The Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions: News

Green Living Expo Offers Sustainable Housing, Transportation, Food and Energy Alternatives – Public Welcome for Free Exhibits, Presentations and Roundtables on Saturday, November 1, 12-6pm
ROCHESTER, Michigan – On Halloween weekend, a national energy and sustainability conference at Oakland University will bring together hundreds of educators and advocates from around the country to discuss solutions to the emerging energy crisis. To highlight sustainable choices available locally, conference organizers are offering a Green Living Expo on Saturday afternoon of the conference, November 1st from 12 noon to 6 pm. The expo will include exhibits and presentations about products and services to help consumers deal with rising energy costs and promote their individual and community sustainability. Exhibitors include local farmers, green builders, organic/vegetarian food groups, DTE’s renewable energy program, community groups, home improvement companies, sustainable household products, renewable energy system providers, a carbon offset company, environmental organizations and educators, book sellers, and green transportation services, among others. Show or hide full story -

"Combining a challenging educational conference and consumer expo is unusual, but it offers a great opportunity to bring people together in new ways to address the energy, economic and environmental problems that we all must eventually face together. We are combining aspects of Upland Hills EAC two most popular events - our fall energy conference and the Earth Day Expo. It should make for an exciting and meaningful mix,’ said John Batdorf, Upland Hills EAC Executive Director and conference manager.

"The nexus of the conference and expo is the Connections Cafe’ - open-ended roundtable discussions on a variety of topics where conference and expo goers can learn from those that have made ’green’ choices work in their lives", said Clark Tibbits, conference program co-manager, founder of the Land Stewardship Center in Lapeer, MI. "The conference and expo should provide practical answers and inspiration to those seeking both sustainability and improved quality of life."

The Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions is presented jointly by Community Solutions, the producers of the award-winning film, The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil, and Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center, a designated Michigan Energy Demonstration Center, located in northern Oakland County for over 30 years. The conference will offer a full weekend of presentations and panel discussions with world leaders in sustainability, tours of local green projects, award-winning films, entertainment and shared meals. Prices for the conference start at $15 for evening sessions. Generous member, student/senior, group and volunteer discounts are available. For information about attending, exhibiting or volunteering at the conference and expo, visit www.plancconference.org, email info@plancconference.org, or call 248-693-1021.

Community Solutions (www.communitysolution.org) is a non-profit organization providing knowledge and practices to support low-energy lifestyles, with a primary focus on reducing household energy consumption. Its goal is to strengthen communities through low energy living and cooperation. Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center (www.uheac.org) is a designated Michigan Energy Demonstration Center, in northern Oakland County, whose mission is to provide experiences and resources that promote a sustainable relationship with the natural world and each other. It offers a wide variety of workshops, gatherings, tours, seminars and events on energy, ecology, wellness and wisdom, including the annual Earth Day Expo at Oakland University.

October 5, 2008

Education Center, Restaurant and UHEAC Tours Scheduled
OXFORD, Michigan – Three tours are now scheduled for during the Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions. On Friday, October 31, from 3-6pm, participants can tour the Willows Earth Education Center, the first commercial strawbale building in the state of Michigan. On Saturday, November 1, from 12 Noon-2pm, a tour and lunch are scheduled for Mind Body & Spirits, Michigan's First Sustainable Restaurant. Sunday, November 2, from 12:30-2pm, conference attendees can visit Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center, a one-of-a-kind facility that demonstrates many examples of renewable energy, energy-efficiency and ecological design principles in action. Click here for more information.

September 30, 2008

Group Discounts Offered to Build Community, Save Money
To encourage the participation of activist/interest groups, encourage community-building and reduce costs, the conference is pleased to announce significant group discounts. Groups of 3 or more now qualify for the $25 Member discount, and 5 or more qualify for the $75 Student discount. To take advantage of these prices, groups must register together under one registration. This pricing and shared travel/accomodations costs can dramatically reduce total attendance costs.

September 29, 2008

Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions Will Be a "Carbon-Neutral" Conference
DETROIT, Michigan –Detroit-based Carbon Credit Environmental Services (CCES), Techtown, Detroit, MI will offset the greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dioxide emissions (GHG, CO2) created by the Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions thus creating a "carbon-neutral" conference. This will be achieved by a GHG, CO2 energy audit performed by CCES which calculates how much CO2 is utilized during the conference. They will estimate the energy used for the building, the emissions created by the estimated 1500 visitors and exhibitors traveling to the conference, emissions from waste to landfills, cafeteria-ware and water usage during the conference. Then CCES will "offset" these emissions with local and global alternative energy projects. These projects could include working with Greening of Detroit, Friends of Belle Isle, Zoos, Aquariums and others. Organizers of the event will also use biodegradable paper goods for all food services to further offset the impact on the environment of the conference. Show or hide full story -

Further information on ways you can participate in offsetting this event or projects can be found on the CCES website: www.getcarboncreditco2.com.

The Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions offers attendees presentations and panels with experts from around the world, a unique "Connections Café" of networking roundtables, tours of local sustainable buildings and projects, "green" entertainment, and shared meals throughout the weekend. The public is invited to the Green Living Expo on Saturday afternoon (11/1) which includes free exhibits and exhibitor presentations.

September 8, 2008

"Plan C" Conference on Individual and Community Survival Strategies for the Energy Crisis to Take Place in Rochester, MI, October 31 - November 2, 2008
ROCHESTER, Michigan – On Halloween weekend several hundred community activists, sustainability educators, and lifestyle change advocates will convene here at a three-day conference to learn about ways to cut their household energy use and create resilient, sustainable communities that will be able to weather the coming economic and ecological storms. Show or hide full story -

Among the leading speakers at the Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions, this year co-presented by Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center, will be keynoters John Michael Greer, author of the forthcoming The Long Descent: A User's Guide to the End of the Industrial Age and Dmitry Orlov, author of Reinventing Collapse: Soviet Example and American Prospects. Richard Heinberg, the world's foremost oil depletion educator, author of several best-selling books including The Party's Over, Powerdown and Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines, and Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute, will speak via webcast. The conference will be held at the Oakland Center on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

The conference will also feature in-depth workshops and panels, Connection Café roundtables with area experts, an eco-tour slide show, screenings of award-winning films, entertainment, tours of local sustainably-designed buildings, and healthy, shared meals. Exhibits and exhibitor presentations will be offered free of charge to the public on Saturday from noon to 6pm.

"This conference comes at a time when the whole world is beginning to experience the limitations of a high-energy way of living," said Pat Murphy, executive director of Community Solutions. "The title reflects the recent release of my book, Plan C: Community Survival Strategies for Peak Oil and Climate Change, which is staking out a position of societal transformation as an option to belief in technological breakthroughs. Throughout the world more and more people are beginning to see this as the middle path between more industrialization and the collapse of civilization," he said.

"Although hard-hitting, the message of Community Solutions is inspiring – that in transforming our relationship with energy resources and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, we can transform our communities and lives in ways that are ultimately more satisfying," said John Batdorf, executive director of the Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center, an educational and demonstration center in northern Oakland County showcasing ecological design, energy conservation and the latest innovations in alternative energy. "We are fortunate to have this unique opportunity to bring to the local area so many leading sustainability experts and hundreds of committed participants from around the country," he said.

Other conference speakers include Katrin Klingenberg, director of the Passive House Institute US, an organization promoting super-efficient, carbon-neutral, cost-effective building; Peter Bane, editor of Permaculture Activist magazine; Murphy, author of Plan C: Community Survival Strategies for Peak Oil and Climate Change; Christopher Bedford, President of the Center for Economic Security and the Sweetwater Local Foods Market; John Richter, co-founder of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Education and former president of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association; and Megan Quinn Bachman, Outreach Director of Community Solutions and co-producer of the award-winning film The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.

Conference participants will learn survival strategies for growing food, creating local food security in their communities, retrofitting their homes to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and educating their communities to prepare for the difficult times ahead.

Greer will open the conference on Friday night at 7pm and Orlov will speak on Saturday at 2pm. Heinberg will present at 11am on Sunday. The cost for each evening session is $15 and to attend for a half-day to the full weekend the ranges from $50 to $175 depending upon membership in the presenting organizations. Student and early registration discounts are available through September 30. To register, go to http://www.plancconference.org, call Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center at 248-693-1021 or email info@plancconference.org for more information.

Community Solutions is a non-profit organization providing knowledge and practices to support low-energy lifestyles, with a primary focus on reducing energy consumption in the household sectors of food, personal transportation, and housing. Its goal is to the strengthening of communities of relationship and place through low energy living.

The Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center is a designated Michigan Energy Demonstration Center in northern Oakland County, whose mission is to provide experiences and resources that promote a sustainable relationship with the natural world and each other. It offers a wide variety of workshops, gatherings, tours, seminars and events on energy, ecology, wellness and wisdom.


