Possible Action Areas

[Cherie Brown]

Please post any ideas, general or specific, that you have about where we might focus our efforts!  Think about things that will help to reduce oil dependency, build localization, build community, build "resilience," offset our area's carbon footprint, etc.  

We'll discuss these ideas at the next discussion meeting (date TBD).

[Cherie Brown]

Absolutely!  Climate change is one of the areas that Transition is specifically about.

[William Wilson]

I agree John!  Building resilience for climate change seems a little more daunting than building it for peak oil.  It seems to me that Transition started with the idea that if we could all cut our dependence on fossil fuels we might prevent climate change - but climate change seems to be upon us.  

So I am completely open to discussing this and making it a priority for our group.  I guess things we should prepare for would be:  

-increasing severe weather events

-doing without power for weeks at a time (it's happened to me several times in the past few years)

-agricultural practices that are resilient in the face of changing weather patterns 

Other ideas?  

Hope to see you this Thursday John!

[Cherie Brown]

Good thoughts.

In the vein of agricultural practices: I've seen some interesting stuff on "drought-proofing" farms via earthworks measures, and there are people in Tennessee who specialize in this... the idea of pursuing action related to agricultural practices seems like a fruitful idea that is distinct from food as we've discussed it previously.

Severe weather events or conditions in general seem like a given more than a possibility - even if the specifics are unknown.

[Jonathan Hatcher]

This seems relevant.

http://www.spiralridgepermaculture.com/?p=1826

The link is for a regenerative earthworks workshop or "drought-proofing".  I've worked with Cliff on and off of his farm and he has shown himself to be talented when it comes to soil remediation.  

I personally consider water systems to be the most important feature of the landscape and as such they should be given adequate consideration and established first and foremost in any system.  Swells being an integral part of a highly productive system.  Another technique that seems promising is keyline plowing in conjunction with compost tea.  Keyline plowing done properly can be a significant advantage during serious down pours.  

Cherie Brown said:

Good thoughts.

In the vein of agricultural practices: I've seen some interesting stuff on "drought-proofing" farms via earthworks measures, and there are people in Tennessee who specialize in this... the idea of pursuing action related to agricultural practices seems like a fruitful idea that is distinct from food as we've discussed it previously.

Severe weather events or conditions in general seem like a given more than a possibility - even if the specifics are unknown.

[John Leitnaker]

Sorry, I just found this discussion again. Another big issue related to climate change is the types of crops we need from other parts of the country. We need corn and other grains to raise our own eggs, poultry etc. Planning/ developing locally grown rations will make our region sustainable. We might have an advantage over some regions if we can do a better job of retaining moisture and buffering high winds etc.

Respectfully,
John L