EcolocityDC

The capital future begins now

Intentional community, permaculture, urban farming, local food, clean energy, biotecture, recycling, localization, green economy, Transition

Members

  • Les Squires
  • Chef Man R Dee
  • Shannon Brescher Shea
  • Gerri
  • Ecolocitizen
  • Darrell Duane
  • Angela Flynn
  • dara
  • Ayende Youmans
  • The Earth's Visible Energy
  • Nouf Bazaz
  • Helene Gallis
  • Ruth Alice
  • herb simmens
  • Pamela Thornton
  • Nick
  • Rick Anderson
  • Scott Renz
  • Richard Howard III
  • Debby Churchman

Groups

Forget that this task of planet-saving is not possible in the time required. Don’t be put off by people who know what is not possible. Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done.
~ Paul Hawken, Commencement Address May 2009





View my page on TRANSITION UNITED STATES

Energy Bulletin

Water - Nov 6

-Scientists Reveals Secrets Of Drought Resistance
-Speaker says water limitations not recognized
-A Drought-Stricken Land Offers Help With Water
-A Victory for the 'Water Underground'
-EROWI - energy return of water invested

read more

Renewables & efficiency - Nov 6

-A Plan to Power 100 Percent of the Planet with Renewables
-Farms going green to save and survive
-Solar power from Sahara a step closer
-Nearly 200 Organizations and Companies Urge Senate to Adopt Key Energy-Efficiency Provision in Climate Bill
-Report Argues for a Decentralized System of Renewable Power Generation

read more

Climate & environment - Nov 6

-Coping With Climate Change: Which Societies Will Do Best?
-GM's Money Trees
-The Carnivore’s Dilemma
-USDA Research: Does No-Till Really Capture More Carbon?
-Why growing virgin vegetable oil to burn is crazy
-Pachauri Still Sees a Chance for Success in Copenhagen Talks
-The Inferno

read more

Food & agriculture - Nov 6

-Jonathan Safran Foer's 'Eating Animals' Book Will Fundamentally Change the Way You Think About Food
-Back to the Land: The New Green Revolution
-Farm Aid
-Georgia growers filling organic niche market
-Discussing the future of urban agriculture in KC

read more

Growing in Community

I think the question of land access may end up being the central political issue of the coming century. In both the rich world and the poor world, we’ve systematically deprived people of easy access to land. We have driven up the price of land in the rich world by encouraging sprawl, and thus forced out agrarian populations that previous fed cities. We have pushed people into cities in the name of globalization and industrialization, and claimed their land for speculation.

read more

Music

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Urgent action required of you


See the Washington DC Area Foodshed Map in a larger map in Google. Find out more and how to contribute in our Food and Farming Group.

Rapid changes are taking place. Whether or not we accept peak oil, global warming, and climate change, increasing gas and food prices are an undeniable reality. Economic decline, financial meltdown, and the housing crisis have come together in a perfect storm that challenges us to make better choices. Responses range from survivalist homesteaders, earthship bioneers, and ecovillages to Transition towns and eco-cities.

The majority of the world's inhabitants live in urban areas. It would be impossible and disastrous for large numbers to seek refuge in the countryside. Cities therefore have to be made sustainable and not continue to be toxic to the biosphere. Many towns in Ireland, Britain, Australia and New Zealand have taken the initiative to transform themselves into Transition towns. Curitiba, Brazil is cited as being at the forefront of most sustainable cities. Cuba has been forced early into solutions by its own peak oil crisis when they lost Russian oil support. In the US, Portland, Oregon, San Francisco and Oakland in California, have begun the process of becoming ecocities.

The District of Columbia has a lot of catching up to do. While there are some admirable and necessary individual and municipal initiatives, they are too little, too late. The air quality in DC is one of the nation's worst despite extensive tree cover. The exigencies of our current national and global situation demand that urgent, drastic action be taken now. What is accomplished in DC, the capital of the US, will have far-reaching influence and tremendous impact in halting environmental decline.

Ecolocity is definitely about cross-fertilization; we don't know everything, nor have all the answers or can attempt everything. We will support anyone or group who we consider is doing good work. We don't wish to duplicate efforts, reinvent the wheel or compete. We're like connective tissue, trying to bind all the existing efforts together into a cohesive whole; or like stem cells which can morph into required structures and functions as the conditions require. Primarily we are interested in stimulating, catalyzing thinking leading to action that addresses specific issues rather than prolonged discussion, waiting on authorities and finding every reason why something cannot be done.

Our primary focus is making DC a Transition town, working with other groups to devise and implement an Energy Descent Action Plan to get DC more carbon-free by 2020. However, environmental considerations are not the only concerns. Human ecology is equally critical so we have to address the impact of decline on already vulnerable populations: the aged, homeless, unemployed and the infirm.

We intend to establish an intentional community in the District that will put into practice alternative solutions that can be spread to neighboring areas and ultimately be applied on a wider scale.

Forum

Shannon Brescher Shea

Organizing and Community Building Notes - October 27, 2009

Started by Shannon Brescher Shea Nov 1.

Shannon Brescher Shea

Transition meeting - October 20, 2009

Started by Shannon Brescher Shea Nov 1.

