2009 Local Future Conference(s), Thoughts Ahead On
What should be the next major event for Local Future?
Well, there are a number of ideas in my mind regarding this. To preface, a couple projects have yet to be completed.
First, the proper publishing all the video and audio content from the first two conferences (and related video).
I also plan to write a book in 2009, as I've mentioned in earlier articles. The primary purpose of that book would be to publish something that anyone could read and understand about money/energy/sociology and how understanding the relationship between these trio can explain the world. That book will be a major project, which will likely take some 300 to 1000 hours to complete.
So then, what about the next major event? Will there be a 2009 repeat of either conference? If not, something else than? Bigger? Smaller? Where? Why?
Brainstorming the Conference Purpose
There are lots of events that could and should happen. First off, the whole of society would probably find it very useful to understand what is going on with jobs, money, energy, etc. in our current national and global economies. There isn't anything out there like this. Nothing I've seen has been effective at predicting what has happened in the last year. I do know there are a number of books that have addressed nasty things that might befall the economy, although I don't know which authors had the best reasoning, or how accurate they were. In any event, there are things that are essential to understand about money/energy/economy/environment that just aren't being understood.
So, one possibility for a conference is to create it around this idea, and actually use fairly high level discussions of what has happened, and has yet to happen. We could bring in all of these authors to give their take on the state of things, as well as some other experts in the fields of energy flows (peak oil) and money (economists that understand energy???). That part about the economists that understand energy is the trickiest part really, because that is what it is all about. An example, this article about the history of economic thought never once mentions energy. This is a huge failure of economic thinking, to have failed to connect the dots between energy and money.
Here is the relationship between them: money represents energy.
I certainly I hope I am wrong. I hope this simple axiom has been studied ad nauseum. But I have found no evidence that it has been studied properly. Perhaps it would be an entirely new school of thought? I don't know.
In any event, I think that this conference would be quite interesting to myself, and others as well, because it would be exploring some rarely traveled territory.
Turning to Michigan, one has to wonder if there are any plans anywhere in Michigan to deal with the very obvious risk that one or more of the big three automakers will fail. There must be a plan. A conference could come up with a plan. Without a plan for failure; a crisis management plan for the state, then the state is "planning to fail". That is simply unacceptable. There is absolutely no reason we should go without a plan, hoping, perhaps against hope, that things just work out and that things turn around. I don't have any confidence that current leadership really grasps what is going on, much less how to fix it. There must be a crisis plan, a state-wide plan.
Independent Michigan
One of the possibilities that has crossed my mind more that once, regardless of how crazy it might sound, is that Michigan take control of its own destiny by declaring independence from the USA, perhaps along with other parts of the Great Lakes bioregion/watershed. And yes, I know that sounds a bit crazy for Michigan to be a country on to itself, but it may not be such an amazing thought if the automakers fail and the unemployment rate in Michigan spirals towards 20%, 30% or worse (see earlier article for job loss estimates).
The purpose of an independent Michigan would be to utilize 100% of Michigan's human resources and capital to transform Michigan from a 19th century relic to a 21st century icon of innovation. One of the key reasons would be that Michigan would need to have its very own currency so that it could do what was necessary to ensure for jobs, health care, education, food, sanitation and etc. Now, perhaps there are alternate ways of doing this, such as with the North Dakota Bank (NDB) model, or by a sort of state-wide local currency, but that is a big question.
Another argument for independence would be that Michigan has been receiving less money from the USA federal government than it pays in. Other states are in the opposite position, where they receive more than they pay in. While there are arguments for why this is so, the Michigan recession of the past several years has been the chance for the federal government to step up, which they have not done.
There are other questions around which the conference could be structured. Doing the International Conference on Peak Oil and Climate Change again would be straight forward. The drawback of this conference is really that peak oil is not on peoples' minds right now given the economy, so the title and focus don't seem as important. Really, any conference must address the economic crisis we're in, and what individuals, and perhaps organizations, can do about it, and to prepare for it.
Another thought would be basically a personal preparation conference or course to help people develop the thinking and skills needed to prepare for the unpleasant futures that await us. Such a conference could focus on making the home super energy efficient, what to do with income, how to start growing food and developing a local food system, etc. The concept of a Transition Town or a Relocalization effort would certainly be included in this, and the Plan C Conference speakers/topics would be very helpful to look at in designing such a conference.
