Peak Moment Conversations

212: The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace

robyn — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:49:27 +0000

“This is a very important piece of music, a very powerful piece of music,” says Ken Hardin, conductor of Sierra Master Chorale. In advance of their performances on May 17 and 20, 2012, he provides a musical guided tour of this contemporary work by Karl Jenkins, commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum for their Millennium celebrations.

Although outside of Peak Moment TV’s normal scope, this music can move us beyond our heads and into our hearts. With texts drawn from many continents, and musical idioms from the middle ages to modern, this music is challenging, moving, inspiring, disturbing, and uplifting. As one chorister notes, “It’s like nothing I’ve ever done musically.” [inconcertsierra.org]

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211: The Straight Poop on Sustainable Farming

robyn — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:32:37 +0000

Innovative farmer Joel Salatin says sustainable agriculture requires both perennials (like native grasses) and herbivores (like cattle) to build soil. Mimicking patterns from nature, this maverick Virginia farmer rotates cattle followed by chickens into short-term pasture enclosures, where their poop fertilizes the earth. His new book Folks, This Ain’t Normal is a critique of the industrial food system, and envisions a future where humans are participants in a regenerative, sustaining community of abundance. [polyfacefarms.com]

Watch high-quality video. Listen to Audio. Read a near-transcript of Joel’s presentation after this conversation. Download video on iTunes.

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210: Young Lawyers Lower the Bar to Sharing Economy

robyn — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:29:10 +0000

“Sharing really is going to save the world!” declares Janelle Orsi, author of The Sharing Solution, noting that it’s fun, doesn’t require special skills — and we can start now. She and Jennifer Kassan co-founded the Sustainable Economies Law Center to help people formalize collaborative structures like producer cooperatives, cohousing developments and tool lending libraries. They’re working to reduce the hurdles to investing in locally-owned and locally-controlled enterprises. No wonder law students are excited to intern with them! [theSELC.org and sharingsolution.com]

Watch high-quality video. Listen to Audio. Download video on iTunes. Read Janaia’s journal Two Lawyers Empower Sharing and Sustainable Economies.

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209: Growing Up in the First Great Depression

robyn — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:55:19 +0000

Janaia’s mother Rowena grew up in a blue collar family during the 1930s. The kids helped their mom in her own pie delivery business while their dad did construction odd jobs. In this cash-only society, they lived on what they could pay for. She recalls losing her only pair of shoes and envying a school girl’s daily peanut butter-and-jam sandwich. But she didn’t feel deprived: people generously gave groceries and hand-me-down clothes. Kids entertained themselves with outdoor games, and later, from adventures emanating from the home-built radio. Her frugality, self-reliant attitude and do-it-yourself skills went on to enrich the family Janaia grew up in.

Watch high-quality video. Listen to Audio. Download video on iTunes. Read Janaia’s journal ”Octogenarian Recalls The First Great Depression.”

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208: Sail Power Reborn - Transporting Local Goods by Boat

robyn — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 05:20:52 +0000

“We are revitalizing an ancient form of transportation … using just the power of the wind and the tides … to move goods and people,” says skipper Fulvio Casali. In their CSA (community supported agriculture), the Salish Sea Trading Cooperative uses nearly no petroleum to transport organic produce and other goods from the north Olympic Peninsula to northwest Seattle.

By sea they use community volunteer sailboats, and by land an electric delivery truck. Come on board with cofounders Casali, Kathy Pelish, and Alex Tokar, who are patiently redeveloping the skills and infrastructure for the return of “a whole fleet of sailboats blanketing Puget Sound” in the post-petroleum era. [www.salishseatrading.com]

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207: Planting the Seeds for a New Society

robyn — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 22:30:50 +0000

“We’re a conduit and a packager of important cutting edge material that people need to do the work that they’re engaged in.” Judith Plant and the New Society Publishers (NSP) team are social change agents bringing emerging ideas and authors to the forefront. They converse about the need for women’s voices in social change; rootedness in place, and how their boots-on-the-ground, solution-oriented books are antidotes to fear. They deliberately go out to talk to their readers. Hearing what they want, then search for authors to address topics readers are asking for. [www.newsociety.com].

(Photo, left to right, back: Heather Nicholas, Aileen Warner, Ginny Martin, Ingrid Witvoet, Sue Custance; front: Janaia, EJ Hurst, Judith Plant; Jean Wyenberg; Chris Plant).

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206: Awakening the Village Heart and Mind

robyn — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 04:27:22 +0000

From their “Zero Mile Meal Eatery” to zoning and financing innovations, O.U.R. Ecovillage in BC, Canada has paved the way for many communities worldwide. For Brandy Gallagher, the story on the planet right now could be a shared ethos of caring: “Everyone is fed. Everyone is taken care of.” Asserting that “No is just an uneducated Yes,” Brandy shows how a village mindset can transform individuals, preserve land, reduce resource use, apply permaculture principles, change laws, and even the way money works [www.ourecovillage.org].

Listen to Audio. Read the Transcript. Download video on iTunes. Pictures of OUR Ecovillage are below the video.

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205: Undriving™ - Changing the Way We Think

robyn — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 05:11:47 +0000

Be the first in your group to get your Undriver License™ — it’s great fun! You pledge to reduce automobile use — yours or others’. Seattle founder Julia Field’s creative project is sparking imaginations and creativity by changing how people think about getting around — be it skateboards, sailboats, or just plain skipping the trip! Undrivers of all ages are jumping on the bandwagon, changing assumptions, and telling their empowered stories. (Janaia’s outrageous Undriver License™ goes wherever her bike goes. Read Janaia’s journal: Getting My Official Undriver License ™).

You can get your own Undriver License™ (or gift a friend!) at [www.undriving.org].

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204: Oil Puts the Squeeze on the Economy

robyn — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:07:29 +0000

This turbulent, troubled global economy is precisely what Chris Martenson predicted in early 2010, “When Exponential Meets Reality” (episode 166). He asserts that we can no longer look at the economy without factoring in the terminal decline of its master resource — oil. The author of The Crash Course: The Unsustainable Future of Our Economy, Energy and Environment believes that, as “the generation that gets to deal with hitting up to resource limits,” we first need a new cultural story to inspire
appropriate action. [www.chrismartenson.com].

Listen to Audio. Download video on iTunes. Read Janaia’s journal The Economy’s Oily Warning System.

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203: Soccer Mom Prepares for the Unexpected

robyn — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:00:00 +0000

“I have a ball preserving food with my friends!” And at the same time Kathy Harrison is making sure her kids can eat if storms knock out power or roads. The author of Just in Case: How to Be Self Sufficient when The Unexpected Happens gives practical tips on storing food without getting overwhelmed. She looks at dehydrating, canning, and root cellaring; finding and preserving local food, and buying food at discount. For Kathy, preparedness is an empowering, community activity. (justincasebook.wordpress.com)

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Read in Janaia’s journal: Taping Authors Keith Farnish (Time’s Up) and Kathy Harrison (Just in Case).

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