Building Community

Towards Local Democracy

by

It’s been more than a year since we’ve started our initiative in Sopot, Poland. It has the same aim as the Transition initiatives, however we have decided to focus on local democracy first. Democracy helps to eliminate the struggles of political parties and it weakens vested interests. What we have also quickly realized is that even if you come up with a great plan for improving public transport or installing a biogas digester in your city, there’s this little, tiny issue: how can you make it all happen? Where will the money come from? Who will give all permits and change the city plans?

Deconstructing Dinner: Collapse of honey bees on Vancouver Island/Tugwell Creek Honey Farm and Meadery

by

We examine the latest setback in the ongoing struggle to maintain healthy honey bee populations around the world…And with Vancouver Island receiving Spring the earliest of any location in Canada, farmers there are reporting catastrophic results from the winter with some farmers having lost up to 90% of their colonies. Yet while populations elsewhere in Canada have also been hit in recent years, it appears (at least at this point), that Vancouver Island’s significant losses are an isolated incident…And we’ll also travel to Vancouver Island to meet Bob Liptrot of Tugwell Creek Honey Farm & Meadery.

Renewables & efficiency – Mar 22

by

-Throwing the Race for Green Energy
-A Rising Green-Tech Tide Will Lift All Boats
-The war of words over home-produced electricity feed-in tariffs could cost dearly
-Wind resistance
-Marine energy projects approved for Scotland

Breathing Room Economics

by

When I graduated from college, I was trapped underneath a mountain of debt. I had no money in the bank, $25,000 worth of student loans, and an interesting, but low-paying job doing research on economic and environmental policy…After adding up rent, food, loan repayment, and other basic expenses, I didn’t have any money left at the end of each month. It became obvious very quickly that I was stuck – I didn’t have something that I truly desired: breathing room.

Interview with Phillip Blond of ResPublica, author of ‘Red Tory’

by

A while ago, at a Soil Association event in London, I found myself on a panel with Phillip Blond of ResPublica, and was really impressed by his insightful thinking on how politics might best enable the process of localisation. Phillip’s book. ‘Red Tory’ is due to be published in a couple of weeks, and I was delighted that Phillip agreed to do an interview about his thinking.

The failure of republics

by

There were elections in Brittany yesterday. The result was, let’s say, interesting for us, but that would be hard to understand for people not familiar with the French voting system and with the arcana of Breton politics. To make a long story short we ended up a left wing opposition to the left wing president of the regional council. This local oddity is not, however, the main lesson of yesterday’s vote. The very low turnout is, and this tells a lot about the way our political system does and will react to the ongoing energy descent.

Economics – Mar 22

by

-Author Lewis Says Wall Street Reckoning Is Coming
-Coming soon: “oil-less” economic growth
-Arcane Currency Battle Masks Deeper Economic Tensions with China
-‘I=PAT’ means nothing, proves nothing
-The Broken Society
-Natural resources: The curse of developing countries?
-Money Out Of Thin Air: Now Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Wants To Eliminate Reserve Requirements Completely?
-America’s “Houdini Recovery” under IMF-Type Austerity