	News October 17, 2008 Green Living Expo Offers Sustainable Housing, Transportation, Food and Energy Alternatives – Public Welcome for Free Exhibits, Presentations and Roundtables on Saturday, November 1, 12-6pm ROCHESTER, Michigan – On Halloween weekend, a national energy and sustainability conference at Oakland University will bring together hundreds of educators and advocates from around the country to discuss solutions to the emerging energy crisis. To highlight sustainable choices available locally, conference organizers are offering a Green Living Expo on Saturday afternoon of the conference, November 1st from 12 noon to 6 pm. The expo will include exhibits and presentations about products and services to help consumers deal with rising energy costs and promote their individual and community sustainability. Exhibitors include local farmers, green builders, organic/vegetarian food groups, DTE’s renewable energy program, community groups, home improvement companies, sustainable household products, renewable energy system providers, a carbon offset company, environmental organizations and educators, book sellers, and green transportation services, among others. Show or hide full story - "Combining a challenging educational conference and consumer expo is unusual, but it offers a great opportunity to bring people together in new ways to address the energy, economic and environmental problems that we all must eventually face together. We are combining aspects of Upland Hills EAC two most popular events - our fall energy conference and the Earth Day Expo. It should make for an exciting and meaningful mix,’ said John Batdorf, Upland Hills EAC Executive Director and conference manager. "The nexus of the conference and expo is the Connections Cafe’ - open-ended roundtable discussions on a variety of topics where conference and expo goers can learn from those that have made ’green’ choices work in their lives", said Clark Tibbits, conference program co-manager, founder of the Land Stewardship Center in Lapeer, MI. "The conference and expo should provide practical answers and inspiration to those seeking both sustainability and improved quality of life." The Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions is presented jointly by Community Solutions, the producers of the award-winning film, The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil, and Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center, a designated Michigan Energy Demonstration Center, located in northern Oakland County for over 30 years. The conference will offer a full weekend of presentations and panel discussions with world leaders in sustainability, tours of local green projects, award-winning films, entertainment and shared meals. Prices for the conference start at $15 for evening sessions. Generous member, student/senior, group and volunteer discounts are available. For information about attending, exhibiting or volunteering at the conference and expo, visit www.plancconference.org, email info@plancconference.org, or call 248-693-1021. Community Solutions (www.communitysolution.org) is a non-profit organization providing knowledge and practices to support low-energy lifestyles, with a primary focus on reducing household energy consumption. Its goal is to strengthen communities through low energy living and cooperation. Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center (www.uheac.org) is a designated Michigan Energy Demonstration Center, in northern Oakland County, whose mission is to provide experiences and resources that promote a sustainable relationship with the natural world and each other. It offers a wide variety of workshops, gatherings, tours, seminars and events on energy, ecology, wellness and wisdom, including the annual Earth Day Expo at Oakland University. October 5, 2008 Education Center, Restaurant and UHEAC Tours Scheduled OXFORD, Michigan – Three tours are now scheduled for during the Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions. On Friday, October 31, from 3-6pm, participants can tour the Willows Earth Education Center, the first commercial strawbale building in the state of Michigan. On Saturday, November 1, from 12 Noon-2pm, a tour and lunch are scheduled for Mind Body & Spirits, Michigan's First Sustainable Restaurant. Sunday, November 2, from 12:30-2pm, conference attendees can visit Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center, a one-of-a-kind facility that demonstrates many examples of renewable energy, energy-efficiency and ecological design principles in action. Click here for more information. September 30, 2008 Group Discounts Offered to Build Community, Save Money To encourage the participation of activist/interest groups, encourage community-building and reduce costs, the conference is pleased to announce significant group discounts. Groups of 3 or more now qualify for the $25 Member discount, and 5 or more qualify for the $75 Student discount. To take advantage of these prices, groups must register together under one registration. This pricing and shared travel/accomodations costs can dramatically reduce total attendance costs. September 29, 2008 Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions Will Be a "Carbon-Neutral" Conference DETROIT, Michigan –Detroit-based Carbon Credit Environmental Services (CCES), Techtown, Detroit, MI will offset the greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dioxide emissions (GHG, CO2) created by the Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions thus creating a "carbon-neutral" conference. This will be achieved by a GHG, CO2 energy audit performed by CCES which calculates how much CO2 is utilized during the conference. They will estimate the energy used for the building, the emissions created by the estimated 1500 visitors and exhibitors traveling to the conference, emissions from waste to landfills, cafeteria-ware and water usage during the conference. Then CCES will "offset" these emissions with local and global alternative energy projects. These projects could include working with Greening of Detroit, Friends of Belle Isle, Zoos, Aquariums and others. Organizers of the event will also use biodegradable paper goods for all food services to further offset the impact