Peak Moment Television Episode Guide

Patrick Marcus and other motivated citizens sprouted a community garden on city land slated to be a park in Ashland, Oregon. When the garden was threatened by plans to develop the park, they got active. Their research and advocacy led to official policy supporting community gardens in city parks. As the volunteer garden manager, Patrick affirms gardening isn't just for leisure -- it helps build community. It creates bonds among people from diverse social spheres -- through shared work, classes, potlucks and, most of all, shared passion. Episode 106.

Though born and raised elsewhere, Jerry Becker is now a de facto indigenous member of Oregon's Elk River watershed. The credo he lives by is Respect. He and his family have lived lightly "long before it was cool." An ecoforester, Jerry manages the woods sensitively with an eye to its wholeness. For the past thirty years he has worked with Friends of Elk River to protect wilderness regions in the watershed. In the last decade he formed the Elk River Land Trust, working with private landowners to protect agricultural and forest lands from development. Ripples of his gentle respectfulness permeate an entire watershed. (www.foer.org, www.erlt.org.) Episode 105.

From an early start producing biodiesel from used cooking oil in his garage, Ian Hill was instrumental in creating a market for biofuels in the state of Oregon. Now Managing Partner of SeQuential Biofuels in Eugene, he has gone on to build the first retail biofuels station in the state -- and it's not an ordinary fueling station: A solar panel canopy provides 50% of the needed electricity. The convenience store is a passive solar design to help with heating and cooling, and stocks as much locally produced food as possible. Its "living roof", of mostly native plants, helps cool the building in summer, and slow and filter stormwater runoff. This optimistic enteprenuer says he and his family have found that consuming less can bring greater happiness. Episode 104.

Wanting to live a "reasonable, comfortable life" in tune with nature, Ann and Gord Baird are building a "net zero energy" home on rural Vancouver Island. Their plans: a thick-walled cob house with passive solar heating. Wind and solar panels to provide electricity. Solar thermal hot water for domestic use and radiant heating. Composting toilets to enrich the earth for orchard, gardens and chickens. Rainwater catchment and a well for domestic and irrigation water. Episode 103.

A vocal proponent of going local, Dave Smith co-founded the BriarPatch cooperative market, co-owned "Smith and Hawken" and now owns a used book store he can walk to. His book To Be Of Use: The Seven Seeds of Meaningful Work honors "creative action heros" who meet real needs rather than just desires. He suggests judging others not by their stated values but by their virtues -- their character and actions. (www.grizzlegritz.com, briarpatchnetwork.wordpress.com) Episode 102.

Santa Barbara is lowering carbon emissions starting with a greenhouse gas emissions study; adding solar panels to city buildings; requiring lower energy usage for new buildings; converting vehicles to biodiesel and/or hybrids; giving free bus passes to downtown workers. City councilmember Das Williams urges citizens to push officials to make substantive (i.e., funded) changes to mitigate the effects of peak oil and climate change. (www.santabarbaraca.gov) Episode 101.

Tour Janet and Richard's quarter acre for an example of what's possible in suburbia. Their front yard of edible plants also provides habitat for birds and insects. The backyard radiates out from an herb and kitchen garden to vegetable beds and containers; 25 fruit and nut trees; and a restful Zen garden. Near a future pond is a "three sisters" spiral of corn, beans and squashes. Check out their rainwater catchment barrels system, solar ovens, grid-tied photovoltaics with backup batteries, a low-energy house, solar-heated garden room, and a comfortable "summer palace" of natural & salvaged materials. (www.richardheinberg.com) Episode 100!

For over a decade, Bob Banner has brought documentary films to his region, and published a bimonthly tabloid HopeDance, "Radical solutions inspiring hope." Ahead of many, he brings "disturbing" information as well as solutions and positive visions. Bob discusses the massive failure of media, spiritual films, relocalization, peak oil, and myriad other topics. (www.hopedance.org) Episode 99.

Energy researcher Glenn Rambach's charts show how America budgeted for energy independence following the OPEC embargo in 1973. Then the Reagan administration switched to having "the market" create research incentives, so federal funding declined severely. He says we've lost 30 years, are spending in the wrong places, and need to get back to serious research in energy development. (www.thirdorbitpower.com.) Episode 98.

Mediator Anne Oliver would have us move back to our wisdom and forward to new social forms that are inclusive, respect all voices, and share leadership. She uses "Appreciative Inquiry" where we tell each other our stories, and out of our successful experiences, find values that can lead us into the future. Episode 97.