Conference When?
For a moment, on timing, it seems like April 4 weekend or April 11 would be good choices, or perhaps that week. Why? Because that is soon, and it is really the first days off I have, due to my school's spring break. Of course, any Saturday would do prior to then. A disadvantage of the April 11 weekend is that is the Christian Easter holiday, and that might put a damper on attendees who have family events planned. On the other hand, there are probably few events planned that weekend for the same reason. Even if it were on that weekend, there could be a something for those that celebrate that holiday. Another possibility is the ASPO-USA type schedule with a Sunday-Tuesday type conference on the April 5-7 time frame.
As to Calvin college, they have availability for their smaller facility in June, but probably not in May. As to the Crystal conference, they probably have availability right after the snow is gone (in April) or again in November, which was actually a very good time, and could be set again as tentative. But with things changing as quickly as they are, it seems like the spring break time in early April would be best. So, time to set a date (range) and start working on the venue, the partners, and, most importantly, what exactly the goals and outcomes should be for this next event.
Wrapping Up
There are other ideas for conferences, and much more to be said, but this is it for now, and my general feeling is that a conference focusing on money-energy in Michigan in April is what should be next. It could have a Michigan focus, using Michigan as the model of what could/should be done, but keeping it general enough that it could and would be applicable for people coming from anywhere. A question then becomes, who exactly is the audience, and it seems like it could be those that are really working seriously at figuring out what is going on, and what to do. In other words, the audience could be those who are already working on this effort, a sort of conference of leaders.
Just to loop back for a moment, another conference idea is that we have the "Michigan Summit" to find the solutions to Michigan's problems and for a positive vision for Michigan's future. The original idea for the summit was to invite the top 100 most influential/powerful people who would be essential to making things happen in Michigan. These would be educators, business leaders, political leaders, writers, etc. This would work particularly well with a Lansing venue, although an open conference that all the legislators and staff could attend would be helpful as well.
Lot's of possibilities, and in there is the answer to what the next major event will (probably) be.
Well, there are a number of ideas in my mind regarding this. To preface, a couple projects have yet to be completed.
First, the proper publishing all the video and audio content from the first two conferences (and related video).
I also plan to write a book in 2009, as I've mentioned in earlier articles. The primary purpose of that book would be to publish something that anyone could read and understand about money/energy/sociology and how understanding the relationship between these trio can explain the world. That book will be a major project, which will likely take some 300 to 1000 hours to complete.
So then, what about the next major event? Will there be a 2009 repeat of either conference? If not, something else than? Bigger? Smaller? Where? Why?
Brainstorming the Conference Purpose
There are lots of events that could and should happen. First off, the whole of society would probably find it very useful to understand what is going on with jobs, money, energy, etc. in our current national and global economies. There isn't anything out there like this. Nothing I've seen has been effective at predicting what has happened in the last year. I do know there are a number of books that have addressed nasty things that might befall the economy, although I don't know which authors had the best reasoning, or how accurate they were. In any event, there are things that are essential to understand about money/energy/economy/environment that just aren't being understood.
So, one possibility for a conference is to create it around this idea, and actually use fairly high level discussions of what has happened, and has yet to happen. We could bring in all of these authors to give their take on the state of things, as well as some other experts in the fields of energy flows (peak oil) and money (economists that understand energy???). That part about the economists that understand energy is the trickiest part really, because that is what it is all about. An example, this article about the history of economic thought never once mentions energy. This is a huge failure of economic thinking, to have failed to connect the dots between energy and money.
Here is the relationship between them: money represents energy.
I certainly I hope I am wrong. I hope this simple axiom has been studied ad nauseum. But I have found no evidence that it has been studied properly. Perhaps it would be an entirely new school of thought? I don't know.
In any event, I think that this conference would be quite interesting to myself, and others as well, because it would be exploring some rarely traveled territory.
