How much energy does a town consume? Brian Corzilius sleuthed that out for Willits, California, and got a big surprise: in this community of 13,000 people, nearly 25% of after-tax revenue leaves town to pay for energy–gas, diesel, electricity and natural gas. His inventory grew into an energy independence report which identified opportunities for local fuels to replace the external inputs. His local “energy mix” considers solar, wind, hydro, biomass, wood gasifiers, co-generation, and sewage plant methane to create electricity. A model for any community, his energy report is online at www.willitseconomiclocalization.org. Produced September 4, 2008. Episode 125.
Related Articles
'SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS wp_posts.ID
FROM wp_posts LEFT JOIN wp_term_relationships ON (wp_posts.ID = wp_term_relationships.object_id)
WHERE 1=1 AND wp_posts.ID NOT IN (1217367) AND (
wp_term_relationships.term_taxonomy_id IN (1)
) AND wp_posts.post_type = \'post\' AND ((wp_posts.post_status = \'publish\'))
GROUP BY wp_posts.ID
ORDER BY wp_posts.post_date DESC
LIMIT 0, 3'
Richard Heinberg: Why building resilience should be our top priority
In this presentation for The Climate Dialogue Group, Richard Heinberg shares his insights into why a world of climate disruption and energy volatility demands a shift from maximizing growth to strengthening community resilience.
June 12, 2026
Kokushobi: My vote for word of the year for 2026
As Japan coins a new term for “cruelly hot days,” its linguistic and institutional adaptation to extreme heat starkly contrasts with growing climate denial among U.S. political elites, revealing an emerging global split between fossil-fuel holdouts and nations pushing for a rapid energy transition.
June 9, 2026
War in the Middle East made the case for renewables – what’s happening in each country tells a harder story
The war in the Middle East has exposed the costs of fossil fuel dependence, but the path to renewable energy looks very different across regions.
June 8, 2026