Linda Buzzell-Saltzman and Larry Saltzman of Santa Barbara share a love for their garden in more ways than one. Larry is creating a lush food forest and teaches permaculture to promote local food security. Ecotherapist Linda helps people heal their relationship with nature, noting that many problems are rooted in this disconnection. http://www.forthefuture.org. Episode 96.

In this freewheeling conversation, Jason Bradford and Brian Weller, co-founders of Willits Economic LocaLization (WELL), discuss local food security, creating a farm at a nearby grade school, being rooted in community, urban / rural friction in wealth and land use, regional trading partners, reinventing local public transportation, and more. Episode 95.

Jason Bradford and Brian Weller, co-founders of Willits Economic LocaLization (WELL), discuss their group's approach to educating and enrolling their townsfolk about declining oil and the imperative to reduce dependencies on imported energy, food, and other goods. They view their group as a mid-WIFE: a Watchdog, Incubator, Facilitator and Educator. They're pioneering "rediscovering where we live--and it's exciting." Episode 94.

Els Cooperrider is an energetic lady. She co-founded the Mendocino Organic Network, which began an organic peer-certification service for local growers. Their Mendocino Renegade label means products are "beyond organic" and local. She also led Mendocino to become the first U.S. county to be GMO-free -- genetically-modified organisms cannot be grown there. Her eatery, Ukiah Brewing Co. & Restaurant, is America's first certified organic brew pub, which serves seasonal local ingredients. Episode 93.

Lorraine Wilde's non-profit Community Car Share organization in Bellingham, Washington received startup help from many quarters. Established car-sharing organizations mentored her, individuals offered low-interest private loans, a state grant enabled them to purchase a hybrid, and the city provided a fixed parking place by the bus station. Learn how she did it, then set one up in your community! Episode 92.

Earth needs humans to figure out our shared destiny, says Alan Seid, whose interest is both the outer and inner dimensions of sustainability. Outside there's ecology, social systems and economics (e.g., in Permaculture). Inside is the psychological dimension of personal and group values and intentions. How do we meet people where they are, engender respect, promote crucial information-sharing, and motivate change? Episode 91.

If you enjoyed Sally Lovell's over-the-top treatise on her electric bike (episode 40), she's back, telling us other ways one person can make a difference - from fresh water to humanure. Her focus on water includes educating herself on where it comes from, effects of pollution and climate change, and conservation -- pressurized toilets, choice of washing machine, and ways to use that not-so-hot water while it's getting hot. As for humanure, listen in and find out! Episode 90.

This land trust is creating permanently affordable homes amidst increasingly-expensive real estate on beautiful Orcas Island, Washington. Co-founder Michael Sky explains how they provide 99-year leases on the homes built on land trust property. Restrictions limiting the resale value allow owners to sell at a reasonable profit while keeping the homes affordable forever. http://www.opalclt.org, http://www.nationalclt.org. Episode 89.

In summer 2006 Judy Alexander embarked on an experiment to see how much food she could grow, and how many neighbors could benefit, from the garden around her house. Check out her homegrown rainwater collection and irrigation system -- watering her 60+ edible crops. Meet the bees, the chickens and the worms. And catch her joy in producing so much food for so little effort. Episode 87. Now with transcript.

As an organizer in the American Institute of Architects, Chris Stafford has long promoted sustainable design. As a natural builder, he worked with straw bale and clay in Greece and Saudi Arabia. For his Port Townsend home, he considered site, size, materials and energy. The 1500 sq. ft home uses mostly non-toxic materials (and fewer of them), foam insulation, metal roofing, solar hot water for space heating, photovoltaics for electricity, and an innovative rainwater collector for landscape irrigation. Episode 86.

The future's environmental leaders are here now! Student leader Tylor Middlestadt recounts how Empower Poly (San Luis Obispo, CA) is bringing students to the table--with staff, faculty, and local communities -- to shape a greener future. Students successfully pushed for environmentally-friendly design for the nation's largest student housing project. Inspired by the UC Go Solar campaign, students formed Renew CSU to advocate renewable energy projects on campuses statewide. Episode 85.

O.U.R. stands for "One United Resource," expressing how interdependence and inclusion undergird this 25 acre demonstration sustainable community on Vancouver Island. This model ecovillage comprises natural buildings, a school, long- and short-term residences, extensive gardens, greenhouses, and even a bed & breakfast. Brandy Gallagher MacPherson describes how they created an entirely new zoning category by building relationships with regulatory agencies that go beyond "us versus them". Episode 84.

