Tompkins County Relocalization Project

[Tompkins County Relocalization Project <tcrp-news AT lists.ibiblio.org>]

Karl North's TCLocal series on Tompkins County food production
continues this month with Part Six, "Rural Agriculture."  This
installment envisions a system of feeder farms associated with
village-size population clusters located in the rural areas around
the City of Ithaca -- the third of the three agroecosystems upon
which we will rely in a future of declining energy inputs (the
other two systems being Urban and Peri-urban, described in parts
Four and Five of the series).

As Karl notes in the article, "Only rural farms have the space to
grow enough of the starchy staples like potatoes, grains, beans,
and rice that have historically supported urban population
densities.  Moreover, only rural farms can supply enough of the
materials like oils, fibers, and wood that are basic necessities
in our cold climate. Agrarian villages, not the urban center, will
again become the heart of a relocalized county food system in the
coming years."

Part Six can be found at

http://tclocal.org/2010/07/visioning_county_food_prod_6.html

Parts One through Five of the series are available at locations
listed below.

People who wish to comment on TCLocal articles or engage their
authors in discussion should note that the TCLocal web site is
specifically designed to get feedback on these ideas as they are
developed.  Please use the comment form at the bottom of each
article so that we can keep all the input in one place.

SUMMER VACATION

TCLocal will be taking a break during August, but we'll be back in
September with new material and a live panel on "Local Responses
to Energy Descent" at the 17 September Back to Democracy meeting
in Trumansburg.  Keep an eye out for announcements as we approach
the date!

ABOUT TCLOCAL

Each month (approximately) TCLocal brings you another in our
series of articles addressing various aspects of energy descent in
Tompkins County.  Contributors to TCLocal are members of the
community committed to helping prepare for a future with less
available energy. Articles that have appeared so far in this
series can be found at tclocal.org. They include:

   Visioning County Food Production, Part 6: Rural Agriculture
      by Karl North (July 2010)
      http://tclocal.org/2010/07/visioning_county_food_prod_6.html

   Visioning County Food Production, Part 5: Peri-urban Agriculture
      by Karl North (June 2010)
      http://tclocal.org/2010/06/visioning-county-food-prod-5.html

   Visioning County Food Production, Part 4: Urban Agriculture
      by Karl North (May 2010)
      http://tclocal.org/2010/05/visioning_county_food_prod_4.html

   Funding and Finagling the Transition to Biomass Heat and Power
      by Krys Cail (April 2010)
      http://tclocal.org/2010/04/funding_and_finagling_the_tran.html

   Visioning County Food Production, Part 3: Seeing County Food
   Production as an Integrated Whole
      by Karl North (February 2010)
      http://tclocal.org/2010/02/visioning_county_food_prod_3.html

   Heating with Biomass in Tompkins County
      by Krys Cail and Tony Nekut (January 2010)
      http://tclocal.org/2010/01/heating_with_biomass_in_tompki.html

   Health Care in an Energy-Constrained Environment, Part 2:
   Options for Re-evaluating Care Resources
      by Bethany Schroeder (November 2009)
      http://tclocal.org/2009/11/health_care_in_an_energyconstr_2.html

   Burning Transitions: How Planned, Localized, Sustainable
   Non-food Biomass Utilization Can Help Ease Energy Descent and
   Mitigate Global Climate Change
      by Krys Cail (October 2009)
      http://tclocal.org/2009/10/burning_transitions.html

   Visioning County Food Production, Parts 1 and 2
      by Karl North (July and September 2009)
      http://tclocal.org/2009/07/visioning_county_food_producti.html
      http://tclocal.org/2009/09/visioning_county_food_2.html

   Can New York State Feed Itself?
      by Jon Bosak (June 2009)
      http://tclocal.org/2009/06/can_new_york_state_feed_itself.html

   Examining the Potential Local Foodshed of Tompkins County
      by Christian Peters (March 2009)
      http://tclocal.org/2009/03/examining_the_potential_local.html

   Food Processing in Tompkins County
      by Persephone Doliner (February 2009)
      http://tclocal.org/2009/02/food_processing_in_tompkins_co.html

   Wasting in the Energy Descent: An Outline for the Future
      by Tom Shelley (January 2009)
      http://tclocal.org/2009/01/wasting_in_the_energy_descent.html

   Local and Urban Small Livestock and Poultry
      by Angelika St. Laurent (December 2008)
      http://tclocal.org/2008/12/local_and_urban_small_livestoc.html

   Health Care in an Energy-Constrained Environment, Part 1
      by Bethany Schroeder (October 2008)
      http://tclocal.org/2008/10/health_care_in_an_energyconstr.html

   Preparedness Basics
      by Katie Quinn-Jacobs (September 2008)
      http://tclocal.org/2008/09/preparedness_basics.html

   Post-Peak Land Use Part 1: Ecocities and
   Post-Peak Land Use Part 2: The Country
      by Josh Dolan (July 2008)
      http://tclocal.org/2008/07/postpeak_land_use_part_1_ecoci.html
      http://tclocal.org/2008/07/postpeak_land_use_part_2_the_c.html

   Water Treatment, Water Power
      by Jon Bosak (May 2008)
      http://tclocal.org/2008/05/water_treatment_water_power.html

   Roads and Bridges in a Post-peak Tompkins County
      by Simon St. Laurent (March 2008)
      http://tclocal.org/2008/03/roads_and_bridges_in_a_postpea.html

   Fruits in a Post-Peak Tompkins County
      by Angelika St. Laurent (January 2008)
      http://tclocal.org/2008/01/fruits_in_a_postpeak_tompkins_1.html

Articles appearing at tclocal.org are published under the Creative
Commons license and are owned and managed by the contributors as a
group. People interested in becoming TCLocal contributors should
first read "How to Contribute" at

   http://www.ibiblio.org/tcrp/about.htm#how

and then contact the TCLocal editor at the address below to sign up.

Jon Bosak
Editor, TCLocal
bosak AT pinax.com