FEASTA Quarterly Bulletin, Spring 2004

Contents

1. Welcome - What is New
2. Debt, Climate and Global Justice
3. The Little Earth Show
4. FEASTA Retreats
5. Education - Community Learning Toolkit
6. Starting Local Study Groups
7. FEASTA working groups
8. FEASTA discussion groups
9. FEASTA Membership
10. Working for a Sane Alternative

(1) Welcome - What is New

Welcome to the first FEASTA quarterly bulletin of 2004. If you were forwarded this bulletin and would like to subscribe directly you can do this automatically from the front page of our website at www.feasta.org. There has been plenty of new material added to the site including a pamphlet describing Land Value Tax, which was prepared for the FEASTA conference 'Land, the Claim of the Community' organised by FEASTA and the Henry George Foundation last October. A transcript of the talk "On Recovering the Sacred Income", given by Fred Harrison at this conference is now online along with two more transcripts from the conference. 'Business Problems, Land Solutions: the case for land and tax reform' by Albert Catterall, and 'Congestion Charges' by Dave Wetzel are also now on the website. Feasta's Submission on Rural Housing to the Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Local Government is also online in PDF format.

A submission to the Mayo County Council on the Corrib Gas application was made by FEASTA and is now available in the website's energy section. 'Democracy for an Ecological Age', a new paper by Mark Garavan, has been added to the Democracy section of the website. Two complete books are available on the FEASTA website: the first, Before the Wells Run Dry, Ireland's Transition to Renewable Energy, is based mainly on the papers given at the Feasta-organised conference about energy which took place in Thurles in 2002, but it also has some new material. It is well worth exploring, as is the second book, an updated version of Richard Douthwaite's Short Circuit.

Everyone who knew her will be greatly saddened to hear of the death of FEASTA member Anne Behan on the 1st of February, St Brigids Day. Her prize-winning presentation on the life cycle of a sand dune, which combined music, commentary and wonderful photographs in an innovative way, will be remembered by all who saw it at last year's Feasta Members' Weekend in Westport. It is hard to accept that someone so vital has gone. Ireland has lost one of its most committed environmentalists but our sympathy goes to her husband, Ken, whose loss is the greatest of all.

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(2) Debt, Climate and Global Justice

'Debt, Climate and Global Justice' is a conference jointly organised by Feasta and the Debt and Development Coalition Ireland on the links between climate change, the debt crisis and global inequity .

Wednesday 28th of April 2004 09.00-17.30
€20.00 - Concessions available

Held in association with the New Economics Foundation, Jubilee Research, the Global Commons Institute, Friends of the Irish Environment and GRIAN. the Irish arm of the Climate Action Network. With contributions via a live video link from a simultaneous conference on the same topics in South Africa.

What this conference will do

• Generate a greater understanding of the systemic links between climate change, oil and gas depletion, the global money systems, third world debt and North/South inequity
• Allow those attending to help shape a set of policies designed to slow climate change, end the debt crisis and to alleviate widespread poverty.
• Enable Irish and South African participants to exchange views and information via a live video-conferencing link to a parallel event in South Africa

Topics to be covered

• How the way that money is created leads to debt and global inequity.
• The latest information on the pace at which climate change is taking place.
• How developing countries and vulnerable peoples will be affected by global warming.
• The range of options for future international climate change policies.
• How the Contraction and Convergence emissions control model works.
• The implications of emissions trading for poor countries.
• Proposals for a new global currency based on emissions rights.
• How developing country debts could be easily paid off.

This conference has been planned specifically for everyone involved in development education or who is in any way concerned about poverty, debt and development overseas. It will also be of great importance to those involved in climate change negotiations and emissions trading policy development. It provides a unique opportunity to discuss key issues with some of the worldıs leading activists and out-of-the-box thinkers.

Wednesday 28th of April 2004 09.00-17.30
€20.00 ­ Concessions available

To be held as part of this yearıs Convergence Festival at CULTIVATE Sustainable Living Centre, SS Michael and Johnıs, 15 ­ 19 Essex Street West, Old City Temple Bar, Dublin 8

Information on Convergence and online booking see www.sustainable.ie/convergence
For booking call 01 6745773
Cheques should be made payable to FEASTA and sent to FEASTA at 159 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6.

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(3) The Little Earth Show

Earlier this year Donegal's Highland Radio were the first to broadcast a new radio show produced by FEASTA titled 'The Little Earth Show'. The production is now available for local and community radio stations to broadcast.

The Little Earth Show is a four-part radio drama with a difference based partly on the best selling 'Little Earth Book' by James Bruges. Each of the four half hour episodes takes a topic - Water, Air, Food and Energy - and analyses the issues from a global and local perspective.

Feasta's Communication work group set out to produce the show for a youth audience making it accessible to all. The style of the show is a competitive dialogue between two characters, which owe some part of their genesis to Homer and Lisa Simpson. Their running confrontation is set in a REALITY RADIO setting (like reality TV only on the radio ) which we call 'The Little Earth Show'. This format allows us to be funny and provocative at the same time. The Reality Radio setting gives us the excuse we need to place the contestants anywhere in the world that's appropriate, whether on a beach in Donegal, in an SUV in California, on top of the Three Gorges Dam in China or in a food-truck in the Channel Tunnel.

