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ECOVILLAGES and Transition Towns ECOVILLAGES and Transition Towns Cooperative Culture: Synergy at the Edges Bee'eldííl Dahsinil (Albuquerque NM) June 1, 2008 www.i4at.org institute for appropriate technology This slide show is a free download at thegreatchange.com Albert1 Bates Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License January 20, 2011 Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air & ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change February 2007 Acknowledgement: Brock Doleman "Even if one disregards the science behind global warming, the fact of the matter is that we desperately need to reduce our exorbitant reliance on fossil fuels in order to better protect our wildlands and reduce our addiction to foreign oil." - Mayor Martin J. Chávez 6 Source: Met Office, Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research (Reading Unit), Meteorology Building, University of Reading, UK The Hockey Stick What are we leaving our children? Cox, Jones, Andreae conjecture. published in Nature The Hockey Stick TheThe FarmFarm The Farm Unanticipated: isotherm creep Gov. Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency for the northern third of the state of Georgia and asked President Bush to declare it a major disaster area. "This is not something we can conserve our way out of," said Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. Albuquerque Unanticipated:Isotherm isothermcreep? creep 13 14 15 16 18 As peaking is approached, liquid fuel prices and price volatility will increase dramatically, and without timely mitigation, the economic, social and political costs will be unprecedented. Viable mitigation options exist on both the supply and demand sides, but to have substantial impact, they must be initiated more than a decade in advance of peaking” (emphasis added) — U.S. Dept of Energy, the Hirsch Report, 2005 Initial Symptoms of Peak Oil Awareness (Post Petroleum Stress Disorder) Common Symptoms Include; •Clammy Palms / Nausea •Mild Palpitations •A Sense of Bewilderment and Unreality •An Irrational Grasping at Unfeasible Solutions •Fear •Outbreaks of Nihilism / Survivalism. •Exuberant Optimism. •“I Always Told You So” Syndrome. Acknowledgment: Rob Hopkins, Transition Culture Solutions 22 Source: Bruce Eric Kaplan, The New Yorker, 3 Dec 2007 “An optimistic outlook actually is neurochemically self-fulfilling. Optimism leads to increased frontal cortical activity which itself is a strong predictor of idea generation, positive emotion and overall liveliness of thought. Similarly, sadness is marked by decreased activity in the frontal cortex, which has the negative side affect of reducing the number of overall thoughts and ideas produced." — Nate Hagens Extreme Warming 5-15°C Plan A Plan D Stable Hot Hot Chaos Stable Plan B Plan C Chaos and (growth) Collapse Economy Plan B Plan C Stable Cool Cool Chaos Plan A Plan D Slightly Warmer < 1°C Plan B Some Alternative (The Magic Bullet) Economics 2.x Plug-in Prius, Hypercars®, Segways® LEED certification Triple Bottom Line Photovoltaics, Wind, Tidal, Permafuels™ Hydrogen from Solar; Algae Fuel Cells Amory Lovins William McDonough The Thurston Howard IIIs Plan C Cutback, Curtailment, Powerdown • “Sustainable Retreat” - Lovelock • “Conservor Community” - Murphy Julian Darley • “Re-localization” - Darley • “Voluntary Simplicity” - Robin • Ecovillages • Victory gardens Pat Murphy • Horses • Home fuels • Gilligan’s Island 27 Vicki Robin 28 Wallace and Gromit Paradigm • Small community • Neighborhood economics • Vegetable Competitions • Devices based on counterweights, springs, wind-up, gravity flow, magnets, wheels 29 The Great Reskilling: Tool up, School up! The Kinsale Energy Descent Action Plan Acknowledgement: Rob Hopkins Available to download at www.transitionculture.org Transition Towns Acknowledgement: Rob Hopkins An idea goes viral... 34 “…localisation stands, at best, at the limits of practical possibility, but it has the decisive argument in its favour that there will be no alternative” — David Fleming Cloghjordan Historic Town Well Positioned Railway Excellent Opportunity 36 37 Albuquerque The historical evidence suggests that Albuquerque possesses the potential for long-term sustainability if it recognizes the limitations of its unique ecology. Albuquerque As of the 2007 census estimate, Albuquerque's population was 523,590, the 32nd-largest as well as the 2nd fastest growing city in the USA. Albuquerque has grown 16% in 7 years. At present rates of growth, it will be larger than Baltimore by 2015, San Francisco by 2024, and Detroit by 2029. There will be more than a million residents in 2034, and double today’s population by 2036. Water Albuquerque currently relies entirely on pumping groundwater. Only about 50% of the water pumped from its aquifer is