Turning to Michigan, one has to wonder if there are any plans anywhere in Michigan to deal with the very obvious risk that one or more of the big three automakers will fail. There must be a plan. A conference could come up with a plan. Without a plan for failure; a crisis management plan for the state, then the state is "planning to fail". That is simply unacceptable. There is absolutely no reason we should go without a plan, hoping, perhaps against hope, that things just work out and that things turn around. I don't have any confidence that current leadership really grasps what is going on, much less how to fix it. There must be a crisis plan, a state-wide plan.
Independent Michigan
One of the possibilities that has crossed my mind more that once, regardless of how crazy it might sound, is that Michigan take control of its own destiny by declaring independence from the USA, perhaps along with other parts of the Great Lakes bioregion/watershed. And yes, I know that sounds a bit crazy for Michigan to be a country on to itself, but it may not be such an amazing thought if the automakers fail and the unemployment rate in Michigan spirals towards 20%, 30% or worse (see earlier article for job loss estimates).
The purpose of an independent Michigan would be to utilize 100% of Michigan's human resources and capital to transform Michigan from a 19th century relic to a 21st century icon of innovation. One of the key reasons would be that Michigan would need to have its very own currency so that it could do what was necessary to ensure for jobs, health care, education, food, sanitation and etc. Now, perhaps there are alternate ways of doing this, such as with the North Dakota Bank (NDB) model, or by a sort of state-wide local currency, but that is a big question.
Another argument for independence would be that Michigan has been receiving less money from the USA federal government than it pays in. Other states are in the opposite position, where they receive more than they pay in. While there are arguments for why this is so, the Michigan recession of the past several years has been the chance for the federal government to step up, which they have not done.
There are other questions around which the conference could be structured. Doing the International Conference on Peak Oil and Climate Change again would be straight forward. The drawback of this conference is really that peak oil is not on peoples' minds right now given the economy, so the title and focus don't seem as important. Really, any conference must address the economic crisis we're in, and what individuals, and perhaps organizations, can do about it, and to prepare for it.
Another thought would be basically a personal preparation conference or course to help people develop the thinking and skills needed to prepare for the unpleasant futures that await us. Such a conference could focus on making the home super energy efficient, what to do with income, how to start growing food and developing a local food system, etc. The concept of a Transition Town or a Relocalization effort would certainly be included in this, and the Plan C Conference speakers/topics would be very helpful to look at in designing such a conference.
Conference When?
For a moment, on timing, it seems like April 4 weekend or April 11 would be good choices, or perhaps that week. Why? Because that is soon, and it is really the first days off I have, due to my school's spring break. Of course, any Saturday would do prior to then. A disadvantage of the April 11 weekend is that is the Christian Easter holiday, and that might put a damper on attendees who have family events planned. On the other hand, there are probably few events planned that weekend for the same reason. Even if it were on that weekend, there could be a something for those that celebrate that holiday. Another possibility is the ASPO-USA type schedule with a Sunday-Tuesday type conference on the April 5-7 time frame.
As to Calvin college, they have availability for their smaller facility in June, but probably not in May. As to the Crystal conference, they probably have availability right after the snow is gone (in April) or again in November, which was actually a very good time, and could be set again as tentative. But with things changing as quickly as they are, it seems like the spring break time in early April would be best. So, time to set a date (range) and start working on the venue, the partners, and, most importantly, what exactly the goals and outcomes should be for this next event.
Wrapping Up
There are other ideas for conferences, and much more to be said, but this is it for now, and my general feeling is that a conference focusing on money-energy in Michigan in April is what should be next. It could have a Michigan focus, using Michigan as the model of what could/should be done, but keeping it general enough that it could and would be applicable for people coming from anywhere. A question then becomes, who exactly is the audience, and it seems like it could be those that are really working seriously at figuring out what is going on, and what to do. In other words, the audience could be those who are already working on this effort, a sort of conference of leaders.
Just to loop back for a moment, another conference idea is that we have the "Michigan Summit" to find the solutions to Michigan's problems and for a positive vision for Michigan's future. The original idea for the summit was to invite the top 100 most influential/powerful people who would be essential to making things happen in Michigan. These would be educators, business leaders, political leaders, writers, etc. This would work particularly well with a Lansing venue, although an open conference that all the legislators and staff could attend would be helpful as well.
Lot's of possibilities, and in there is the answer to what the next major event will (probably) be.