Local Is The New Organic

I flew to Santa Fe via Dallas and Albuquerque. While I was on the plane I read an article about Electoral Votes for the Presidential election. These, of course, are based on the number of Senators (the same for every state) and Representatives (based on population as counted in the most recent national poll). Looking at the graphics for the article, I noticed that Texas is now the second most populous state, after California and ahead of New York. Then I flew over the "Dallas-Fort Worth Metro Area" and saw what this growth looks like.

Simple fact: In the last few decades, the US was dramatically transformed with air conditioning and cheap oil. Tens of millions of Americans think the best way to live is to drive from their air-conditioned house to the air-conditioned Sam's Club, in an air-conditioned truck. Every year more people move to Arizona than any other state, even though most Americans would find it unlivable without air conditioning.

Phoenix is the epitome of sprawl. Everyone drives everywhere for everything, particularly patronizing distant stores like CostCo, where the consumer buys in bulk and serves as the warehouse and transportation system. Every year, people move farther out in the desert, trading long drives for cheap land.

Two other facts about Arizona: More people leave Arizona every year than any other state; Arizonans use swamp coolers for their houses rather than air conditioners, because in a desert climate humidifers work better than dehumidifiers — but now the sheer number of swamp coolers in Pheonix has changed the local climate enough that the coolers no longer work as well as air conditioners.

It seems inevitable that oil prices will continue to rise, and that this will all come crashing down. At the same time, food will become much more expensive, because transportation costs will rise dramatically, and a place like Arizona can't grow food for millions of people.

The good news is that the new economy will look very much the economy many dreamt about in the 1960s, when Small [Was] Beautiful. We already see this in upscale marketing, where local beers, local produce, farmers' markets and Slow Food are all the rage (I've written about Slow Food here, here, here and here). As Fast Company says, “Local is the new organic.”

Small Is Beautiful was written by E.F. Schumacher, who lives on at smallisbeautiful.org. That's the website for the E.F. Schumacher Society, which just held a conference on how to rebuild local economies featuring one of the pioneers in this, Judy Wicks, owner of the White Dog Cafe.

From: "E.F. Schumacher Society" <efssociety@smallisbeautiful.org>
Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 13:24:31 -0400
To: john@massengale.com
Subject: Rebuild Local Economies

Dear Friend

"We have to change our concept about how we measure value in things, and get people to be willing to pay more for something that's well made, made locally, and that they would have for a long time. . . . This is a new way to operate. It's about stepping outside your business and working collectively and cooperatively with others to rebuild local economies." — Judy Wicks in her interview with Josh Harkinson for his essay "Profits of Place in the January/February 2004 issue of Orion magazine.

From: "E.F. Schumacher Society" <efssociety@smallisbeautiful.org>
Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 13:24:31 -0400
To: john@massengale.com
Subject: Rebuild Local Economies

Dear Friend

"We have to change our concept about how we measure value in things, and get people to be willing to pay more for something that's well made, made locally, and that they would have for a long time. . . . This is a new way to operate. It's about stepping outside your business and working collectively and cooperatively with others to rebuild local economies." — Judy Wicks in her interview with Josh Harkinson for his essay "Profits of Place in the January/February 2004 issue of Orion magazine.

Judy Wicks, owner of Philadelphia's famous White Dog Café and co-founder of the nation-wide Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) will be one of the speakers at the Twenty-Fourth Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures, October 23rd at the First Congregational Church in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Judy Wicks started the White Dog Café out of the backdoor of her Philadelphia home and grew it into an enterprise known for its advocacy of local organically raised food and for the farmers who grow such food. The adjoining Black Cat retail shop specializes in locally made products and fair trade goods.

A leading national spokesperson for the importance of creating healthy local economies, Judy¹s experience with her own business led her to co-found the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), a two-and-a-half year-old national organization with chapters in over fifteen cities, the first national network of small, sustainable companies dedicated to buying and selling products locally.

Her awards include the prestigious Business Enterprise Trust Award, founded by Norman Lear, for creative leadership in combining sound business management with social vision, and Business Ethics magazine¹s first "Living Economy Award." With Chef Kevin von Klause, she co-authored White Dog Cafe Cookbook: Multicultural Recipes and Tales of Adventure from Philadelphia¹s Revolutionary Restaurant. Judy Wicks is a fine example of someone who has understood how to "reinhabit place" by working with the resources both human and natural of the region to shape a vibrant local economy.

Judy Wicks' ethics of running The White Dog Café reflects a Small Is Beautiful philosophy put in practice. We are pleased she can join us.

The two other speakers at the day's event are: Chief Oren Lyons, revered leader of the Onondaga Nation; and environmental author and elegant wordsmith, Stephanie Mills.

The lectures are the twenty-fourth in an annual series sponsored by the E. F. Schumacher Society of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Past speakers have included Wendell Berry, Wes Jackson, Hazel Henderson, Winona LaDuke, Jane Jacobs, David Korten, Jerry Mander, Ivan Illich and other notable contemporary visionaries. The E. F. Schumacher Society is a national educational organization formed in 1980 and named for the British economist and author of Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered.

Additional details about these and previous speakers are at www.smallisbeautiful.org. Pre-registration material for the October 23rd Lectures follow.

Warmly, Susan Witt Executive Director E. F. Schumacher Society 140 Jug End Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 USA www.smallisbeautiful.org

* * * * * * * * THE TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL E. F. SCHUMACHER LECTURES

Saturday, October 23, 2004, 10:00 - 5:00 First Congregational Church, Main Street, Stockbridge, Massachusetts

FEATURED SPEAKERS: OREN LYONS, JUDY WICKS, and STEPHANIE MILLS

LECTURE SCHEDULE

9:30 Registration and coffee 10:00 Welcome 10:15 Talk by Oren Lyons 11:15 Audience response and questions 12:00 Lunch (see details below) 1:00 Talk by Judy Wicks 2:00 Audience response and questions 2:30 Coffee Break 2:45 Talk by Stephanie Mills 4:00 Audience response and questions 4:30 Closing remarks by the speakers 4:50 Tea and book-signing by the speakers

DETAILS

Time: Saturday, October 23, 2004; 10:00 - 5:00. There will be a lunch break from 12:00 - 1:00.

Cost: $20 per person, $15 per member of the E. F. Schumacher Society, and $15 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at the door and from the E. F. Schumacher Society, 140 Jug End Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230 (413) 528-1737, efssociety@smallisbeautiful.org.

Registration: Pre-registration recommended. Checks payable to the E. F. Schumacher Society, Visa and MasterCard accepted.

Lunch: A vegetarian brown bag lunch may be ordered in advance for an additional $12. Call for menu details. Alternatively there are several nearby restaurants or bring your own bag lunch.

Directions: The First Congregational Church of Stockbridge is located on West Main Street (next to Town Hall) in Stockbridge. From Boston, take the Lee Exit on the Massachusetts Turnpike and follow signs south (Route 102) to Stockbridge. From New York City take the Taconic Parkway to Route 23 in Claverack. Follow Route 23 east to Great Barrington, where Route 23 joins Route 7. Take Route 7 north to Stockbridge, turn left on Main Street at the Red Lion Inn. The church will be on your left approximate 1/3 mile. The historic red brick church is easy to identify behind the prominent clock tower. A map can be viewed and downloaded from the "events" page of our website at smallisbeautiful.org.

Accommodations: Call the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce 413-528-1510 for listings of the many overnight options in the region or visit www.greatbarrington.org.

Membership: Contributions to the E. F. Schumacher Society are tax-deductible.

E. F. Schumacher Society
140 Jug End Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230

www.smallisbeautiful.org

(413) 528-1737