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Boulder Valley Relocalization is a council of citizens working together to prepare this community for greater self-sufficiency in an energy-constrained future. Why are we here? To inform citizens of the challenges and opportunities of the coming Long Emergency— converging global crises of climate change, peak oil, and economic instability—and to serve as a catalyst for achieving community self-sufficiency in energy, food, and economy. Why are we doing this? In a globalized consumerist economy, our community is too dependent on distant sources for our essential needs. As the energy crisis deepens—exacerbated by the consequences of runaway global warming—costs of non-local goods and services will increase sharply and energy resources (especially fossil fuels) will become increasingly scarce and expensive. Our community is not prepared. What should be done? The only viable solution is to prepare Boulder Valley by learning to produce our essential needs locally. We need to dramatically reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and our waste outputs, and then we must join together to prepare our community to become as self-sufficient as possible. How can this be done? This will require engaging our entire community in working together to achieve this challenging goal. It will first require in-depth research and strategic planning—planning like our lives depend on it—a process we have already begun. How can I become involved? First, become thoroughly informed about the dimensions, challenges and opportunities of the energy crisis. Make the necessary adjustments in lifestyle that will prepare you for the Long Emergency ahead. Join one of our study groups focused on the energy crisis and the need for relocalization. Participate in our Working Group and become part of the strategic relocalization planning process. Help us spread the word. You are needed! Where can I learn more? Go to our main website (www.boulderrelocalization.org) and explore the many resources there; go to our collaborative Working Group website (www.communityzero.org/bvr) and read about the strategic relocalization plan we are developing, along with news about the accelerating energy crisis. Join us in our monthly public meetings on the third Monday of every month. Bring your friends and family, your neighbors, and your co-workers! Boulder Valley Relocalization 303-494-1521 info@boulderrelocalization.org
BOULDER, CO—“What has been missed in the controversy over peak oil is that major shocks and crises are very likely to be unleashed in the near-term, long before global petroleum supply has undeniably peaked,” says Michael Brownlee, co-founder of Boulder Valley Relocalization (BVR), a citizen organization advocating the urgent development of a local response to a looming energy crisis. Brownlee claims that the peaking of the world’s ability to deliver cheap oil and energy represents a dangerous gathering storm. “Because demand for fossil fuels is rapidly outstripping supply, shortfalls and outages will almost certainly occur in the coming months and years,” he says. “And they are likely to be painful, chaotic, and perhaps in some areas even catastrophic.” To focus community attention on the coming challenges and opportunities of peak oil and peak energy, BVR has organized a series of public awareness events, the purpose of which is to inform citizens about the coming energy crisis and to stimulate individual, neighborhood and community preparedness for mitigating inevitable short-term impacts as well as “gracefully and ethically adjusting to an energy-constrained future as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply.” Public Awareness Events On November 5, more than 100 people attended a presentation by Julian Darley, founder of Post Carbon Institute and Global Public Media, as well as author of High Noon for Natural Gas, titled "Relocalize Now! The Community Solution to the Energy Crisis." On September 28, more than 200 people came to the Fiske Planetarium to hear Brownlee discuss the need for relocalization in the Boulder community. This event also featured Stephen B. Andrews, a Colorado energy consultant and co-founder of the American branch of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO-USA). Andrews, who spoke on “The Reality of Peak Oil,” was also the organizer of a world oil conference held in Denver on November 10-11. BVR events often include a preview of the documentary film, “The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream,” which is inspiring American communities to move towards relocalization—the process by which communities localize their economies and essential systems, such as food and energy production, water, money, culture, governance, media and ownership. “Peak energy is a reality that we cannot avoid,” says
Brownlee. On January 14, the organization held a day-long community
event called “Going Local! Preparing for the Accelerating Energy Crisis”
on the University of Colorado campus, which included a “relocalization
resource expo” and a broad range of guest speakers.
Boulder Valley Relocalization is an “outpost” of Post Carbon Institute (www.postcarbon.org), a non-profit think tank based in Vancouver, Canada. The organization calls for communities to quickly develop a comprehensive Plan B both to mitigate inevitable short-term impacts and to adequately prepare for a future of scarce energy resources. BVR is supported by a "Working Group" of about 120 concerned citizens who meet monthly and serve as a "think-and-do tank" to lay the foundation for a community-based strategic relocalization plan. Relocalization Resource Groups In February 2006, BVR launched a special project to formulate a strategic community relocalization plan. The first stage of the process is the formation of Relocalization Resource Groups which will research, discuss and provide summary reports with recommendations in specific areas:
Each group is tasked with the following:
Please email
michael@boulderrelocalization.org if you'd like to participate in one
of these group. Also, please see
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