01.06.09
“The quantity of civilization is measured by the quality of imagination.
— Victor Hugo
Informal Networks: People and Housing
Just how does change occur? Thanks to Zee Gamson and many others, here is a community-generated article on informal communities for change. The story reflects upon how people form informal networks and how "unintentional communities" have developed within and around the activities of people here — in particular, people who for decades became aware of a need and organically formed a successful affordable housing network on Martha's Vineyard.
Read the Story >
"Small Wind" Energy
Photo by Gary Harcourt of Great Rock Wind Power >
Windmills and turbines have long been a part of the Vineyard energy landscape. With a small but growing installation base of "small wind" turbines on Martha's Vineyard, wind-generated energy is drawing greater awareness.
Here are some local and national Renewable Energy Resources >
Eating Local Only: Being a "Local-Vore"
photo by Randi Baird
After twenty years of being a vegetarian I realized there is a lot of social stigmatism that goes with eating differently.
Everyone has a comment or question about it. Wanting to know why? What I eat? Am I always tired? You can’t be healthy. How could you actually get enough protein?
David Korten, author of the Great Turning, and Co-Founder of "Yes" magazine, relates in a video the significance of how choices made now for slow growth and local supply chains — local living — can project us into a future of our own making.
Watch the Video Clip >
The Voice is Yours
The Voice is an online magazine that cultivates stories in partnership with individuals, organizations and businesses.
We'd love to hear from you. >
The Collected Voice
Hoisting a Small Wind Turbine
Great Rock Wind Power is a worker owned company — Gary Harcourt - Kathryn Harcourt - Larry Schubert -Tyler Studds— that has had a direct role in at least 5 small wind turbine installations on the island. Great Rock Wind Power, has hands on experience with siting, hauling, trench digging, cable laying and dealing with the various island zoning boards. They are groundbreakers. With that role come all the great thrills of innovation and the trials of building awareness and acceptance.
Here, Gary shows how simple it is to lower and raise a turbine for maintenance. It should be mentioned that Gary is the producer, director, cameraman, and he provides the voice-over for this video.
Contact Information:
Manager: Gary Harcourt
19 Morgan Luce Lane
Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts 02557
508.693.7414
P.O. Box 1919
Vineyard Haven, MA 02568
Local Life and Energy Self-Reliance
The Vineyard Energy Project founder Kate Warner has been helping islanders understand the possibility of energy self-reliance for 10 years. In that time gas prices have increased $3.00 a gallon and with that increase the impact of fossil fuels on our environment is common conversation — carbon footprint calculators well known. Here Susan Wasserman talks about the solar panels she installed and the real value of solar panels for the Vineyard.
This is one of four excerpts of a video filmed and produced by Jonathan Skurnik.
Audio Voices:
Tony Nevin — Behavior, Oil and the "Inertia of Affluence"
46:09 minutes (31.69 MB)
Oil, Local Change and the "Inertia of Affluence"
Gary Harcourt — A "Small Wind" Perspective
2:10 minutes (1.99 MB)
Gary Harcourt has had a direct role in at least 5 small wind turbine installations on the island.
Michael Pollan and IGI — Local Poultry Processing
3:22 minutes (3.09 MB)
Island Grown Initiative (IGI), a not-for-profit, is helping local backyard farmers feed their families.
From Family Flock to Homegrown Food
Island Grown Initiative (IGI), a not-for-profit, is helping local backyard farmers on Martha's Vineyard feed their families.
In this trial run of IGI's Mobile Poultry Processing Trailer, three flock owners bring their birds to a neutral site to be humanely and cleanly processed into food for their families. In regulatory language, this is a 'custom only' event, ie: not for sale. IGI's trained team handles the process to ensure quality control. The growers participate in the processing and in the end, take their own dressed birds home for bagging.
Global Reasons to Enact Local Means
On May 6, 2008,Amy Goodman and Democracy Now aired this interview with Kevin Phillips, former GOP analyst and now critic of political leadership, or lack of, leading to our current global financial crisis.
Link to Democracy Now >
His recent book, Bad Money, analyzes the convergence of several forces surrounding the US oil-based economy: namely climate change, the expansion of US financial market commodities and the rise of Asian and Middle East influence in the once-dominant US currency — the dollar.
His conclusions are clear-eyed and provide a necessary foundation for the analysis of the current financial, energy, global market and political debates around the shrinking influence of the commonly-held United States story. In short, Phillips states unequivocally: the US is losing it's once-dominant super power status, and the fallout will be significant.
This is published now to provide a backdrop to the counter-movement toward less dependence on the global-growth syndrome, the oil-energy economy and the move toward more sustainable, local-economies generating practical solutions to local self-reliance.
More video resources: Kevin Phillips and the Crisis of American Capitalism