on the environment of the conference. Show or hide full story - Further information on ways you can participate in offsetting this event or projects can be found on the CCES website: www.getcarboncreditco2.com. The Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions offers attendees presentations and panels with experts from around the world, a unique "Connections Café" of networking roundtables, tours of local sustainable buildings and projects, "green" entertainment, and shared meals throughout the weekend. The public is invited to the Green Living Expo on Saturday afternoon (11/1) which includes free exhibits and exhibitor presentations. September 8, 2008 "Plan C" Conference on Individual and Community Survival Strategies for the Energy Crisis to Take Place in Rochester, MI, October 31 - November 2, 2008 ROCHESTER, Michigan – On Halloween weekend several hundred community activists, sustainability educators, and lifestyle change advocates will convene here at a three-day conference to learn about ways to cut their household energy use and create resilient, sustainable communities that will be able to weather the coming economic and ecological storms. Show or hide full story - Among the leading speakers at the Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions, this year co-presented by Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center, will be keynoters John Michael Greer, author of the forthcoming The Long Descent: A User's Guide to the End of the Industrial Age and Dmitry Orlov, author of Reinventing Collapse: Soviet Example and American Prospects. Richard Heinberg, the world's foremost oil depletion educator, author of several best-selling books including The Party's Over, Powerdown and Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines, and Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute, will speak via webcast. The conference will be held at the Oakland Center on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. The conference will also feature in-depth workshops and panels, Connection Café roundtables with area experts, an eco-tour slide show, screenings of award-winning films, entertainment, tours of local sustainably-designed buildings, and healthy, shared meals. Exhibits and exhibitor presentations will be offered free of charge to the public on Saturday from noon to 6pm. "This conference comes at a time when the whole world is beginning to experience the limitations of a high-energy way of living," said Pat Murphy, executive director of Community Solutions. "The title reflects the recent release of my book, Plan C: Community Survival Strategies for Peak Oil and Climate Change, which is staking out a position of societal transformation as an option to belief in technological breakthroughs. Throughout the world more and more people are beginning to see this as the middle path between more industrialization and the collapse of civilization," he said. "Although hard-hitting, the message of Community Solutions is inspiring – that in transforming our relationship with energy resources and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, we can transform our communities and lives in ways that are ultimately more satisfying," said John Batdorf, executive director of the Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center, an educational and demonstration center in northern Oakland County showcasing ecological design, energy conservation and the latest innovations in alternative energy. "We are fortunate to have this unique opportunity to bring to the local area so many leading sustainability experts and hundreds of committed participants from around the country," he said. Other conference speakers include Katrin Klingenberg, director of the Passive House Institute US, an organization promoting super-efficient, carbon-neutral, cost-effective building; Peter Bane, editor of Permaculture Activist magazine; Murphy, author of Plan C: Community Survival Strategies for Peak Oil and Climate Change; Christopher Bedford, President of the Center for Economic Security and the Sweetwater Local Foods Market; John Richter, co-founder of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Education and former president of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association; and Megan Quinn Bachman, Outreach Director of Community Solutions and co-producer of the award-winning film The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil. Conference participants will learn survival strategies for growing food, creating local food security in their communities, retrofitting their homes to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and educating their communities to prepare for the difficult times ahead. Greer will open the conference on Friday night at 7pm and Orlov will speak on Saturday at 2pm. Heinberg will present at 11am on Sunday. The cost for each evening session is $15 and to attend for a half-day to the full weekend the ranges from $50 to $175 depending upon membership in the presenting organizations. Student and early registration discounts are available through September 30. To register, go to http://www.plancconference.org, call Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center at 248-693-1021 or email info@plancconference.org for more information. Community Solutions is a non-profit organization providing knowledge and practices to support low-energy lifestyles, with a primary focus on reducing energy consumption in the household sectors of food, personal transportation, and housing. Its goal is to the strengthening of communities of relationship and place through low energy living. The Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center is a designated Michigan Energy Demonstration Center in northern Oakland County, whose mission is to provide experiences and resources that promote a sustainable relationship with the natural world and each other. It offers a wide variety of workshops, gatherings, tours, seminars and events on energy, ecology, wellness and wisdom. For more information, email info@plancconference.org. Download the conference brochure and registration form.		Presentations and proceedings from the annual conferences are available on DVD in the Community Solutions Bookstore. Go there