Green Trust Sustainability & Renewable Energy

Off Grid and Efficient Products | Discussion Forums, Knowledgebase & News | Search | Support Green-Trust Amazon Store
News From the Front | Instructional eBooks and Videos | Green-Trust Photo Album | Newsletter | Links & Resources

Powered By
widgetmate.com
Sponsored By
Back Home Magazine

Saturday, March 24, 2007

North Country Peak Oil Study/Action Group

North Country Peak Oil Study/Action Group

The North Country Peak Oil Study/Action Group informs and educates on the impacts of dwindling oil resources and increased energy costs. It works to smooth the transition to a locally-based, self-reliant and sustainable way of living through conservation and cooperation.

We are a group of about 15-20 active people, mostly from the Canton/Potsdam area (one from around Watertown),with a much larger community of interested folks who come to our showings and would work on specific projects. Many of us were lucky enough to attend a month long class on Peak Oil last June at SUNY Potsdam given by Richard Heinberg for professors and other interested community people. We decided to organize a powerpoint talk by him and out of the hundred or so who attended was born the idea of starting an action group.

Our group had its first meeting in September and has met monthly or more often since. We had a breakfast meeting this morning at the Potsdam Village Diner. Steve attempted the Flapjack Challenge, but only managed to eat half of it. If you're interested in attending these get-to-gethers, contact patricia@ncenergy.org or 315-379-9466. At the last meeting we viewed Guy Dauncey's The Great Energy Revolution, and afterwards discussed it and planned various actions.

FILM SERIES
We have had public showings of The Power of Community (a film on how Cuba met their own peak oil crisis in the 90's after the Soviet Union fell) and The End of Suburbia.

ACTION GROUPS
Some of our members are breaking down into action groups in the areas of teaching self-sufficiency skills, getting a local ride board going, exploring the possibility of starting a community garden, creating a display for our annual Sustainable Energy Fair April 27-29 at SUNY Canton and other things.

NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZING
We have started a project called THE ARK COMMUNITY, which now has monthly potluck get-togethers where we get to know each other, share self-sufficiency ideas, discuss our situation in the North Country and have work days helping each other. One person is planning to go door to door in their neighborhood with a questionaire and we are looking for other ways to organize and create a feeling of commuity.

We are trying to be positive, not gloom and doom, and relate the larger picture of peak oil to our local situation here in the North Country from Watertown to Plattsburg, NY. Although we have four universities here in the Canton/Potsdam area at the center of our region, we are a very rural area of upstate NY with our agricultural base still pretty much in tact or revivable. We have good forest resources, a soybean oil plant and developing biodiesel and pelleting industries, lots of homesteading people, cheap land and a strong independent tradition that will stand us in good stead during this transition. We hope to form alliances by hooking up with other active groups in our area promoting local agriculture,local currency, reviving trains, using draft horses, etc.

We welcome new members and people who want to be on our mailing list for events.
For more information about this Local Group, please contact Patricia Greene.

Location Canton, NY United States


Web hosting by ICDSoft

Listed on BlogShares