This project is part education, part comedy and part radio drama. It's a new concept in radio. The intention is to make entertaining, informative, challenging and accessible radio. www.littleearthshow.org If you know of a local or community radio station near you that might be interested in broadcasting the show contact mailto:communication@feasta.org

Funding for this project came from the Development Education Unit of Development Co-operation Ireland and Trocaire.

Comment and find out more at www.littleearthshow.org

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(4) FEASTA Retreats

Building on the success of last year's week-long course looking at 'systems' of various kinds (natural, complex adaptive, human, economic and political), Feasta member John Jopling is planning to host four more workshops this summer at his home at Rossbeigh, Co Kerry. These events provide an opportunity for reflection and deliberation only too rare in today's rushed world. Given that the venue enjoys a magnificent view across Dingle Bay, it is a nice coincidence that the process used at the workshops, designed by the American Harrison Owen to enable participants to self-organise, is known as 'Open Space' . To make it easier for people to attend, the workshops this year will be for four days, from Thursday to Sunday. Topics studied will include: how communities committed to sustainable development can measure their progress towards this illusive goal, bringing all Feasta's proposals together to form a whole programme for change, and identifying the key drivers behind human systems. Each workshop will be followed by a short publication. Details will be announced shortly.

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(5) Education - Community Learning Toolkit

FEASTA's Education Working Group is in the process of developing a toolkit of innovative study materials to facilitate community learning. The 'toolkit' will be a multimedia resource and include audio and video as well as a curriculum based on the work produced by the foundation and its working groups. FEASTA's education working group, which includes members of other environmental groups, development organisations, community groups and people in adult education, have been meeting to develop this resource. If you are interested in getting involved in this or would like to find out more contact: education@feasta.org

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(6) Starting Local Study Groups

FEASTA are keen to identify local groups that would like to use the Community Learning Toolkit. It is hoped that the groups will be supportive and empowering, giving the participants the confidence to progress from discussion to action. It is envisioned that local groups will meet as a community of learners to discuss issues with the aim of increasing their understanding. If you are involved with a local group that would be interested in using this resource or interested in forming a local group in your area please contact: eduaction@feasta.org

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(7) FEASTA Working Groups

Here is a list of the FEASTA working groups that are active. Please consider signing up for one or more of these and getting involved in the groups activities. See the website for more information on each of the groups.

Money - Richard Douthwaite
money@feasta.org see www.feasta.org/money.htm

Measuring Progress - Richard Douthwaite
measuringprogress@feasta.org see www.feasta.org/indicators.htm

Education - Kingsley Goodwin
education@feasta.org see www.feasta.org/education.htm

Land & Housing - Emer OıSiochru
land@feasta.org see www.feasta.org/housing.htm

Democracy - Mark Garavan
democracy@feasta.org see www.feasta.org/democracy.htm

Energy and Climate - Michael Layden
energy@feasta.org see www.feasta.org/energy.htm

Communication - Davie Philip
communication@feasta.org see www.feasta.org/communication.htm

If you would like to suggest a paper or article that relates to any of these subjects for this site contact feasta@anu.ie

There are a few groups that are still inactive and have no convenor. If you are interested in the following areas and would like to get involved contact:

Health and Food - food@feasta.org
Business - business@feasta.org
Community - community@feasta.org

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(8) FEASTA Discussion Groups

Feasta's general discussion group has been established to promote and popularise research which analyses the economic system in order to identify the reasons for its destructive characteristics. It also seeks to establish the basis on which sustainable economic systems will have to run. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/feasta/

The purpose of the Feasta Energy e-group is to discuss the relationship between sustainability and energy use, and in particular, the transition to sustainable sources of energy. Membership is restricted to paid-up members of Feasta. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeastaEnergy/

The Feasta Democracy Group is a discussion list designed to develop models of democracy for socially and ecologically sustainable societies. The pace of activity in the group has picked up considerably since January. Discussion on the list has ranged over a number of issues - the place of citizen participation in decision-making; popular participatory processes such as might be employed in agreeing local government and national budgets; the idea of supporting non-party candidates in local government elections who would be directly responsive to citizen meetings. In addition, the Group has begun to focus on two immediate possibilities - formulating a submission, or set of submissions, to the Democracy Commission; and examining the possibility of hosting a conference targeted at the senior members of Irish NGOs. The Group's address is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/feastademocracy

All members are encouraged to participate.

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(9) 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, two newsletters, quarterly e-mail bulletins, and concessions on our events and publications.

€20 for a years membership
€10 concession for students and unwaged
€30 for a voluntary group or organisation
€65 for a funded group or organisation

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

(10) Working for a Sane Alternative

Building on 30 or so years of work is a new website from James Robertson. The site explores sane alternatives to today's conventional ideas of progress and what this could mean for various aspects of life including work, health, the economy, education, and food. It also examines the ways we use energy and technology, how we share things among people and nations, and how we understand and organise the system of money and taxes. James' website charts how we can make the change of direction to a saner path into the future and provides helpful ideas and information to others who share these concerns. www.jamesrobertson.com

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