Shannon Brescher Shea

Green Festival Participation 1 Reply

Started by Shannon Brescher Shea. Last reply by Rev Marjani Dele Oct 24.

Shannon Brescher Shea

Organizing and Community Building Notes - September 22, 2009

Started by Shannon Brescher Shea Oct 19.

Latest Activity

Follow the Potomac on Facebook. You can purchase Potomacs at the rate P1 = $0.95 In person: at Ecolocity meetings, events By mail: P O Box 3183, Washington DC 20010-0183 enclosing Money Order By Paypal: GreaterWashingtonExchange@gmail.com Minim...
1 hour ago
Shannon Brescher Shea added 6 photos to the album 'Green Festival'
3 hours ago
Shannon Brescher Shea added a photo
3 hours ago
In case you missed it, the local currency story will re-air on WAMU 88.5, during Morning Edition this Monday (tomorrow 11/9). It is also archived online now -- you can listen to it anytime.
8 hours ago
Ecolocitizen added an event
Wonderland Happy Hour at Wonderland Ballroom
November 17, 2009 from 5pm to 8pm
Instead of our usual weekly meeting, Ecolocity will join Greater DC Cares, Sierra Club and Inner City Outings for Happy Hour at Wonderland Ballroom at 1104 Kenyon Ave NW on November 17th from 5-8 pm. There is no entrance fee, and there will be fo...
22 hours ago
Gerri added an event
November 14, 2009 from 12pm to 3pm
A Nuts n' Bolts workshop on bringing your dream into reality. What do we want to do together that would make a difference? What is it that we can do together that we cannot do alone? Come to this workshop: Sat. Nov. 14, Noon to 3:00 p.m., Details ...
23 hours ago
yesterday
yesterday

Blog Posts

Ecolocitizen

DC Permibus Tour



The mobile permaculture demonstration (Permibus tour) is a 10-20 minute permaculture primer during which we walk folks through our bus systems; that includes bio-fuels, solar power, greywater, humanure composting, hydroponic garden, permaculture curtains, and composting (including chickens and worms). As we walk folks through the tour of the bus, sharing the… Continue

Posted by Ecolocitizen on November 3, 2009 at 1:39pm

Ayende Youmans

The Dead Garden

My
Garden of neglect
My
Garden of regret

Divert eyes
Window’s view
Dull stringy
Weedy things

Hardly watered
Barely chatted
No tender care
Fertilizer _bits of air

Father would cry
So should I
For all that grew_
Cucumber and dew

My
Garden of spring
Became summer’s fall
Promises winter’s pall

Skip holidays
No cuddle days
Just jars of thought
Veggies brought

Come spring
Plan anew
Strive to survive
Rhetoric of jive

ay
10/22/09

Posted by Ayende Youmans on October 22, 2009 at 10:17pm

Ayende Youmans

Public Gardens

Darrin Nordahl

was just on NPR discussing his book
'Public Gardens'

the basic tenet is as stated _ but these gardens would be open and accessible to the public in general and not fenced in.

see link

http://www.islandpress.com/bookstore/details.php?prod_id=1915#

Posted by Ayende Youmans on October 21, 2009 at 12:25pm

Tarek Maassarani

Help spread the word about the openings in the Maitri House intentional community:Green, Intentional, Family-Inclusive Cooperative House in Takoma Park, MD

We are seeking individuals or couples to join our intentional community. We welcome housemates of any ethnicity, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, and age.

About us: We are 4 families and 5 single people, with 6 children, 2 dogs, and 1 cat among us. We constantly strive to devote attention and caring to our relationships with one another and live our lives as a form of social change. Many of us are also activists in the larger world.

Move in time: Nov 1.

Motivation: We believe t… Continue

Posted by Tarek Maassarani on October 19, 2009 at 7:58am

Ecolocitizen

ECAC's and Ecolocity's Sylvia Robinson featured in WashPost


Pleasant Plains resident Sylvia Robinson fulfilled a dream of creating a thriving community center. (By Ann Cameron Siegal For The Washington Post)

In the 1700s, Pleasant Plains was the name of a large colonial estate stretching from present-day 16th Street NW to Howard University and owned by the Holmead family. Over time, chunks were parceled out, eventually becoming the neighborhoods of Mount Pl… Continue

Posted by Ecolocitizen on October 17, 2009 at 7:24pm

Notes

Transition Handbook online



Download or read The Transition Handbook online.

Created by Ecolocitizen Aug 13, 2009 at 8:38pm. Last updated by Ecolocitizen Aug 14.

Great idea!



A reader of the Washington Post writes:

You've Got Mulch?

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The July 25 front-page story "

Continue

Created by Ecolocitizen Jul 28, 2009 at 11:21am. Last updated by Ecolocitizen Jul 28.

Heathcote Permaculture course

POSTPONED - New date to be announced
Continue

Created by Ecolocitizen Jun 5, 2009 at 4:24pm. Last updated by Ecolocitizen Jul 14.

Change We Knead Now



Call for nonviolent civil action.
Sit and bake bread for WORLD PEACE starting July 4, 2009 in Lafayette Park outside the White House in Washington D.C.

