Sustain Community A Regional Perspective

"In the end, I am confident that we're going to be able to leave the Gulf Coast in better shape than it was before." President Obama Optimism is all well and good but this smacks of arrogance or denial. "WE" are not going to be able to leave the Gulf Coast in better shape, if we're lucky we can clean up the mess. Nature will do the rest. Regardless, we will lose species and habitat and jobs. Families will most likely lose everything as jobs disappear. And this is not going to happen overnight.

According to an piece aired today on NPR Morning Edition there are organs in the body that have receptor's for the chemicals in cannabis. Seems a clear indication we should be taking medical marijuana seriously. Full article here

Looking for someone to do a workshop that trains people to build their own solar hot water heaters has made me wonder what happened to The Whole Earth Catalogue? But after reading Whole Earth Discipline I wonder what happened to Stewart Brand. I feel that I gave the book a fair shake. Kept an open mind until the end. But I remain unconvinced.

Our library in Wendell is holding two solar workshops, the first on May 8th, will cover solar water systems. At the end of the workshops participants can have their homes googled and analyzed for viability. Seven households will have on-site evaluations and system design. The second workshop, on May 29th, will be on solar photo voltaics. Again participants can have a google site assessment and seven an on site assessment and system design.  Please call the Library to register 978 544-3559

Dozens of organizations around the country are working together to create and promote the first ever Common Good Bank. Common good banks will be a new kind of community savings bank, designed expressly for economic justice, sustainability and strong local economies, independent of the dollar. Once the first common good bank exists, any community anywhere can start one in a matter of days, using cell phone and internet technology, with no red tape and no need for a bank building.

This book, by Anna Lappe, is an appropriate follow-up to her mother, Frances Moore Lappe's Diet for a Small Planet.  The books come to the same dietary conclusions. Anna Lapp presents 7 Principles of a Climate-Friendly Diet. The goal of the diet is to reduce one's dietary footprint. It fits right in with the local food and slow food movements. One can hope that as we are exposed, over and over, to the same guidance we will finally choose to take the steps necessary as equal partners to the other living beings on this planet.

The Slow Money Alliance aims to encourage 1 million people to put 1% of their assets into local food production. There is a book, Inquiries into the nature of Slow Money by Woody Tasch.

A North American alliance of socially responsible businesses. In our region there's Pioneer Valley Local First  formerly known as Pioneer Valley Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (PV BALLE), is one of 80 BALLE Networks through out North America. We are a volunteer run organization, working since 2001 to encourage people in Western Massachusetts to Think local First.

Interesting article challenging current EROEI (Energy Returon On Energy Inputs) commonly used numbers. Renewable Transition 2: EROEI Uncertainty by Jeff Vail compares convetional EROEI to "systemic" EROEI measurements. He questions the sustainability of what is commonly considered sustainable energy, renewables.

Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland by Jeff Biggers is reviewed in Alternet.