to cut, bundle, haul, dry and gasify the smallwood that must be removed if we are to control wildfires.

I am reminded of Churchill's words in the dark days, when England stood alone against Hitler, "I have nothing to offer but blood, sweat and tears" What are you doing?

Eating it up Groups study consumption of energy, food and water By Claudia Reed/Staff Writer

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 -

At least 60 people came in from the cold, January 3, for ongoing workshops on creating a sustainable local economy.

This time the task presented by Dr. Jason Bradford and other facilitators was an inventory of the fuel, food, water and other resources currently being consumed in the area. Future steps will include determining how much is actually needed, how much will remain available if fossil fuels become too expensive for frequent use, and how much can be supplied through alternate technologies.

Reports are expected at the next meeting, which begins at 6:30 January 17 at City Hall Community Center. Plans call for an 8:30 p.m. close of session with an opportunity for later, informal gathering. There will also be a chance for newcomers to see the film, The End of Suburbia, a documentary on future oil shortages that inspired the workshops.

Participants in the January 3 energy workshop divided the homework for determining how much gas or diesel fuel is used in local vehicles and how much natural gas, electricity, and propane is used in homes, businesses, and such public institutions as schools, city offices, the library, and the hospital.

The group passed out assignments quickly enough to do a little brainstorming and information gathering. One participant reported de-velopment fees in Sebas-topol are reduced if alternate energy systems used. Another suggested importing solar cell components to be assembled in a yet-to-be-created local industry.

Those in the food workshop wanted to know how much is needed for an adequate diet for existing residents, how much local land and water would be needed to produce it, which food stuffs grow well in the available soil and climate (wild or cultivated), and how long they can be stored.

Also on the agenda was how the local food distribution system, including stores, restaurants, schools, hospitals, and farmer's markets, is put together. With future projects in mind, participants began looking into grants and other means of financial support available for food-growing.

Similar studies are being conducted on the topics of water, shelter, and health and medicine.

The visionary workshop "Eco-village and community farm" has transformed into a group studying the existing social organization, including demographics, community structure, the role of government and legal issues.

Dec. 28, 2004 Addressing the oil issue

Tuesday, December 28, 2004 -

I found your article through http://www.CommunitySolution.org and was happy to see that an article addressing fossil energy de-pletion and sustainability reached your paper.

This subject is the best kept secret in this country people all around feel something is amiss but don't quite understand the problem of energy depletion or what big trouble we are in as the world faces peak oil.

Currently fossil energy depletion should be this nation's and the world's number one issue. How are we, in an oil-dependent society, going to sustain ourselves as the finite sources of cheap oil dwindle?

We should, as we speak, start preparing ourslves for a future with less and without cheap oil and do it now. The transition to a sustainable society and communities, hopefully with renewable solar and wind energy technology, will take time.

We should not wait until market forces tell us we are falling off a cliff to make this transition. We live in a magic, utopian world around cheap oil. Mother Nature is not negotiable when these very precious and finite sources of oil run out. When they do, it will be too late for any magic to save us especially for those who are unprepared.

There are many books on this subject as well as websites. Just turn on the search engine in your computer to Peak Oil for a start. The video, The End of Suburbia, should be shown everywhere: libraries, schools (especially), movie theaters, news and TV stations.

The public needs to hear this message. Our leadership should be addressing this problem.

Debbie Howe

Waterford, Maine

EDITOR'S NOTE: Debbie Howe is the wife of author John Howe, The End of Fossil Energy and a Plan for Sustainability.

Dec. 15, 2004 Next meeting this Thursday

Sustainability planning underway

By Claudia Reed/Staff Writer

Despite a chill down-pour, about 60 people attended last week's workshop on creating a sustainable local economy. Newcomers watched The End of Suburbia, a documentary predicting global oil extraction will become increasingly costly, bring an end to America's gasoline-dependent lifestyle.

Those who had seen the film at previous sessions divided into groups studying the elements of a petroleum-free community: food, water, shelter, health and medicine, and alternate energy sources. An additional group struggled to apply an overall "eco-village" concept to the Willits area. The format called for developing research questions, doing the homework, and presenting the results at the next session, at 7 p.m. Thursday, December 16, at the Willits Charter School.

