In today's Palladium-Item, correspondent Pam Tharp writes about how a backyard vegetable garden can save you money and help you eat more healthy food:

Locally grown food is becoming increasingly important to many people. Contamination in the food chain is one concern. The other is the cost of shipping food across the country and the amount of oil required to do so. Urban agriculture cuts shipping and fuel use.

You can read the full article.

This blog entry is a repository of personal "action items" that I suggest when I give my talk entitled "Going Local: Building a Self-Reliant Richmond, Indiana," first presented in its current form in November, 2007. As I say in the talk:

• You may already know a lot of this stuff
• I don't like telling people how to live, and I very much still aspire to practice some of these things myself, so I don't offer these up with any sort of moral authority
• This can be thought of as a menu of possibilities, rather than a list of imperatives or instructions

If you're not completely sure why it might be a good thing for Richmond to become self-reliant or why these action items might help, then please invite me to give the talk for your group or organization. It's chock full of great information about the energy crisis, climate change, the economy, and the implications for life in Richmond and Wayne County, Indiana. I also tell some jokes.

Now, on to the list, which is largely centered on reducing our dependence on and usage of fossil fuels:  continue reading »

Join us for this free program at the Peace Forum held in the dining room at the Earlham School of Religion on Thursday, November 15th from 12:00 PM to 1:10 PM.

Chris Hardie will talk about how Peak Oil, climate change and the meltdown of the U.S. dollar open up new opportunities for strong, self-reliant local communities to build their own sustainable future. We'll talk about existing projects and movements in Richmond ready to support you and be supported, and new ideas for how to "re-localize" the area.

Learn how to live well using far less oil. Hear about tactics for helping your community make the transition. Each year this event attracts hundreds of educators, activists, and community leaders from around the country – including those who are making changes in their own lives.  continue reading »