replenished. That’s unsustainable. Albuquerque has contracted for rights to 48,200 acre-feet of Colorado River water per year. Because the water Albuquerque needs has to cross state lines and be pumped from one watershed to another, it’s supply is by no means assured. Built Environment By resolution and compact, the city has called for an immediate 50-percent reduction in fossil fuel energy consumption in new and renovated buildings, and it seeks to eliminate fossil fuels from new construction by the year 2030. In other words, within 25 years, Albuquerque will not use oil, natural gas, or coal in the heating, cooling, lighting, or construction of its buildings. To achieve carbon-neutrality, the city will: • Invest greater resources in transportation options • Promote energy efficient building in both the public and private sector and at all levels of government • Encourage automakers to increase production of energy-efficient vehicles and persuade consumers to purchase them • Provide additional incentives for investment in renewable and alternative energy • Encourage additional mixed-use development • Promote energy conservation on all levels. Energy It is Mayor Chavez's goal to purchase 20% of the total kWh use by Metro from the wind farm at Clovis NM. All new city buildings will meet LEED Silver standards for energy efficiency. Public lighting is being converted to LED and CFL, with occupancy activation sensors. Funds have been appropriated for city energy audits and conservation retrofits. Methane gas is already being co-generated from landfills and sewage treatment facilities. Urban Forest Albuquerque Parks and Recreation has set a goal of 60% canopy cover for the City. 11,000 trees will be planted, “appropriately placed with sufficient species diversity,” and selected and arranged so as to reduce the water requirements of city parks and public spaces. Transportation In 2006, Albuquerque was named one of "The 21 Best Cities for Cycling" in America by Bicycling Magazine. City initiatives: Rapid Ride D-Ride Alternative Fuel Buses Bike RacksFree Parking For Hybrid, Alt Fuel, and Fuel-Efficient Vehicles 46 Swales, Water Features, and Reforestation 47 An “ecovillage” is... “A fully-featured human settlement, with independent sources of initiative, in which human activities are integrated into the natural environment in a way that is sustainable into the indefinite future.” —Robert and Diane Gilman Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities (1991, updated) Torri Superiore Italy Torri Superiore Italy At the Tamera Solar Village in Portugal, vegetable oil is heated under parabolic Fresnel lens arrays to 200°C then stored up to 3 days in insulated tanks before being used for heating, Tamera cooking and to fire Portugal Stirling engines for electricity. Huehuecoytl Mexico Huehuecoytl Mexico Solheimer Iceland Solheimer Iceland Solheimer Iceland Leibensgarten Germany Leibensgarten Germany Basaisa Egypt Basaisa Egypt Marda Permaculture Training Farm Nabluus, Palestine Kibbutz Samar Israel Gesundheit! West Virginia Sasardi Colombia Damanhur Italy 65 10 BASIC HUMAN NEEDS • a clean and beautiful environment • a clean and adequate supply of water • basic clothing • a balanced diet • a simple house to live in • basic health care • simple communications facilities Sarvodaya • basic energy requirements Sri Lanka • well-rounded education, and • cultural and spiritual sustenance 66 Auroville India Auroville India Auroville India Auroville India Auroville India 71 China China 73 China 74 Japan 75 The Farm Tennessee 1972 The Farm Tennessee 1997 1991 The Farm Tennessee 2002 The Farm Tennessee We’ve decided our purpose is to provide a physical place, secure (financially and politically), ecologically healthy, and open to the sky, to pursue fulfillment in life, whatever that means to a given individual. The Farm Tennessee The Farm Tennessee The Farm Tennessee transparent government egalitarian and open access freedom of thought and expression right livelihood clean and safe workplace Economic healthy homes fair wage non-exploitative business practices race, ethnic and gender neutrality clean renewable energy Social/Spiritual full cycle re-use Ecological soil and climate restoring responsible water use progressive full-life education life-cycle costing pursuit of happiness Ecovillages truth and justice 1000 year-old olive tree, Palestine “Don’t ask if there is a conspiracy at work. If you are not in one, start one.” — Catherine Austin Fitts Water & Sanitation Food Growing Food Preservation Civil Organization Shelter Medical Money & Trade Security & Nonviolence Quality of Life Population This slide show is a free download at thegreatchange.com Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License www.i4at.org institute for appropriate technology.
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