July 2011 Blog Posts (10)

Yesterday, a blog by Whatcom County councilman Carl Weimer was posted exposing roads being built on Cherry Point wetlands without permits. In the blog Carl stated he was advised to have the appearance of neutrality with regards to the SSA project, so as to not be considered biased in future legal deliberations and decisions.…

An Open Letter to Aaron Ostrom, Executive Director of Fuse Washington

(Normally I would lean towards not posting such a blatant personal political position here on the TW site, but since a blatant misrepresentation of Tom Anderson is being spread prominently, I am making an exception)

Aaron,

.

As someone who's been a long time subscriber to Fuse, I have found the information your organization shares to be quite valuable, and…

Transition Whatcom (TW) is an exciting grassroots project aimed at social change. I was one of the original organizers of the group and am the only member who transferred to the Transition Whatcom Operating Group (TWOG) last year. Since we started TW, we have inspired many people to make positive changes in their lives by looking seriously at the threats caused by climate change, peak oil, and economic instability. As time has passed, these threats continue to show up in significant…

It is difficult to stay pessimistic when the sun is out, the lettuce in our garden is growing faster than we can eat it, our dog wants to stay outside all the time because there is so much neighborhood activity to see from our front yard (mostly, I think, the cat traffic across the street), new neighbors (very nice ones) have moved in next door, our son just got married to the love of his life, etc, etc, etc.

But once in a while I will see something that makes me wonder- how…

The complete version of my Letter to the Editor of Cascadia Weekly (published July 13, 2011.  The letter was given the unfortunate title "Dark Future" by the Weekly.  For sure, I see hard times in our future, but there are also many opportunities.  As David Holmgren has written, "We have trouble visualizing decline as positive, but this simply reflects the dominance of our prior culture of growth."  My primary reason for writing the letter was to point out that, contrary to Michael…

Towards a Post-Growth Society by James Gustave Spelth, YES! Magazine

Today, the reigning policy orientation holds that the path to greater well-being is to grow and expand the economy. Productivity, profits, the stock market, and consumption: all must go continually up. This growth imperative trumps all else. It is widely believed that growth is always…

Dreams are attractive,

the Present is decisive,

wading through the mud,

singing in the trees,

What is Transition?

What is the…

I'm becoming quite partial to fried radishes for breakfast, particularly the big fat ones that get a bit hot for fresh eating. Slice radishes thinly, saute in a little oil until translucent and the edges begin to brown, drop in a couple of scrambled eggs, top with green onions and slivers of chilies. Serve with a side of warmed leftover beans. For low cholesterol eating, skip the eggs. Fried radishes out of the the garden are sweet and juicy. Radishes are a frequent volunteer in my garden. A…

This is from a blog that I wrote a month or so ago at another space, thought I might share it here:

At our last TWOG meeting on Wed., we were talking about the EDAP/ARC.  Creating and implementing the "Energy Descent Action Plan" or "Actions for a Resilient Community" is at the center of the mission of Transition Whatcom.  As we reflected on what that actually meant, Paul commented that really the ARC/EDAP is a culture, the culture of the future.

This hit me like a bolt of lightning. Transition Whatcom is attempting to create a path to a culture, and all of its elements (community,…