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To stir people into action on peak oil issues in the Capital District
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Capital District Relocalization Plan
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Contact:
Cheryl Nechamen(1), Director, Capital District Energy Action
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Contributors:
Jim Zack, Sustainable Saratoga Springs (2)
Revised June 2, 2006
Peak Oil and Peak Natural Gas will certainly affect us, possibly in the near future. This means the end of cheap and abundant oil and natural gas.
The most immediate impact will be on transportation. However, the effects will go far beyond the issue of how to get to work, school and stores. Since our society has evolved into a globalized economy, we rely on distant locations to provide us with food and manufactured goods. Expensive and scarce fossil fuels will play havoc with this system. We can probably make do with most manufactured goods until we can revive local manufacturing, but people will go hungry if we don’t plan ahead to ensure a local food supply.
The solution is to relocalize our economy. This includes changing our transportation system to reduce our reliance on cars, through the use of buses, light rail, railroads, bicycling and walking. We can ensure a local food supply by supporting farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture, community gardens and backyard gardens. Local manufacturing may have to wait until high shipping costs put an end to the globalized economy. As a planning tool, the Capital District Relocalization Plan will be developed and made available to local governments which can then modify the plan as appropriate for each community.
Presented below is an outline of a plan based on the
Kinsale Energy Descent Action Plan developed by Rob Hopkins and colleagues.
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Food
The Present
The Capital District has several factors in its favor with regard to a secure local food supply. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is doing well in the Capital District. In addition, Troy and Saratoga Springs have thriving year-round farmers markets; Albany, Schenectady, Clifton Park, and Ballston Spa have solid farmers markets operating during the summer. Community gardens are operating in the urban areas. Backyard gardens, while more plentiful in the suburbs and rural areas, have the potential to produce more food, even in urban areas, especially if they are supplemented by rooftop gardens. However, institutions, such as schools, colleges and hospitals, while potentially a huge market for local produce, currently contract with food service providers with little incentive to serve local food. People buy most of their food, produced in distant locations, from the supermarket. Farmers, selling at wholesale prices, have a difficult time making a living from farming, increasing the pressure to sell their land for development. Consequently, much productive farmland has been turned into automobile-centric housing subdivisions, further contributing to suburban sprawl and wildlife habitat fragmentation. As oil and natural gas become increasingly scarce and expensive, we run the risk of serious disruptions to our food supply.
The Future
2006
The Regional Farm & Food Project (RFFP) continues and expands the directory of farms, markets and restaurants producing and serving local food. RFFP, which currently sponsors a producers-only farmers market in Troy, also sponsors producers-only farmers markets in Schenectady, Albany and Saratoga Springs. These farmers markets not only provide fresh local produce for residents, they provide a profitable selling opportunity for farmers. A side benefit is that farmers markets provide a social center for a community. Local organizations based on Sterling College’s Roots and Wisdom program (5) involve young people in local sustainable agriculture through summer internships. Teenagers grow vegetables for donation to local shelters and for sale at farmers markets.
2007
A committee of local restaurant owners works on bringing the Slow Food (6) (as opposed to fast food) movement to the towns and cities of the Capital District. The focus is on carefully prepared delicious meals prepared from local foods and highlighting our diverse food heritage. Restaurants apply for the Capital District Slow Food label. A Slow Food banquet is held in each town and city to promote the idea. PTOs, in conjunction with schools, start bedding plants from seed as a fundraising and educational opportunity. Bedding plants and seeds are planted in school vegetable gardens which are “adopted” by neighbors who care for and harvest (and of course eat) the vegetables over the summer. Extra bedding plants are sold as a fundraiser. Once school starts in the fall, children prepare and eat meals made from their own vegetables. To provide fresh local produce and support local farmers, a campaign is initiated to further promote Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).
A group of 20 Capital District residents commit to the 100-mile Diet Challenge (7) for one month, consuming only those foods that are grown or produced within a one-hundred mile radius of their homes. Local press and blogs cover the experience, raising awareness of the challenges of and opportunities created by food production in a reduced energy world.
2008
Working through fraternities, sororities and service groups in the many colleges and universities in this area, students demand that local food be served in cafeterias and dorms. College students provide an energetic and enthusiastic base for the relocalization movement. Slow Food Festivals are held in participating towns and cities as a tourism opportunity. The number of community gardens in urban areas is greatly expanded. Horticultural training programs, for instance at the Central Park greenhouse in Schenectady, expand to include vegetable bedding plants which are provided at nominal cost to residents. Advice on planting a vegetable garden is also provided. Productive, as opposed to ornamental, fruit and nut trees are available at nominal cost to the public through organizations such as ReTree Schenectady. Workshops on pruning and maintaining the trees are conducted on an annual basis.
Cornell Co-operative Extension opens eight community food preservation facilities (8) bringing canning, freezing, and drying of locally-grown produce to resident gardeners and farmers. Programs are initiated linking volunteer foragers and harvesters with landowners with wild fruit and berries to collect the fruit and berries that might otherwise go to waste.
2009
Hospitals and nursing homes make a commitment to serve local food, thus expanding the market for farmers. Schools make a commitment to serve local food in the cafeteria. Local communities decide to plant productive fruit and nut trees on public land, including parks and even street medians.
