Chris Hardie's Blog

I have the privilege to be headed to the second U.S. conference on "Peak Oil and Community Solutions" this weekend in Ohio. I've mentioned Peak Oil here before, and so I'm excited to be joining some folks who I already know think about this stuff on a trip to meet new people and explore this "issue" further. It seems to come at an especially relevant time, where energy concerns and oil production are tied in to most every headline, public policy decision, financial planning fear - even weather pattern! - that we hear about (and many we don't).

As the conference organizers note, the forthcoming end of cheap, abundant oil supplies affects everyone, representing "an unprecedented challenge for humanity." Yeah, that's the kind of scale I like to think on! And yet, the focus of this conference is on community-based solutions, an approach and mindset that is so close to my own interests (as you might have gathered from my various weblog entries on the topic).

You've seen the bumper sticker, "think globally, act locally," and though it's cliche, I think it holds great promise, at least for how I devote my own energies. Regardless of why one might be invested in strong local communities working to create sustainable local economies, the outcomes can only be positive. It will be great to interact with others from around the country to see what they're doing in their own communities.

I hope to post updates from the conference here, perhaps even with a photo or two. And if you're interested in this stuff (you know, the future of humanity, pshh), I'm always up for a dialogue about it.