Ozaukee Community Awareness Forum

May / June 2009 Newsletter

MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF THE FUTURE: RE-LOCALIZATION

 

Think of a time in the future when oil is difficult to get -- there are no longer cars or a power grid; supermarkets and suburbs have become impossible, climate change has intensified, and the American dollar has imploded.   A frightening scenario for the future, but certainly a possible (if not inevitable) one!

 

The transition movement, a new chapter in a growing, worldwide environmental movement, seeks to prepare for that challenge and is finding new adherents in the U.S.A.  Begun in Britain by Rob Hopkins, an instructor of ecological design, it has a deeper and more radical vision that “greenness” or “sustainability”.   Transition is not so much about reducing the impacts of our industrial society, but about putting new systems in place to make communities self-sufficient and able to withstand the challenges of vanishing and expensive oil, climate change, and the fraying and collapse of industrial society.  The transition movement goes beyond telling us to change our lifestyles, as the environmental movement has done for a generation, and challenges us with the idea that “these consequences are irreversibly switching on and we need to revolutionize our lives if we want to survive.”   (New York Times article by John Mooallem)

 

This Transition Model emphasizes hopefulness over fear as communities are challenged to develop a life of lower energy (walkable villages, local food and artisans, and a greater intimacy with the natural world).   If entire communities face this stark challenge together, according to this model, they could develop a life which is actually richer and more enjoyable than what we have now.  Call it “simple prosperity”.  Change is inevitable, according to Hopkins, but the change he is suggesting we need would be a welcome, even intriguing one.

 

Worldwide, there are now more than 150 official Transition Towns (communities with an active group of citizens), and trainers are traveling the globe to begin the relocalization of their own communities, with any local financing they can raise.  The American arm includes Sandpoint, Idaho, Portland, Maine and even Los Angeles.  The transition movement is outlined in a 12-step process, available in a handbook and on the internet.

 

The “survivalist” idea is not viable for most people – it costs a lot to disappear into the wilderness, so opting out is no longer much of a possibility.  One of the Transition movement’s most pungent arguments is that we have to work together to remake the places where we already live.  And we could actually enjoy making these changes – less stress, more community, for example.

 

For a fuller explanation of this movement, go to www.transitionus.org.  Read the articles from the New York Times and from  Elle Magazine, which explain the movement and tells what happened in Sandpoint, Idaho, when the community decided to adopt its principles.   Let us know what you think!  A video featuring Jennifer Gray, the co-founder and leading activist in the U.S., is also available on their website, and an hour long film entitled In Transition: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience, will be shown in London May 23, with a DVD released later this year.  To see a trailer, go to: www.transitionculture.org.

 

TALKING TRASH: PLASTIC SOUP

Have you heard about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the north Pacific gyre?  This “trash vortex” (90% plastics) is a floating expanse of waste and debris in the Pacific Ocean, now covering approximately an area twice the size of the Continental U.S., according to some sources.  This 100 ton flotsam or “plastic soup” stretches 500 nautical miles off the California coast, past Hawaii and almost to Japan.  A fifth of the junk (everything from rubber duckies to large blocks to plastic bags and rings) is thrown off ships or oil platforms; the rest is discarded on land, including in most countries in the world.

Plastic waste is a significant source of marine pollution -- it does not biodegrade, but is gradually reduced by wave action to small particles more numerous than the plankton on which so much marine life depends.  These small bits are ever present in our oceans and make their way eventually into the food chain, killing thousands of birds, fish and marine mammals each year.  Bottle caps and rings are especially dangerous “poison pills”.   The plastic bits act as sponges for many synthetic chemicals (including DDT).

 “Plastic soup” now pervades much of the ocean and fish and marine birds often mistake it for food and feed it to their young, causing malnutrition and death.  Also, there is the possibility that these plastic particles and their toxic components could end up on your dinner plate!  Filtering the oceans isn’t practicable, so we cannot “fix” this problem; the only solution is to prevent it in the first place:

·        Recycle plastic (which isn’t easy to do; it isn’t biodegradable and burning it creates polluting fumes) 

·        Stop buying plastic, especially bottled water; refuse to purchase or use plastic packaging whenever possible

·        Go through the house and eliminate as much plastic as possible, including children’s toys; find other sustainable products.

