< China's liquid fuels futureThe Oil DrumDrumBeat: February 20, 2007>

108 comments on JHK: "The ethanol craze means that we're going to burn up the Midwest's last six inches of topsoil in our gas-tanks."

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Liz on February 20, 2007 - 3:31am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Creating a Life Together, by Earthhaven resident Diana Leafe Christian, has a great chapter on just what distinguishes successful from unsuccessful communities. Unfortunately, my copy's loaned out, so I can't give a synopsis, but anyone seriously interested in building a community would be well served by reading it.

Publisher's blurb:

Creating a Life Together is the only resource available that provides step-by-step practical information distilled from numerous firsthand sources on how to establish an intentional community. It deals in depth with structural, interpersonal and leadership issues, decision-making methods, vision statements, and the development of a legal structure, as well as profiling well-established model communities. This exhaustive guide includes excellent sample documents among its wealth of resources.

Diana Leafe Christian is the editor of Communities magazine and has contributed to Body & Soul, Yoga Journal, and Shaman's Drum, among others. She is a popular public speaker and workshop leader on forming intentional communities, and has been interviewed about the subject on NPR. She is a member of an intentional community in North Carolina.

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liferaft on February 20, 2007 - 11:46am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

My wife and I have been researching intentional communities and we found Creating a Life Together as the best source regarding the practical problems of ICs. The bad news is that, according to Diana, something like 90% of ICs fail. Based on our experience with ICs and our research, we've decided to take a different path to building community.

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wimsey on February 20, 2007 - 1:13pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The whole IC dynamic will change if energy gets very expensive or is rationed/unavailable. One of the main points of the November Washington Post Earthaven profile is how cheap energy allows us to avoid dealing with each other. Most people take advantage of this freedom as much as possible. Some of us dabble with ICs while it is fun and novel but we have the option of going back to mainstream living if we wish. It is not too difficult to envision a future where it is easier to work out your differences with your community than it is to pick up and move on.

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liferaft on February 21, 2007 - 11:35am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I agree that expensive energy will reduce mobility, but I don't believe any significant portion of Americans will live in ICs. Apart from long standing cultural conditioning, I believe there's a self-selected genetic component to America's peculiar focus on individuality, read Peter Whybrow, M.D.'s American Mania: When More Is Not Enough.

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BrianT on February 21, 2007 - 7:18pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Life: I can't resist these quizzes. I got a 2- he says I am too laid back.

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