Communities Magazine editor Diana Leafe Christian concisely spells out what the successful 10% of intentional communities do: common vision and purpose, fair participatory decision-making, clear agreements in writing, good balance of right and left-brain knowledge, methods of staying accountable to agreements, criteria for new members, good communication and processing skills. She also discusses peak oil effects on the wider community. Episode 83.

Developer Steven Ribeiro is re-creating traditional towns, that put "waste" resources to good use. A mixed-use three-story building augments power from its solar panels (which provide shade and collect rainwater) with a tugboat engine (running on local biodiesel), using engine heat to warm the building. Cars are secondary in a 68-acre village, whose dwellings of all sizes are walkable to retail, offices, schools, entertainment, and open space. Episode 82.

Former energy analyst Jan Lundberg opens by singing "Have A Global Warming Day" and closes with "The Depaver's Song." In between is an unabashed look at climate distortion, peak oil, and declining ecosystems, all bringing a necessary collapse of our "pigging out" economy. He envisions a future with radically curtailed energy use, and people coming together groping for local solutions. Episode 81.

Permaculturist David Blume discusses alcohol's low emissions, and producing alcohol as a biological complex in which wastes become raw materials for other processes. He claims that with one year of the U.S. Defense budget, the entire world could be set up to produce alcohol and permanently replace oil for transportation. He discusses vehicle conversion, and how citizens can undertake alcohol fuel distribution. Episode 79.

The first automobile fuel was alcohol, which could be produced by most farms. Permaculturist David Blume discusses the history, production and properties of alcohol. He notes that plants are more efficient in producing sugars (used for alcohol) than oils (biodiesel). If corn were first fermented, its starch could be used for alcohol and the remainder fed to cattle -- far more efficient for food, fuel and land use. Episode 78.

Water is a precious resource we can't live without. Pat Pearson educates Olympic Peninsula citizens with a "Water Matters" campaign and "Shore Stewards" program for shoreline residents. New homeowners receive a "Welcome to Your Watershed" packet, while volunteers build rainbarrels to catch roof rainwater for gardens. Episode 80.

After summarizing the facts of deepening global climate chaos, New Zealander Kelly Tudhope notes that our psychological response is often overlooked. Feeling powerless, many people stay in denial. But if we acknowledge our feelings, we can find empowerment arising from our hopelessness. Kelly identifies "false solutions", which are forms of business-as-usual, in contrast to "true solutions", which ask us to change our behavior. Episode 77.

What happens when citizens apply permaculture principles to a city grid? They create friendly places within the grid that invite people to come together. Mark Lakeman, co-founder of Portland, Oregon's City Repair Project describes these "creative intervention" projects as placemaking at its best. People learn to work together, build trust and have fun. The results, from painted intersections to cob benches and other organic structures, invite people "to inhabit the planet on our own terms" rather than the grid-locked culture imposed by the city. Episode 76.

Michelle Long enthuses about how their highly successful local independent business network has transformed Bellingham, WA and inspired other communities as well. From an initial "Think Local First" program, they have expanded to business peer mentoring, and support for local food producers, sustainable buildings, and green energy. An astounding sixty percent of their community are aware of "Think Local, Buy Local, Be Local" campaigns and have changed buying habits. Episode 75.

Cal Broomhead and Melissa Capria of the Energy & Climate Program discuss the rationale, aggressive plans, and activities for city-wide energy self-reliance and greenhouse gas reduction. Tools include energy efficiency in buildings, transit alternatives, alternative vehicle fuels, generating electricity with renewable energy, and solid waste reduction. Episode 74.

Smart municipalities are planning and preparing for energy vulnerability and climate change. Daniel Lerch, manager of the Post Carbon Cities project, has prepared a guidebook including case studies of cities large and small planning how to maintain essential services in the face of energy and climate uncertainty. Episode 73.

Tim Bennett and Sally Erickson discuss the influences behind this heartfelt and riveting documentary on "Life at the End of Empire." Framed in Tim's personal story of awakening to the big global issues threatening everyone's survival. It will touch you and make you think. Episode 72.

A closed landfill in Santa Barbara county is not just being restored with native plants. It also has a pilot project growing oil-rich jatropha for biodiesel. Restoration horticulturists Karen Flagg and Don Hartley of Growing Solutions do restoration education and remediate damaged landscapes -- bringing them back to life. Episode 71.

Russ Teall has developed biodiesel production equipment since the industry was in its infancy. He discusses biodiesel's advantages over petroleum diesel, and the land-for-food vs. fuel issue. His projects involve small scale refineries using multiple oil feedstocks, decentralized production facilities, and oil-rich plants grown on marginal lands. Episode 70.