The energy group, which includes two solar equipment installers and a retired engineer/physicist, will study existing alternative energy sources and determine which are possible here. City Councilman Ron Orenstein will look into citywide independent energy systems, similar to the one already established in Sacramento. Also on the list are alternate-fuel transit systems, energy waste and conservation potential, and the offerings of at least two bio-diesel suppliers.

The shelter group is considering such alternate building styles as strawbale walls (not unlike Mexican adobe) and how much of the needed material can be produced locally. Group members want to know how many people will need housing in the future and how to develop new housing without jeopardizing agricultural land. Opportunities for making existing housing more energy efficient and building shared-housing communities are also on the list.

The health and medicine group is looking at incorporating alternative healing systems in the incoming hospital, social service networks, local cultivation of medicinal plants, and legal obstacles to alternative medical approaches. Similar approaches in the 1960s and 1970s resulted in the licensing of midwives to assist with home births and the creation of "birthing rooms" open to family members in many hospitals.

The water group wants to know the amount needed for a family of four and the possibility of salvaging more of the rainy season's abundance.

The food group wants to know how long retail supplies would last if gas-short delivery trucks failed to bring in more, which crops are locally available in each season, which foods grow wild in the area, and the possibilities for community gardens, farms, and composting sites. The feasibility of "community subscription agriculture" units is also on the list. CSAs supply year-round income to local organic farmers in return for guaranteed supplies of fresh, organic, seasonal crops.

The eco-village and farm group is asking whether the Willits area is too large to use the village model. Either way, group members are studying rental or lease of existing rail lines for distribution of goods, collective purchase and management of land parcels, and whether food crops should be produced by and for those within each parcel or distributed to outsiders through donation, sale, or barter.

A final report on the various subjectsand related projects that may be underwaywill be shared with the general community at a symposium, possibly this spring.

The session was facilitated by Dr. Jason Bradford, formerly of UC Davis, with the help of new Willits residents George Cottrell and Jackie Elek, who have been involved in such community-building programs as Habitat for Humanity. Communication beyond the meeting room is being offered through the website of the nonprofit Cloud Forest Institute,

http://www.cloudforest.org. One item offers "Sustainable Northern California Links." One of the interactive links is "Willits Economic Globalization."

(Note: That last word should be Localization. And this article published at http://www.energybulletin.net/3655.html)

Nov. 19, 2004 Hubbard's Peak and The End of Suburbia (Note: I could not download the full article)

By Ed Burton

In the future, rail villages and cheaper power will provide a better way' We were an overflow group of concerned citizens who gathered in the Reynolds meeting room of the Willits library to see a movie, The End of Suburbia. For some time some of us have be aware of the sad fact that we will soon be out of oil. Dr. Hubbard was the Shell Oil geologist who correctly predicted in 1950 that around 1970 the world's yearly consumption of oil would equal the amount of new oil discovered.

....

Creating a sustainable Willits http://www.willitsnews.com/Stories/0,1413,253%257E27830%257E2543906,00.html

Film, planning sessions Nov. 23

By Claudia Reed/Staff Writer

A well-documented film on the end of cheap oil has spawned planning sessions on how to localize Willits' economy.

The End of Oil will be shown for the third time in this area at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 23 at Willits High School Cafeteria.

During and after the film, groups working on various aspects of community building are expected to meet in other parts of the room.

One group project is already underway: the purchase of enough land to create a local food supply. Planners believe crops produced by bio-intensive methods on no more than 2,400 acres could meet the food needs of the local population.

Focus on creating a "walkable city" is also on the agenda and dovetails with ongoing planning and redevelopment efforts by the City of Willits.

Given that some vehicle use will remain necessary, sustainable transportation is part of the discussion. Possibilities include carpooling networks and use of such alternative fuels as biodiesel (a mixture of vegetable oil, methanol, and lye). Production and/or sale of biodiesel has been discussed as a job-producing, Willits-based industry. The operation of eco-friendly transit vans making runs to the Bay Area could provide additional service and livelihood.

Other possible eco-friendly new industries include sustainable building materials and methods. Several have noted hay bale and rammed earth homes often outlast conventional structures and do not require insulation.

The total vision could provide yet another source of employment and income, a Sustainable Living Institute drawing students from other parts of the country.

Information: Dr. Jason Bradford, 456-0760.