Everyone is invited to join us outside the White House in su

Continue

Created by Ecolocitizen Jul 9, 2009 at 12:28pm. Last updated by Ecolocitizen Jul 9.

Vanguard Ranch CSA shares available


You can buy a season’s worth of fresh produce and receive a weekly “share” for $40 per week. There are more than 30 different types produce to choose from. Each share will be approximately the size of a conventional grocery paper bag. Satisfaction is guaranteed.

Deliveries will extend for 16 weeks. ECAC will be a delivery point, a… Continue

Created by Ecolocitizen Jun 12, 2009 at 9:30am. Last updated by Ecolocitizen Jun 12.

Transition Movie this weekend


The film ‘In Transition’ is now available for viewing, Friday 12th and Saturday 13th June 2009 only.  The version being screened is not the final version, it still has a sequence to add and some tidying up to do, but is almost there (you will need Quicktime on your computer)….  For more information on the film’s release click… Continue

Created by Ecolocitizen Jun 11, 2009 at 11:10pm. Last updated by Ecolocitizen Jun 12.

Street Tree Planting


Street Tree Planting

UFA [Urban Forestry Admin

Continue

Created by Ecolocitizen Jun 2, 2009 at 2:37pm. Last updated by Ecolocitizen Jun 2.

Great Reskilling: Preserving Time in a Bottle (or a Jar)



SAVOR LATER Eugenia Bone preserves asparagus.


Publish
Continue

Created by Ecolocitizen May 27, 2009 at 11:19am. Last updated by Ecolocitizen May 27.

New Transition book

The Transition Timeline: For a Local, Resilient Future (Paperback)

by Shaun Chamberlin (Author),Continue

Created by Ecolocitizen May 6, 2009 at 11:12am. Last updated by Ecolocitizen May 6.

Karma Kitchen DC


Imagine a restaurant where there are no prices on the menu and where the check reads $0.00 with only this footnote:

“Your meal was a gift from someone who came before you. We hope you will pay-it-forward however you wish.”

That is the concept behind

Continue

Created by Ecolocitizen Mar 27, 2009 at 12:50pm. Last updated by Ecolocitizen Mar 27.

Photos

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Support our effort

Thanks to all who made our participation in Green Festival possible by your contributions.

We have minimal but recurrent expenses that we must cover. Your donation of $2 month, less than the cost of a latte, would keep us afloat. Consider the easy option of annual donation of $25 today.

Please note: EcolocityDC is not yet incorporated so cannot have a bank account. We use Larry's Wisdom for the Soul account to negotiate Paypal transactions. Donations to EcolocityDC are not tax-deductible at this time.

Purchase books and DVDs below
Click on header to enter store

LINKS

Community


Community Greens

Culture Magic

Euro-communes

Findhorn Foundation

Heathcote Community

Rhizome Collective

Urban Evolution


Energy


Association for the Study of Peak Oil

Energy Bulletin

Geothermal Energy Association


Sustainable Energy Coalition


Examplars


City Repair

Path to Freedom
The Dervaes family, Pasadena, CA

Power of Community
The Cuban Experience

Sustainable South Bronx


Food


Karma Kitchen DC
Paying it forward

Michael Pollan

The Slow Cook

Ed Bruske's blog


Global Transformation


Apollo Alliance

Better Times Sustainable Living

Bioneers

Congress for New Urbanism

The Earth Charter Initiative

Green for All

Green Jobs Now

Post Carbon Institute

School of Life

The Venus Project


Learning


City Blossoms

DC Schoolyard Greening

National Building Museum
Smart Growth Program

UM Home & Garden Information Center

Urban Evolution

Washington Youth Garden


Local Groups


Bethesda Green

Casey Trees

Chesapeake Climate Action Network


Cool Capital Challenge


DC Environmental Education Consortium

DC Greenworks

Empower DC

GreenHome

Mt Pleasant Solar Co-op

Positive Force DC

We Are Family DC


Luminaries


Sharon Astyk

Richard Heinberg

David Holmgren

Rob Hopkins

David Korten

Joanna Macy

Bill McKibben

Paul Stamets


Officials


Department of Parks & Recreation

District Department of the Environment

Green DC

National Capital Planning Commission

Office of Planning


Permaculture


Blue Ridge Permaculture Network

Heathcote Permaculture

Perelandra

Permaculture Course Online

Permaculture Institute

Permaculture Principles

Tagari
Bill Mollison's Permaculture Institute


Recycling


Community Forklift

Gcycle

Humanure Handbook

My Green Electronics

ReUseItDC


Structures


Depave

Earthship Biotecture

Earth Architecture

Green Building Institute


Transition Culture


Transition Maryland

Transition Network

Transition Towns Wiki

Transition United States

Transition Virginia


Urban Agriculture


City Farm DC

Common Good City Farm
formerly 7th Street Garden

Design of Gardens

Eat The View

Food Not Lawns

Will Allen's Growing Power

Guerrilla Gardening

Hyperlocavore

Kitchen Gardeners International

Local Harvest

RootingDC

Sharing Backyards DC

Urban Land Army

The WHO Farm

 

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