How will rising oil prices affect low- and middle-class lives? Sociologist and professor Rowan Wolf sees at-risk populations growing while government services and class divides are increasingly strained. A member of the Portland Peak Oil Task Force, she discusses relocalizing our economies, to counter globalization based on an unsupportable grow-or-die economic model. Episode 69.

Take a tour with Joe, Doug and Sam Bullock on their Orcas Island property, site of a yearly Permaculture design course. Using nature as their model, they create edges and wildlife habitat, move water through the landscape, promote diversity, and raise an astonishing variety of plants from sub-arctic to tropical -- a wise investment in these climate-changing times. Episode 68.

At Smith and Speed Mercantile on Orcas Island, hand tools line the walls and tables along with organic wool comforters and non-toxic paints. It's an extension of Errol Speed and Kathleen Smith's off-grid homestead where they work at "the speed of living," using hand tools that reconnect them to the earth. Episode 67.

Michael Brownlee didn't stop after creating the Boulder Valley Relocalization group. He's catalyzing Boulder County's Going Local! campaign, encouraging residents to buy local first, eat and grow local food, create local energy and local currency. The community will celebrate at a "Renaissance of Local" festival, conference and expo with a feast prepared by the local Slow Food group. Episode 66.

Enjoy toe-tapping tunes as environmental educators Sharon Abreu and Michael Hurwicz regale us with songs like "Penguins on Thin Ice." Their shared goal is for education to be fun and entertaining. Their catchy lyrics bid "Goodbye, Oil" and ask "How do we find the balance?" Their answer: "The economy depends on the ecology." Sing along! Episode 65.

When you go to the "dump" on Orcas Island, you get a bonus. Along with dropping off your recyclables and trash, you can leave your re-usables and pick up what you need at The Exchange. This thrift + building materials + appliance + home furnishings + sporting goods store has no set prices; you pay "what it's worth to you." Founder George Post recounts how The Exchange grew out of the scavenging of useful "stuff" that occurred all the time at the informal dump of days gone by. Episode 64.

Hot topics from Richard Heinberg: record-high U.S. fuel prices; the ethanol big-business boondoggle; coal projected to peak about a hundred years early (around 2020); what the climate change discussion is missing; and enjoying ourselves as we "go local." Episode 63.

Take a whirlwind tour of the one-acre Brookside Energy Farm with Jason Bradford and Christoffer Hansen at planting time. Along with perennials, annuals, a food forest, and dryland crops (grains), they're growing Jerusalem artichoke and dale sorghum to produce both food and energy (ethanol). Watch Chris cut sod with a Swiss glaser hoe -- a 1/6 horsepower guy! Episode 62.

Three women envisioning a sustainable island share their activities: Sustainable Vashon's Merrilee Runyan describes "Edible Island" and "Green Seed grants." Farmer Lisa Mathias of Vashon Island Growers Association envisions more neighborhood food production. Hillery Crocker coordinates the annual 3-day island Earth Fair celebrating local food, arts, wellness and community. Episode 61.

Richard Katz and Dennis Brumm burst the technofix dream-bubble by naming the hard stuff: the lack of sufficient alternatives to oil and gas at the enormous scale needed. Overpopulation exceeding the planet's carrying capacity. Potential collapse. But wait! they close with ideas for positive individual responses. Episode 60.

Manager Paul Harton welcomes us to the newly-built BriarPatch Coop natural foods market. It's LEED™ certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and incorporates innovative design throughout. Architect Jeff Gold shows state-of-the-art water and space heating, lighting and skylights, and a polished concrete floor with a "river" running through it. Episode 59.

Watch a worm birth from a cocoon. See compost produced from food scraps, horse manure, and lots of worms. See the machine that separates castings (worm poop) from compost. The Worm Guy, Mark Yelken, says that worms are "the intestines of the Earth", fertilizing and activating microbial activity. Stick around to learn about the "Worm Wigwam" and "Worm Tea". Episode 58.

Todd Cory lives in a zero energy home. He started by conserving a whopping 70% of his energy use. Then he installed solar hot water and electricity connected to the grid. This renewable energy installer brims with enthusiastic ideas about having fun consuming less energy, starting with "the low hanging fruit"-- what's easy and cheapest to do. Episode 57.

Tam Hunt outlines a strategy for regional independence from fossil fuels -- and it centers around electricity. Start with efficiency & conservation, add renewables to replace fossil fuels for electricity, then add more renewables to electrify transportation such as plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. The result? A program "to save America's Environment and Economy one region at a time." Episode 56.