Nov. 17, 2004http://www.willitsnews.com/Stories/0,1413,253~27831~2539163,00.html

Planning for the end of cheap oil

By The Willits News staff

The third showing of the film that has spawned planning for a sustainable community will take place 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 23, at the Willits High School cafeteria.

While The End of Suburbia is showing, subgroups working on various aspects of community building, including carpooling, an all-local food supply, and creation of ecofriendly industries are expected to meet in other parts of the room.

The event is free.

Information: Dr. Jason Bradford, 456-0760.

Nov. 12, 2004 http://www.willitsnews.com/Stories/0,1413,253~26908~2531218,00.html

Life after cheap oil: Got a blueprint?

By Claudia Reed/Staff Writer

"There's something happening here...What it is ain't exactly clear." words by Stephen Stills, Buffalo Springfield

There was standing room only at the library conference room, Monday night, as people crowded into the second Willits showing of The End of Suburbia.

Willits is not exactly suburban, but it is heavily dependent on gasoline-based transportation of people and goods, a recipe for severe hardship if the film's analysis of the world's dwindling oil supply is accurate.

"We're all dependent on a lifeline of Safeway trucks," said Dr. Jason Bradford, Ph.D., who brought in the film and facilitated the meeting. "If that stops, we die."

While most of those remaining after the film discussed working toward a more self-sustaining local economy, a few predicted the existing system would self-correct and continue to function much as it does now.

One said cars and trucks could be built to get twice the mileage with a "simple mechanical change." Another said "the market" would solve the problem. A third expanded on the idea: "People will grow vegetables when it gets too expensive to go to Safeway."

Bradford countered that developing an alternative support structure takes time. "You can't say the trucks didn't come in with cherries, so I'm planting a tree."

At an earlier meeting, he predicted economic decline would accompany oil scarcity and advised those considering purchase of alternate energy systems to do so now, before they, too, are priced out of reach.

The November 8 discussion included both visions for a future community and concrete suggestions for localizing the economy, or, at least, for cutting down on the use of petroleum products. One immediate result of the gathering was the formation of a carpooling group for those who regularly travel to the Bay Area.

It was also noted thatimmediate oil shortage or not sustainable energy systems, eco-friendly products and services, and locally grown food would be good for Willits.

Several people, including Bradford, are already seeking land for more local food production. Bradford, formerly on the faculty of the University of California Davis Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, estimates most of the local population could be fed from food grown on 1,200 to 2,400 acres of crops, roughly a quarter of the land in the Little Lake Valley.

One participant mentioned a woman who refuses to eat anything grown outside of Mendocino county. Reportedly, she misses bread and butter.

Ellen Bartholomew, garden manager for the Golden Rule church community, assured listeners that wheat, as well as a wide variety of other grains is, in fact, being grown locally.

"We're keeping a grain bank of different types for different habitats," she said.

Her community of about 30 people, located on Ridgewood Ranch about eight miles south of Willits, is reportedly able to supply most of its food needs on three acres by using "raised beds" (biointensive gardening).

According to the website for Ecology Action, an internationally known demonstration project located southeast of Willits, "a complete year's diet for one person can be raised on the equivalent of 3,303 square feet," an area a little over half the size of an average city lot.

The use of biodiesel fuel, a combination of vegetable oil, methanol and lye, was also discussed in terms of related crop production.

Turning from crops to shelter, participants noted that straw bale and rammed earth construction don't require such imports as factory- produced insulation.

Future showings of The End of Suburbia are likely to be accompanied by alternate study quarters for people meeting to plan for viable alternatives to an oil-based economy. In sum, Bradford urged the public to be flexible in its approach to the future:

"If you're rigid and the wind blows," he warned, "you break."

For more information, see http://www.drydipstick.com.

Nov. 5, 2004 http://www.willitsnews.com/Stories/0,1413,253%257E26908% 257E2514125,00.html

Planning for the end of oil

Film and discussion of energy alternatives at the Willits library on Monday, November 8

By Claudia Reed/Staff Writer

The demand for oil is beginning to outstrip the supply.

That's not a warning from the "environmental community," but the essence of several articles appearing in Forbes magazine, a journal focused on investments, business development, and other aspects of international capitalism.

"Mature U.S. and North Sea oil fields are winding down production. New oil finds are proving elusiveIn the U.S., refineries are running at near-full capacity" reads one of Forbes' online articles.

