Local Future published today Randy Udall’s keynote presentation on peak oil, climate change, and cultural resilience and adaptability. The video is available in full in high-definition on YouTube.
Local Future invites visionaries, activists, and leaders to apply to The 2011 International Conference on Sustainability, Transition and Culture Change: Vision, Action, Leadership (VAL).
Participants include:
- Dr. Steve Keen received the Revere Award from the Real World Economics Review in 2010 for most cogently warned of the crisis, and whose work is most likely to prevent future crises. He is Associate Professor of Economics & Finance at the University of Western Sydney and author of the book “Debunking Economics: The Naked Emperor Dethroned?” (2011).
- Ms. Nicole Foss is senior editor for The Automatic Earth (where she writes as Stoneleigh) and former editor of The Oil Drum – Canada. Foss is an international speaker, frequently traveling on speaking tours throughout Europe and North America. Foss has presented at the ASPO-USA conference, the European Biodiversity Conference, and many other events.
- Mr. Albert Bates is author of The Financial Collapse Survival Guide and Cookbook and 15 other books on energy, environment and history. A former environmental and civil rights lawyer, he shared the Right Livelihood Award in 1980 for his work to preserve the culture of indigenous peoples. Bates is founder and past president of the Global Ecovillage Network. (tentative)
- Mr. Timothy Scott Bennett is writer and director of What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire, a documentary featuring Daniel Quinn that explores peak oil, climate change, biodiversity loss and cultural transition. He just published the novel All of The Above (2011), which explores the process of stepping into a new paradigm.
- Ms. Sally Erickson is producer of What A Way To Go: Life at the End of Empire. She is a psychotherapist, trainer, and facilitator of 25 years. Erickson is one of the founding members of Blue Heron Farm, an intentional community in North Carolina. She is married to Tim Bennett and lives in a small town on the coast of Maine.
- Dr. Guy McPherson is Professor Emeritus at University of Arizona and author of Living with Fire: Fire Ecology and Policy for the Twenty-first Century (2008) and the forthcoming Walking Away from Empire: A Personal Journey (2011). McPherson holds a BS in forest resources and MS and PhD in range science.
- Mr. Jan Lundberg is an international speaker, writer and author of Songs of Petroleum (2011). Lundberg is known for running Lundberg Survey, “the bible of the oil industry”, which in 1979 predicted the Second Oil Shock. After 14 years there, Lundberg left for-profit work to found Fossil Fuels Policy Action, which became the Sustainable Energy Institute, now Culture Change.
- Mr. Kurt Cobb is author of Prelude: The Arrival of Peak Oil and a columnist for the Paris-based science news site Scitizen. His work is featured in Energy Bulletin, The Oil Drum, 321energy, Common Dreams and EV World. Cobb serves on the board of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas—USA and the Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions.
- Ms. Stephanie Mills is author of On Gandhi’s Path (2010), Whatever Happened to Ecology? (2007), Tough Little Beauties (2007), Epicurean Simplicity (2003), Turning Away from Technology: A New Vision for the 21st Century (1997), In Service of the Wild: Restoring and Reinhabiting Damaged Land (1996), and In Praise of Nature (1990).
- Mr. Aaron Wissner is founder of Local Future, a writer and speaker specializing in money and energy, and organizer of “The 2008 International Conference on Peak Oil & Climate Change: Paths to Sustainability”, the 2008 & 2009 “Conference on Michigan’s Future”, and “The 2010 Conference on the Future: Energy, Economy and Environment”.
- Mr. Gregory Greene is writer/director of The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream and Escape From Suburbia: Beyond the American Dream. Greene also contributed to The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil. Greene is now working on a project titled: Resilient City.
The conference invites visionaries, activists, and leaders in the areas of sustainability, transition towns, permaculture, peak oil, climate change, economics, renewable energy, food security, compassionate living and culture change to gather at a meeting of equals, to share, engage, network and plan with one another.
Goals for the participants include creating a clear vision for a positive future; examining the current situation of energy, economy and environment; studying projections and scenarios for the future; and planning for mitigation, management, and action. The conference will include short visionary talks from selected participants, in depth break out sessions, poster sessions, exhibits, panels, and awards.
Leaders will engage in open space technology, facilitated formal dialogue, interest groups, fishbowl sessions, and leadership training sessions.
“This year’s gathering moves beyond standard conference models to integrate a balanced approach combining retreat and colloquium,” says conference director Aaron Wissner.
The conference convenes at Shanty Creek Resort near Traverse City, Michigan from Thursday, November 10 through Monday, November 14, 2011.
This is the fourth annual conference for Local Future a 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit educational organization.
Some past years speakers include Richard Heinberg, Julian Darley, Dr. David Goodstein, Ellen Brown, Richard Douthwaite, Dr. Joseph Tainter, Randy Udall, Tom Greco, Albert Bates, Megan Quinn Bachman, Pat Murphy, Stephanie Mills, David Korowicz, Dr. Robert Costanza, Nicole Foss, Dr. Steve Keen, Bryn Davidson, Dr. Vernon Ehlers, Bill Wilson, Chris Bedford, Katie Alvord, Michael Brownlee, Dr. Richard Gilbert, Peter Sinclair, Dawn Moncrieffe, Harvey Wasserman, Leslie Glustrom and Peter Bane. All talks are recorded in high-definition and published for free to YouTube, as time allows.
For more information, or to apply for the 2011 leadership conference, visit: SustainabilityConference.org.
Notes: Unlike past conferences, this one involves an application process. Sally Erickson, trained retreat facilitator, is working with the confirmed speakers to design a retreat modeled experience for the leaders of the movement.
T.S. Bennett is bringing in footage from What a Way to Go featuring Daniel Quinn to stand in his stead, and will be used as a jumping off and framing point for the event. (Quinn sent regrets for the conference due to recovery from a recent fall.)
Dr. Keen returns from Australia after having just been awarded $125,000 to continue his work on designing new economic modeling software; the conference is extremely fortunate to have him, as he is arguably the top economist in the English speaking world.
Nicole Foss will provide an updated version of her popular “A Century of Challenges” talk.
The film makers and authors will, respectively, engage with aspiring film makers and authors to improve their craft.
Invited speakers are RSVPing daily, check the conference web site or the Local Future Facebook page for updates.
This is an exclusive article, written specifically for Energy Bulletin and its readers.
-AW
