Contents

1. Introduction
2. Is everything all right? By Richard Douthwaite
3. The Feasta Conference
4. Convergence 2002
5. Members Forum and AGM
6. The Feasta Review
7. The Energy Conference
8. International Workshop on Oil Depletion
9. Sustainable Indicators
10. Short Circuit
11. Books Available from the Feasta Office
12. Feasta Membership
13. WSSD Preparation

(7) The Energy Conference

Feasta and the Tipperary Institute are planning a major three-day conference in Thurles in late October to consider what the transition from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy really involves. We will look at possible timescales, the resources required, the technologies available and the social, economic and environmental consequences of bringing this about.

For example, what effects will the switch have on life in rural Ireland? On the one hand, the cost of fertilisers, tractors, fuel and transportation will rise sharply in real terms. On the other, there will be new crops to be grown, some as sources of energy, others as raw materials for, say, the plastics industry. This means that there will be less land available for growing food. So what will the overall picture be?

We are commissioning some ground-breaking conference papers at present. These will be published as a book after the event. Financial support has already been promised by Airtricity and the European Parliament - the latter thanks to Nuala Ahern, MEP.

(8) International Workshop on Oil Depletion

Every so often a conference abroad comes along at which a number of Feasta members meet up and have a good time. We seem to oscillate between Holland and Sweden. In 1999 it was the Barataria money systems conference at Sousterberg, Holland. Then, in 2000 came the INES localisation conference in Stockholm followed later that year by the Bretton Woods for the 21st Century meeting in Noordwijk, called by a Dutch magazine.

So now it's Sweden again for the International Workshop on Oil Depletion, to be held in Uppsala on May 23rd to 25th. This is organised by Uppsala University and the Association for the Study of Peak Oil, the organisation founded by Feasta member Colin Campbell. Two other Feasta members are taking part, Dr. Colin Sage of UCC who is on the organising committee, and Richard Douthwaite, who is speaking. Several other Feasta people plan to attend.

You can download further details of the conference from the web at www.isv.uu.se/iwood2002 . The fee is 150 euro and the University will book accommodation for you. Ryanair is currently quoting return fares of around £50 sterling for flights from Stansted to Stockholm.

(9) Sustainable Indicators

What is an indicator? It's a statistic that trips a feedback mechanism so that harmful trends are counteracted. This means that you can gather lots of statistics showing that things are going wrong but unless you know the root cause of the problem and are both able and prepared to do something about it, you won't have an indicator among them. At least, that's what the Feasta Sustainability Indicators Research Group thinks.

Individuals from the group are spending their spare time trying to find statistical series that have the potential to be used as indicators in areas ranging from human health and social cohesion through to economic and environmental problems. They are finding it surprisingly exciting work because they going in directions that no-one seems to have gone before. A publication and conference are planned, perhaps later this year. If you'd like to join, contact richard@douthwaite.net. The group meets once a month in Dublin.

(10) Short Circuit

Richard Douthwaite's 1996 book, Short Circuit, is now almost out of print - Feasta has the last few copies - and Richard has decided not to bring it up to date for a new edition. Instead, all the existing text is to be put on the Feasta website with hyperlinks to current information on each of the topics it covers and to the websites of the organisations concerned.

Setting up these links and researching the new information will be quite a lot of work but a US foundation has given a small amount of money to enable it to be carried out. So is anyone interested in doing the job which would be done by e-mail, post and telephone from your own home? No one should do it for the money alone - there isn't enough of it - but if you can write well and are seriously interested in learning a lot about community money, banking, food and energy systems, it could be the ideal job for you. Contact Richard on richard@douthwaite.net for more details.

(11) Books available form Feasta

All prices are in Irish pounds and do not include postage and packing unless stated.

The Feasta Review - €19.00 (€13 Members) Post paid.

Richard Douthwaite
The Growth Illusion - (second edition) €20.00 (€17.00 members)
Short Circuit - €20.00 (€17.00 members)
The Ecology of Money - €8.00 (€6.50 members)

James Bruges
The Little Earth Book (Second Edition) € 7.50 (€6.50 members)

Aubrey Meyer
Contraction and Convergence - €8.00 (€6.50 members)

R. Stott
The Ecology of Health - €8.00 (€6.50 members)

Resources
CD ROM - Brave New Economy - How to grow a better world. - € 8.00 (€7.00 members)

All prices are in Euro. Please add 25% for postage and packaging. It is advisable to check with Feasta for availability before ordering.

(12) Feasta Membership

Membership of Feasta gives you the opportunity to support the foundation's work and entitles you to a discount on the Feasta review due out next month, four newsletters, e-mail bulletins, and concessions on our events and publications.

€12 for a years membership
€6 concession for students and unwaged
€20 for a voluntary group or organisation
€60 for a funded group or organisation

If you are not a member please consider becoming one. Donations are very welcome.

Send the following details and a cheque or postal order to the FEASTA office.
159 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6, Republic of Ireland

Name:
Address:
Telephone:
Fax:
E-mail:
Do you have any skills that could aid the foundations development?
Please state:
I have forwarded a cheque or postal order for £_________

(13) WSSD Preparation

Feasta members have been participating in the Tuesday Club, the group that are organising the Irish Environmental NGO and Development NGO report and response to the next Earth summit in Johannesburg (the WSSD). They have a modest budget and a very short time to achieve this task. The voluntary committee requires further specialised skills in the form of contracts described below.

Please reply by e-mail to Emer O'Siochru, emer@eos.ie within one week (Thursday 28th March) with a very brief cv and a paragraph on why you think you can successfully deliver the brief. Please forward this to anyone you think may be interested.

Irish ENGO WSSD Report: 1st Tuesday Group: Specifications for Contracts.

Co-ordinator Contract Starting immediately, partime contract to run to the middle of August (5 months) to the WSSD with a report /feedback in September or October (approx. one weekend work). The successful applicant will have a proven commitment to sustainability and ideally, experience in project co-ordination, event organising and media management. They must be happy to work in a team, under pressure and at times, outside normal working hours. An office and computer is available to the co-ordinator in Rathmines. However the co-ordinator may work flexible hours from own office if it suits.

The projects include general organisation of at least 3 workshops, supporting the subcommittee and other consultants to develop the presentations and reports, liaising with Irish and international NGO's (particularly African) to identify the opportunities for intervention in the remaining WSSD process, their proposed agendas and how they can be influenced, the key players in the NGO WSSD process, their agendas, the nature and extent of the submissions and co-operation required;- and managing all correspondences and accounts for the above.

Contract sum: £5000 Euro including expenses. To be paid on a monthly invoiced basis.

For further info call Emer on 01 4913579