Many industry sources indicate oil production may be "peaking" in the Middle East, as well. That is, reaching maximum yield or the top of the oil extraction bell curve. From here on out, it's expected to cost more and more to extract less and less.

What's the car-driving, energy-consuming public to do?

The question is the main focus of a special event, Monday, November 8, at the public library on East Commercial Street.

At 7 p.m., participants will see the film, The End of Suburbia. At 8:15, a discussion of how to make the Willits-area less dependent on jobs, services, and goods originating elsewhere will follow.

An earlier showing of the film on October 18 brought Mayor Karen Oslund, City Councilman Ron Orenstein and others to the Willits Environmental Center for a session facilitated by Dr. Jason Bradford, Ph.D., a new Willits resident and visiting scholar with the UC Davis Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy.

Suggestions during the discussion period included restoring Willits' former unofficial title as the Solar Capital of California, creating a "sustainable living" institute, and local manufacture and distribution of such eco-friendly products as bio-diesel and alternate building materials.

Bio-diesel, a combination of vegetable oil, methanol and lye, can be used in any engine designed to run on diesel fuel. An adjustment can also be made to allow the vehicle to run on pure vegetable oil after the engine heats up.

The alternate fuel, which can also power heating systems, currently sells for about $3 a gallon at Yokayo Biofuels in Ukiah. While the per-gallon price is higher than regular diesel, the actual cost may be less, since bio-diesel can yield up to 40 miles to the gallon. Local production of the fuel could drop the price even further.

According to the film, the energy industry's much-publicized hydrogen fuel cells require more energy to produce than they save by replacing gasoline in cars and trucks.

Bradford says the time to establish sustainable industries is now. Many experts appearing in the film, including an energy broker, predict a strong economic downturn (or worse) as the oil supplies diminish, making it difficult to begin new enterprises.

One group, which formed at the meeting, is looking into the purchase of nearby land to ensure a locally-grown supply of good food. According to meeting participants, even much of the food available at the Willits Farmers Market is brought in from Laytonville and other areas. Funding possibilities for establishing a farm with highly diversified crops may include grants from the federal "homeland security" program.

According to Bradford, mainstream farming methods, which often include the use of oil-based pesticides, require "10 calories of hydrocarbon energy for every one calorie of food." They also lend themselves to monoculture, that is, the production of large quantities of a single crop.

Orenstein, however, warned against romanticizing low-tech lifestyles.

"Be careful we're not going back to the Middle Ages," he said.

Brian Weller, who formerly worked for the oil industry, said a look at their portfolios indicates energy companies are diversifying into such technologies as wave and wind power. The information is downplayed, he said, in order to avoid loss of consumer confidence in big oil and a related drop in stock prices.

Oct. 17, 2004 http://www.willitsnews.com/Stories/0,1413,253%257E26908%257E2470591,00.html

Bradford: Oil will peak' this decade Local options will be considered at December 18 workshop and film at the Willits Environmental Center By The Willits News staff According to Dr. Jason Bradford, Ph.D., oil prices at over $50 a barrel reflect the "peak" in oil extraction predicted to occur in this decade. In short, he says, demand will soon exceed supply. That's the topic of a documentary film and workshop at the Willits Environmental Center, beginning at 7 p.m., Monday, December. 18. The film, The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream, gives an historical account of the oil and natural gas industries, describing how fossil fuels transformed the American landscape by enabling the car culture to flourish, but questions the sustainability of this lifestyle given its dependence upon non-renewable resources. The discussion and workshop, beginning at 8:30, will focus on "economic localization," a vision of how Willits residents can sustainably produce such necessities as food and energy within Little Lake Valley and the surrounding hills. Dr. Bradford, visiting scholar with the UC Davis Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, stresses the positive implications of localizing the economy: "If oil were very expensive, we'd be forced to walk and bike, and eat locally grown organic foods. Because many people want to do these things anyway, there's little downside to making them happen as soon as possible. We'd have a healthier community." Bradford stresses, however, that this workshop is intended for the entire community, not just for those with alternate lifestyles. Those who need a car, for example, may want to consider vehicle cooperatives for out-of-area trips. "The oil industry has no spare production capacity," Dr. Bradford points out, "so the loss in one region can't be compensated using excess in another. "This situation has arisen because oil companies are now losing money in exploration as most test wells are coming up dry," he noted. "But this should not be a surprise since worldwide we've used more oil than we've discovered for 25 years."