Community Service / Solution- small communities, & peak oil conference

These guys are on an intentional community, the vale, and organizing conferences around the issue of peak oil. Their mission:

Community Service is dedicated to the development, growth and enhancement of small local communities. We envision a country where the population is distributed in small communities that are sustainable, diverse and culturally sophisticated.

They have another site: smallcommunity.org

It looks like they got going in 1950, closer to the era of Scott and Helen Nearing than the farm.

No actually, the IC directory says 1960, and currently has 22 adults and 18 children. The organization, Community Service, was started in 1940. And, in fact, started the FIC, it says!

My issue with the peak oil focus is:

Unless the developed world embarks on a strong program of curtailment, our deteriorating social environment of poverty, violence, etc., will continue. This deterioration is already reflecting the decline of oil.

If oil weren't declining I don't think that would make things better. The issue is building communities meaningful to live in regardless of how much cheap energy we have access to. I'm sort of babbling here.

Very cool! In addition to the people from ecocity builders, Patricia from Earthaven will be there!!

"We envision a country where the population is distributed in small communities that are sustainable, diverse and culturally sophisticated." This caught my notice--My dream is a library in the woods accessible only by foot, water, or rail... But I've gotten so many of my dreams, or, I've adapted/cut it down to simply having a college campus with library I can use and walk to--for the time being.

Added by colin #442 on 2004-10-16. Last modified 2004-10-16 22:15. F0 License: Attribution
Location: World, United States, Ohio, Yellow Springs
Topics: community, conference, ecovillages