Green Options » localization

Five Of The Best Reasons Why We Need To Localize

The Dave Room — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:25:24 +0000

Re-localization is the process through which a community reverts from ever increasing dependence upon the global economic system back to local networks of economic interdependency. Localization brings production closer to consumption obviating the need to rely on long supply chains and distant markets so that communities can largely provision themselves. Local production strengthens the local economy, creates worthwhile jobs, and increases local self reliance. Refocusing the economy locally will necessarily revitalize the community, increasing camaraderie, cooperation, and support for local culture and a sense of place.

The top five reasons we need to localize:

Make our cities more resilient
Reduce C02 emissions
Reduce energy consumption
Prepare for an energy scarce future
Create a publicly-owned safety net

In the wake of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, regional officials have become increasingly concerned about how the San Francisco Bay Area would fare if another 1906-style earthquake were to occur. The San Francisco city government and CORE - Citizens of Oakland Responding to Emergencies (as well as the national emergency preparedness sector in general) are strongly recommending that people get prepared to live for 3 days without major infrastructural support (i.e., electricity, running water, supermarkets, etc).

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Peak Oil Is Gonna Make It A Big World After All

The Dave Room — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:49:55 +0000

In my talks, I have talked a lot about reinventing normal life and in particular our notions of mobility (among other things)…
Part and parcel is this idea that it’s a small world. We get this small world idea from Disneyland as kids (recall hearing mechanical children swaying to the refrain “Its a small world after all”) as well as from seemingly serendipitous encounters that are probably statistically ordinary in a world were people jet and motor around the country. It is easy to think that the world is small when one can get from point A anywhere in the global economy to point B anywhere in the global economy within a matter of hours (rather than days or months). It makes it easy for us spread out families and friends as people chase paychecks and jobs across the country if not the planet.

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What We Can’t See, We Can’t Consciously Change

The Dave Room — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:08:00 +0000

Nobody really knows what all was on the Cosco Busan when it sideswiped one of the supports of Bay Bridge, dumping about 58,000 gallons of oil into one of the country’s most famous and fragile ecosystems. That’s because globalization is grandfathered into our consciousness.

But at what cost? Solving the converging crises of climate change and peak oil, not to mention a plethora of others, would be an exceedingly difficult nut to crack even if we had full knowledge and information. Unfortunately, cracking this nut is probably impossible with our current level of thinking and understanding. We cannot hope to apply the necessary systemic thinking to our converging crises, because no one has a full view of the system. What we can’t see, we can’t consciously change.

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Are We Crash Test Dummies?

The Dave Room — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:05:36 +0000

Sunday night and time to knock out an Ecolocalizer post! Melia is safe at her mama’s house. I just got out of a friend’s hot tub. I am still a little tired from last night but had the best time! I know this may seem a bit off topic, but I had the opportunity to watch an amazing, all-Maori roots reggae band out of New Zealand. Katchafire is about to blow up! Meaning that they are gonna make it big. Massive ups to my girl G Fizzle who introduced me to their music!

After the show, I was backstage hanging out with several of the band members. I was telling them that they really needed to play Reggae Rising - the world’s largest reggae festival (five hours North on Highway 101 where Eel River snakes along the highway). They had just put on an amazing show at Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz, that often felt like a massive sing along.

As I was chatting backstage, my mind flashed to Melia (as it often does) and our earlier visit to the Lawrence Hall of Science:

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Why I Localize

The Dave Room — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:08:29 +0000

As you may know, blogging on ecolocalizer.com is relatively new for me. Its been fun, but hey I think it could be better with a little more back and forth. So I thought I’d introduce myself one post at a time as I talk about localization here in the Bay Area. And I invite you to ask questions, make comments, and tell me what you think needs to be covered. If you’ve got a localization project in the Bay Area and you want folks to know, post a comment or send me an email at daveroom (at) gmail dot com. I aim to please.

Without further adieu… My name is Dave Room (and that’s my daughter in the photo). I have been working on localization for the past four years. Sometimes it has felt like I am swimming upstream. Actually it still feels like that - the difference is that now the current is not quite as strong. As the financial underpinnings of our society unravel, as food prices soar, as oil prices regularly hit new highs - it seems like I am living a prophecy. Everything that is happening now has been more or less accurately predicted by a large International community of people who have been following our oil predicament. Another name for our oil predicament is peak oil, but its really all about the oil depletion and the coming imbalance between supply and demand. Sometimes I call these folks “the depletionista”.

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Increasing Water Security with Rainwater Catchment

The Dave Room — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:24:48 +0000

By Dave Room and Ingrid Severson, Bay Localize

Rainwater catchment is an ancient practice used widely around the globe to harvest and store rainwater for human consumption and irrigation. Dating as far back as 4,000 B.C., it is now commonly used in Australia, New Zealand, parts of Europe, Japan, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand as well as the Caribbean, Central and South America.

With more than 250,000 practitioners in the U.S. alone, rainwater catchment is experiencing a revival in parts of North America including Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Canada. Hawaii, North Carolina and the more dry regions of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas already boast government incentive programs. Although maintaining water supplies for increasing population demands is one of the California’s biggest challenges, the Golden state does not have government-backed, financial incentives for rainwater catchment.

photo credit: Rumsey Engineers

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How South Bay Neighbors Saved Thousands on Going Solar

The Dave Room — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:14:03 +0000

Recently, a neighborhood group - the Downtown San Jose Solar Project - banded together to purchase solar in bulk and find their own solar installer through a competitive bidding situation. They put their collective requirements for three solar systems out to bid by several solar companies to get the best price, equipment, warranty, and service.

As of February 20, the project included 24 San Jose homes producing 99kW of electricity. The 24 systems in San Jose will produce 3,560,000 kWh over the systems’ lifetime and will eliminate, according to today’s current fuel mix, about 5,055,861 pounds of carbon dioxide. The community group wants to see this program spread across the Bay Area and held a training for people interested in setting up their own community discount programs.

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How to Save 20% on Going Solar!

The Dave Room — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:21:22 +0000

Going solar is like purchasing your electricity upfront for the next 20 years with a one-time payment. Yeah, you may save money in the long run, but the upfront payment is no joke. Currently solar photovoltaics cost about $8 per watt (installed), so a four kilowatt system will set you back about $32,000 before state and federal incentives.

Photo credit: Pete Beverly, NREL/DOE

A new model of solar purchasing appears to be coming of age: community solar purchasing programs. Last month, two colleagues in the Local Clean Energy Alliance and I carpooled to a workshop by the Downtown San Jose Solar Project about their experiences setting up a community purchasing program.

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