Karen Biondo and Joe Walling take us on a tour of their big-backyard farm on Vashon Island, Washington. Pet the goats, watch chickens dusting in divots, and crunch a purple carrot. Karen's colorful paintbrush and Joe's creativity with salvaged materials and hot compost combine to create plentiful harvests and playful beauty. Episode 55.

David Wright, Vic Opperman and Andrea Faste are "making ripples around Puget Sound" by empowering folks in their northwest Seattle community of 70,000 around "the one issue that unites us" -- energy. Sustainable Ballard volunteers educate, facilitate, and collaborate -- working with businesses and organizations on projects like going carbon neutral, a "Vehicle to Grid" conference, and having fun, too! Episode 54.

Peak oil educator and author Richard Heinberg discusses what communities can do to prepare for peak oil. He covers transportation, including a novel ride-sharing scheme, assessing municipal vulnerabilities, local food and energy production, as well as the Hirsch report's conclusion that 20 years will be needed to make an energy transition -- very possibly more time than we have. Episode 53.

Otmar Ebenhoech has worked with electric vehicles for decades, watching as popular commercial EVs were developed, then recalled when their legal mandate was overturned. He sees improved battery technologies as the catalyst to enable widespread acceptance of EVs. Peek under the hood and watch a test drive of his hot electric Porsche race car conversion (0-60 in less than 5 seconds!). Episode 52.

Tour Scott McGuire's White Sage Gardens in the back yard of his rental home -- a demonstration site for suburban sustainability. He ponders, "How might a household produce and preserve a significant portion of its own food supply?" Composting, a water-conserving greenhouse, and seed-saving are all facets of this beautiful work in progress. Episode 51.

Land trusts are an important part of the voluntary protection of working agricultural lands, which can also protect water quality, habitat, and beauty, not to mention food production expertise. Land trust veterans Cheryl Belcher and Dan Macon, himself a farmer, discuss the critical role of small scale food producers in the local economy and the challenges they face -- from misperceptions of farming to policies favoring big agriculture. Episode 50.

Francis Ayley established over a dozen local currencies in the UK before moving to the U.S. He contrasts our standard, scarcity- and debt-based money system with local currencies in which "there's always as much as you need." Local currencies like his Fourth Corner Exchange issue money when members trade goods and services. Communities with local currencies will be less affected when recession or depression hits the mainstream economy. Episode 49.

The planet is rapidly confronting us with limits to the exploitative, dominator system of the past 5000 years. David Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World, and more recently The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, implores us to replace the old dominator-control stories with new stories -- affirming life values of cooperation, community and interdependence. Episode 48.

San Francisco is the first American city to formally address the challenges of oil depletion. Dennis Brumm and Allyse Heartwell recount how members of SF Oil Awareness envisioned, wrote and presented to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors a Peak Oil resolution, which was passed unanimously in April 2006. They explore next steps: public hearings and plans to create a task force to assess the city's energy vulnerability. Episode 47.

Yes! magazine counters mainstream media by giving us stories of people creating sustainable, just and positive futures. Executive Editor, Sarah Van Gelder discusses healthcare for all, alternatives to prisons, peak oil, living democracy, climate change, working together, and how each of us can begin creating change. Episode 42.

How can business help create the world we want? Jill Bamburg, Dean of Bainbridge Graduate Institute's innovative MBA program, examines its basic premise: that doing good for people and the planet is good for business. Episode 43.

How can localities buy and build local renewable energy generation capacity? Ken Smokoska describes the opportunities afforded by California's Community Choice law AB117. Nick Alter and Aeron Arlin Genet describe the coalition of business, environmental, university, county and city governments that took part in the summit, and where some of the outcomes can lead. Episode 41.

Facilitator and musician Melanie Rios believes life can be much richer after peak oil--with lighter living that gives back time and joy. She facilitates communication skills to help groups "work together to stay together." In performances like her "Three Little Pigs Meet the Peak Oil Wolf," she erases the boundary between audience and performer. Episode 39.

Tour an urban ecovillage on less than two acres only five minutes by bicycle from the center of Eugene, Oregon. Builder Robert Bolman uses natural materials like sensitively-harvested wood, earth and straw in the several beautiful, well-insulated, non-toxic structures surrounding the central shared gardens. Episode 38.

Jan Spencer shows his quarter-acre permaculture project transforming a typical suburban lot. Lawn and driveway were replaced with fruit and nut trees, vegetables, brambles, and native habitat, plus a 3500 gallon rainwater catchment