"Our current growth-based economic view is based on the continuous and ever-increasing use of energy and resources. This process generates solid waste, pollution, and greenhouse gases in enormous quantities. Despite international efforts to reduce waste, the amount generated continues to grow.
"Eventually we will hit a collective wall, the bricks of which will be environmental degradation, climate change disasters, and the peaking of many resources. Properly prepared communities will handle the triple crises of environment, energy, and economy better than those that are not. Dealing with our wastes in a more sustainable manner will help to ensure our survival in an energy- and resource-constrained future." So begins the latest in TCLocal's series of articles on Tompkins County's response to energy descent. As author Tom Shelley readily admits, this month's article raises more questions than it answers, but his thorough survey of local waste management issues provides an excellent overview of the problem and our current responses to it together with a selection of essential online resources. You can find Tom's article at http://tclocal.org/2009/01/wasting_in_the_energy_descent.html The TCLocal web site is specifically designed to get your feedback on these ideas as they are developed. These articles are a starting point for a conversation that we hope will include a wide variety of readers coming at these issues from different perspectives. We welcome comments and hope to find more good ideas through public discussion. ABOUT TCLOCAL Every month TCLocal brings you another in our series of articles addressing various aspects of energy descent in Tompkins County. Contributors to TCLocal are members of the community committed to helping prepare for a future with less available energy. Articles that have appeared so far in this series can be found at tclocal.org. They include: Wasting in the Energy Descent: An Outline for the Future by Tom Shelley (January 2009) Local and Urban Small Livestock and Poultry by Angelika St. Laurent (December 2008) Health Care in an Energy-Constrained Environment (Part 1) by Bethany Schroeder (October 2008) Preparedness Basics (Part 1) by Katie Quinn-Jacobs (September 2008) Post-Peak Land Use Part 1: Ecocities and Post-Peak Land Use Part 2: The Country by Josh Dolan (July 2008) Water Treatment, Water Power by Jon Bosak (May 2008) Roads and Bridges in a Post-peak Tompkins County by Simon St. Laurent (March 2008) Fruits in a Post-Peak Tompkins County by Angelika St. Laurent (January 2008) Articles scheduled for publication in 2009 include: Local food processing (Persephone Doliner) Local foodsheds (Chris Peters) Local wood heat (Tony Nekut) Local biofuel production (Tycho Dan) Househould preparation, Part 2 (Katie Quinn-Jacobs) Health care resources, Part 2 (Bethany Schroeder) Food production systems (Karl North) Articles appearing at tclocal.org are published under the Creative Commons license and are owned and managed by the contributors as a group. People interested in becoming TCLocal contributors should first check the Terms of Reference at http://ibiblio.org/tcrp/process/terms.htm and then contact the TCLocal editor at the address below to sign up. Jon Bosak Editor, TCLocal [email protected] _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
