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One Word: Relocalization

Posted by Glenn on May 7, 2006 - 10:41pm in The Oil Drum: Local
Topic: Demand/Consumption
Tags: oil, peak oil, relocalization [list all tags]

Steve Balogh of Baloghblog has summarized his experiences for us from last week's Local Energy Solutions Conference on Groovy Green and he boils it down to one word:

What is our only option for riding the peak oil production plateau and inevitable slide (or shock, as it may be)? Relocalization.

Balogh also wrote a Letter to friends that includes his whole Groovy Green post. He has decided that he wants to stay put where he is instead of relocating somewhere else. He's also written in the past about why he thinks his town of Syracuse is a good place to weather the peak oil storm.

Here's Balogh's list of what he's doing to relocalize his life.

1. Shop at regional market weekly.
  1. Find organic local dairy farm, and inquire about whole/raw milk, and artisan cheeses.
  2. Move money from Chase to our local credit union.
  3. Resume blogging at geddesblog. Use this as a tool to promote local businesses, and continue to encourage others to spend locally.
  4. Share CSA and garden veggies with friends, family and neighbors, so they may share in the wonderful harvest of fresh, local organic food. Use this as an opportunity to meet neighbors within a 3 home radius of our house.
  5. Find a source of local meat.
  6. Buy New York state wines from the Finger Lakes Region, versus cheap bottles of wine that have travelled around the world from Australia.
  7. Buy beer from local brewers.
  8. Get wax for Mrs. Balogh's candle making from local candle factory, instead of shipping from Texas
  9. Talk to local politician (in charge of an energy task force) about peak oil, and local energy generation possibilities.
  10. Write to Centro (bus company) about expanding bus hours and frequency of routes for downtown trips (currently ending at 5:15 pm).
  11. Frequent local arts and musicians for entertainment, instead of watching TV.
  12. Find an alternative to shopping at Lowe's or Home Depot - our guilty pleasure.
  13. Find a list of locally produced goods/services and support those businesses. Chamber of commerce?
  14. Talk to 40Below group, to see if there are plans for community gardens in the city, and volunteer time.
  15. Make sure that money is spent and invested in line with beliefs.
  16. Research ethical investment options.
  17. Find local grower of fruit trees to plant in yard.
  18. Learn how to make strawberry jam from Gram. Get raspberry shoots from Aunt Kathy's garden. Learn how to can tomatoes this summer. Then get others together and pass on those techniques.
  19. Learn how to make yogurt.
  20. Join local church.
  21. Clean off and service bicycles given to us. Look into bike cart for kids/groceries. What is the road distance to regional market by bicycle?
  22. Get serious about reducing waste and recycling. Remember that the majority of local garbage collection is incinerated into the air.
  23. Make rudimentary water catchment system from gutters.
  24. Learn how to make charcoal.
  25. Have a local showing of "End of Suburbia" in community. Invite friends and family. Encourage discussion of local solutions, and the importance of community.
  26. And finally, help inform others to prepare, by talking to them and setting an example with my actions.

That's quite a list. I would break this down into 3 main categories:

  1. Spreading Awareness of Peak Oil in the local community and making connections with other concerned citizens
  2. Relocalizing food supply and learning new useful skills
  3. Making physicial improvements in living environment to prepare for the worst

How many people want to stay where they are and relocalize their life? If so, what's on other people's lists? If not, where would you like to move?

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