Local Currency – Better Than Money

"The global economy is much worse after the 2008 financial crash," Francis Ayley asserted. "The usurious money system is a Ponzi scheme. It's collapsing." Usurious means loans must be repaid with additional interest — so the money system requires infinite growth, an … [Read more...]

The Wood Wenches Celebrate Lighter Bodies

October 2012. An unseasonally-cold winter storm last week brought the first local tornado we're aware of. As it moved east, the storm joined two other fronts to form the historic cyclone Sandy. All are in-our-face manifestations of increasing climate change. Denial should be … [Read more...]

Wood Wenches Help Fuel the Local Economy

We're contributing to the local economy by meeting an essential human need for warmth — selling firewood from deadfall at Lone Bobcat Woods. In the past month we've cut and split large and small dead down oak trees (yes, we're leaving plenty for habitat and food for the … [Read more...]

Hot August News

August 2012. We've taken a vacation from newsletters this summer. In physical space, we're thinning our woods to slow any wildfire coming up the South Yuba River canyon (may it not happen!) As we finish projects around Lone Bobcat Woods, we're freeing ourselves to be "up for … [Read more...]

Port Townsend Shapes a Locally Reliant Community

Local Investing Made Easy, James Frazier, Kees Kolff, Matthew Day How Many Community Gardens? Judy Alexander, Celia & Ray Carnighan Menu for the Future – Bringing Farmers to the Table, Dick Bergeron, Judy Alexander, Peter Bates Partners in Preparedness – Neighborhoods … [Read more...]

Best of 2011 – Innovations and Insights (vol 2)

Our top choices from the 2011 Peak Moment conversations (volume 2 of 2). Peak Oil Blues - We're All Bozos on This Bus, Kathy McMahon Oil Puts the Squeeze on the Economy, Chris Martenson Local Investing Made Easy, James Frazier, Kees Kolff, Matthew Daly How to Boil A … [Read more...]

Transforming Communities Through Local Business

Helping Local Food Businesses Thrive,Wendy Siporen The Small-Mart Revolution, Michael Shuman Sustainable Connections — Transforming a Community Through Local Business, Michelle Long Local Living Economies — Protecting What We Love, Judy Wicks Four conversations, about … [Read more...]

Transitioning to the Elm Street Economy (173)

How can you contribute your skills towards meeting real needs now and in the future? Paul and Sarah Edwards, the authors of Home-Based Business for Dummies, focus on the "Elm Street Economy" of locally-owned businesses rather than "Main Street", which we hear so much about, … [Read more...]

The Heart of Permaculture (157)

Former truck driver Bill Wilson tells an insightful story about the energy packed in a gallon of gas — which we won't always have in cheap abundance. Now a permaculture educator, he sees permaculture  as a viable, realistic way to use nature to provide the abundance we … [Read more...]

Local Living Economies – Protecting What We Love (144)

Judy Wicks' love of place has made widening ripples on a global scale. She's the founder of BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies), a national network of sustainable, small businesses. After moving onto a quaint street in Philadelphia, she learned it was slated … [Read more...]