Any number of websites will give you additional information; one of the best is www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/25155, where you will find a TED talk by Ship Captain Moore of the Agalita, who is credited with discovering “the great Pacific garbage patch”.

SUSTAINABILITY FAIR AND EARTH DAY CELEBRATION

Although the Forest Beach Migratory Preserve building was winter-cold and the day was rainy and chilly, approximately 70 participants met with 17 exhibitors and listened to our four speakers, with interest and appreciation.  The most creative discussion group was headed by John Peck of Family Farm Defenders, who used empty food containers of all types (some organic, some worse than non-organic) and had those present read the labels.  What a revelation!  We learned with Martha Kipcak of the Kitchen Table Project that there are many things we can do to become more Mindful Eaters, like supporting farmer’s markets, preparing our own food (from our own gardens!) and connecting once again to agriculture.  Dan Collins of COWS described the ME2 Program on energy efficiency which is being implemented in Milwaukee, and can perhaps be implemented here some day.  Tom Dueppen from our own Ozaukee County Planning and Parks Office, gave us much helpful information on Lake Michigan issues.  Both the Sierra Club table and the Fair Trade table did a brisk business.

A lunch sponsored by St. Mary and St. Peter Parishes, earned $200 for Habitat for Humanity, Lakeside, and was enjoyed by all, especially the hot coffee!  The winners of the four beautiful Shirley Schanen Gruen prints were:  Mary Boyle, Maureen O’Brien, Chris Culligan and Brooke Verweurth (10 years old) .

The poster contest was won by four students from Cedarburg High, where the poster contest took place.  All of the posters, including the winning four, were displayed at the Fair.  Students who designed the four winning posters were given art store gift certificates: Hannah, Allison, Molly and Audry. 

The co-sponsor of the Fair was the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, which owns the building and beautiful lakeshore property.  We have been invited to hold the Fair at that location next year.  Watch for further information on your email and our website, www.ocaf-wi.org  Videos of the talks at this year’s Fair will be available soon.

BOOKS AND OTHER RESOURCES

Ecological Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman.  A new book which goes beyond environmental stipulations and describes how the things we buy come at a hidden cost which eventually will cause great destruction on the planet.  The author makes the point that we are buying toxic goods too often, and we really need to be informed as to what’s in a product and how it was made, and then give everyone we know this information, causing a real shift in market share!  He says that “green” and sustainability concepts are not mirages, but we need to go further to find out what impact on the planet each product makes, its “hidden costs”.   How many of us know, for example, that making glass or cement is very energy-dependent and causes a great deal of pollution?  He stresses that we must complain to the manufacturers about harmful ingredients.  It is not necessary to become experts, but rather to expand our thinking about what we buy, whether it is safe for our families, and then let that information be known!  For information on products, go to: www.goodguide.com.  The book is sold on Amazon.com.

 

THE AGE OF STUPID  is a new film which features Pete Postlethwaite (an Oscar-nominated actor) as a man living lone in the climate -devastated world of 2055 and asking the question:  why didn’t we save ourselves when we had the chance?  Here is what Jennifer Gray of Transitions has to say about it:  “A monumental film, part documentary and part science fiction, it presents a brilliant portrayal of the madness inherent in our consumer culture.  The film paints a complex and foreboding picture of the challenge we are facing; it forces the question WHY and offers no satisfying answers.”   Not an easy view, it will be shown in September in the U.S.A.  A trailer is available at: www.ageofstupid.net/video/trailer.

 

PARTING THOUGHT

“Now this is not the end.  It is not even the beginning of the end.  But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

-          Sir Winston Churchill, November, 1941

F.Y.I.

Senator Kohl:  (202) 224-5653                       http://kohl.senate.gov/gen_contact.html

Senator Feingold:  (202) 224-5323                 http://feingold.senate.gov/contact.html

Rep. J. Sensenbrenner:  (202) 225-5101.        http://sensenbrenner.house.gov/contact

The core group of the Ozaukee Community Awareness Forum next meets on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 7:00 pm.  You are welcome to participate – please call 262-268-0526 for the location.