2010
A campaign to encourage home composting is initiated in order to reduce the waste stream and provide a sustainable source of compost for home gardens. Neighborhood compost centers are set up in urban areas that are not conducive to home composting. Composts and manures are made available to home and community gardeners through Cornell Co-operative Extension. RFFP trains farmers and gardeners in biointensive (9) organic farming practices and in reducing their reliance on fossil fuels while promoting sustainable agricultural production.
2011
Workshops held by RFFP encourage the startup of local food processing businesses. A campaign to “Buy Local” is initiated to raise consumer awareness of food choices in supermarkets and restaurants.
2012
A program is initiated in which young energetic people interested in gardening but who don’t own property are linked up with older people who have space for a garden but who no longer have the desire to garden. The participants work out an arrangement to share the harvest.
2013
Zoning regulations are changed to allow the raising of non-commercial chickens in backyards. The manure is aged and recycled to gardening projects in the community, helping to close the loop. Restrictive homeowner association rules and covenants are challenged in courts as antiquated and prohibitive. Relaxed regulations allow for front yard gardening, xeriscaping, tree cutting for more efficient light penetration for gardening, rooftop gardening and greenhouse construction.
Vending regulations are relaxed to allow for surplus produce to be sold by home gardeners without licensing from local jurisdictions.
Transportation
The Present
The Hudson and Mohawk rivers, and later the Erie Canal, were primary factors in the settlement and development of communities in the Capital District. Commercial traffic has largely shifted to highways, air and rail, leaving our rivers primarily used for recreation. Rail service, via Amtrak, provides access to Buffalo, New York City, Boston and Montreal. The Hudson-Mohawk Bike Trail runs along the Hudson and Mohawk rivers and connects, albeit with significant gaps, Schenectady, Albany and towns in between. The Bike Trail is popular for recreation, but the gaps, especially through urban areas, make commuting by bicycle difficult. Mass transit consists of CDTA buses running on limited routes and with limited schedules, serving mostly poor, disabled or elderly residents. The primary means of transportation is by car. The Capital District is heavily dependent on the automobile and is ill-prepared for disruptions in our supply of gasoline and diesel.
The Future
2006
The carpool register on the Capital District Transportation Committee’s website is publicized to encourage people to carpool. A campaign is initiated to facilitate bicycling as a way to commute to work and school: Gaps in the Hudson-Mohawk Bike Path are filled in through land purchases and easements as off-road paths whenever possible. Signs marking the Bike Path through urban areas are erected. Spurs are constructed linking the Bike Path to schools, parks and offices. Bike racks are installed on every CDTA bus to facilitate bicycling beyond bus routes. Schools and businesses are encouraged to provide bicycle racks. Schools in Saratoga Springs encourage students to ride bicycles to school along designated safe routes. An incentive program, similar to the Bicycle Benefits program run by Saratoga Healthy Transportation Network (10), is started in which bicyclists with a decal on their helmet receive discounts at participating stores.
2007
Selected parallel streets in urban areas are designated as mixed use streets to provide safe bicycle access to shopping districts. The streets are converted to one-way and one side of the street is reserved for bicyclists. A program is begun to encourage the installation of sidewalks in suburban areas along with safety signage reminding motorists that pedestrians always have the right-of-way. This program includes zoning changes, tax credits and grants. Suburban sidewalks allow safe passage for children who live nearby to walk to school. Gradually, the distance over which they can walk is extended with the assistance of “walking school buses” (11).
2008
A light rail system is constructed linking Albany, Schenectady, Troy and Saratoga Springs. CDTA bus routes are extended to outlying suburbs, although with limited schedules. Bike racks and rental bike lockers (12) are installed in Park ‘N Ride lots and downtown bike commuter terminals to facilitate commuting. New building codes require bike racks at all new construction sites. Amtrak ensures that bicyclists can carry bicycles onto every train.
Employers are encouraged to participate in CDTA’s corporate program (13) whereby employees can purchase discounted public transit passes.
2009
A biofuel station is constructed. Municipal vehicles are converted to run on biofuels.
Automobile dealerships, suffering from slumping new car sales, initiate and administer neighborhood-based electric car-share programs (14) using online reservation systems and mileage-based billing. Within two years, use of gasoline cars in the Capital District drops 10%. Within six years, use of gasoline cars drops to 60% of 2009 total.
2010
A second track is constructed between Schenectady and Albany to facilitate passenger and freight rail service.
Links:
(1) mailto:cnechamen@msn.com
(2) mailto:sss@spatialexperts.com
(3) http://www.capdistrictenergyaction.org
(4) http://transitionculture.org/?p=129
(5) http://www.sterlingcollege.edu/crcwuco/UpdatedNonWebMar26a.html
(6) http://www.slowfoodusa.org/
(7) http://100milediet.org/
(8) http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/washington/AEDP/BattKitch.html
(9) http://www.growbiointensive.org/biointensive/GROW-BIOINTENSIVE.html
(10) http://www.healthytransportation.org/Bicycle%20Benefits.htm
(11) http://www.walkingschoolbus.org/
(12) http://www.bikeparking.com/btwlockerp/index.html
(13) http://www.cdta.org/corporate.html
(14) http://www.carshare.org/
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