Government

Community Book Forum: Small is Possible: Life in a Local Economy

The Carrboro Cybrary and Carrboro Recreation & Parks invite the community to read Small is Possible: Life in a Local Economy by Lyle Estill. Lyle is a founder of Piedmont Biofuels and he will be leading this discussion along with Michael Tiemann, a founder of the Open Source movement, and William (B.J.) Lawson, PLENTY Revitalization Board Member. This book is focused on the local economy in Chatham County, and will be valuable to anyone interested in sustainability, co-ops, biodiesel, whole foods, slow food, technology, small business, and more. Copies of the book can be borrowed from the Cybrary.

Book Description:

In an era when incomprehensibly complex issues like Peak Oil and climate change dominate headlines, practical solutions at a local level can seem somehow inadequate.

In response, Lyle Estill’s Small is Possible introduces us to “hometown security,” with this chronicle of a community-powered response to resource depletion in a fickle global economy. True stories, springing from the soils of Chatham County, North Carolina, offer a positive counterbalance to the bleakness of our age.

This is the story of how one small southern US town found actual solutions to actual problems. Unwilling to rely on the government and wary of large corporations, these residents discovered it is possible for a community to feed itself, fuel itself, heal itself, and govern itself.

This book is filled with newspaper columns, blog entries, letters, and essays that have appeared on the margins of small-town economies. Tough subjects are handled with humor and finesse. Compelling stories of successful small businesses, from the grocery co-op to the biodiesel co-op, describe a town and its people on a genuine quest for sustainability.

Review:

One of my favorite ideas in this book is the idea of open source. Once you let go of this idea that everything must be copyrighted, everything must be owned and protected in order to make money, you become free. Open source ideas quickly foster a more open community, a more open and honest society. A gropu of people or organizaitons all start working toward a common goal rather than all working against one another. Beautiful, isn't it?

Another beautiful idea is that a community needs a variety of people and businesses to thrive. And that as you begin living locally- and begin working toward a healthy community - people and businesses find their niches. And when you find your own niche within the local economy, your own happiness rises. Your sense of well-being increases when you realize your positive and necessary contribution to society.

As we go further into debt and economic security throughout the world, nurturing our small, local, sustainable businesses and infrastructure will become increasingly important. I recommend this book.
~ Melinda from The Blogging Bookworm

More reviews are linked from:
http://lyleestill.com/blog/?p=9#more-9

Date: 

Friday, June 5, 2009 - 2:30pm to 4:00pm

Location: 

Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St.

Healthy Youth Act (HB 88)

**Cross posted on Amplify** (http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/dandaman6007/2009/2/9/Healthy-Youth-Act)

Thursday, February 5th, the Healthy Youth Act (House Bill 88) was officially filed in the North Carolina House of Representatives. The Healthy Youth Act would require schools to offer a two-track system for teaching sex education in North Carolina- one for abstinence-only education and another for comprehensive sex education. Parents decide which track their child will take.

Time for comprehensive sex education in NC!

**Cross posted on Amplify** (http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/dandaman6007/2009/1/27/Its-time-for-comprehensive-sex-education-in-North-Carolina--NCYLC-blog)

County Manager Quits

Laura Blackmon gave notice to the BoCC.  Her last day is 30 June.

Revaluation in Orange County

From this week's issue of The Carrboro Citizen — Reporters Margot Lester and Rich Fowler offer a detailed look at the revaluation issue.
• Main Story: Revaluations squeeze home, business owners
How revaluations are calculated
How to appeal your revaluation
Neighborhoods with the highest and lowest increase in revaluations

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