"Relocalization" is the opposite process of globalization -- it means bringing the production of food, clothing, energy, and other goods back home to our particular localities. In doing this, our lives are freed from rule of multinational-corporate CEOs and stockholders, we are secure against disruptions to a centralized food distribution system, our hard-earned money circulates among our neighbors and is not sucked away by non-local banks and chain stores. When those who produce the goods we consume are our neighbors, we can be relatively certain they're not engaging in crimes against nature, entire species of animals, or other human beings, because it is impossible to hide such things from the community. Relocalization is also the primary defense against peak oil and global economic collapse, and the only truly effective protest against wars of theft in the Middle East, Africa, and South America. A region which provides all its own needs, from clothing to food to soap and toothpaste, has essentially dropped out of the rush to globalization and has no need of oil to fuel a flood of goods from overseas. The relocalization movement is growing like wildfire in other parts of the country, but does not seem to have caught on here. We have the capacity here in Centre County to provide for all our own needs and withdraw from the race-to-the-bottom system that has resulted in near-slavery labor conditions in China and other countries, wars of petroleum thievery, and the continued hemorrhaging of American blue-collar jobs. My goal here is to share some information and links, and hopefully to get some people interested enough to start a discussion and potentially organize a relocalization group. The Post-Carbon Relocalization Network is an informal network of groups around the world that share information under the umbrella of the Post Carbon Institute. There are currently 93 relocalization groups listed. Global Public Media is the Post-Carbon Institute's repository of news articles, interviews, presentations, and media appearances by Relocalization Network members. You can skip right over to the topics page if you aren't keen on wading through the unsorted, front-page headlines. Wikipedia's permaculture page. Permaculture is a central concept in the relocalization movement; it is a method of sustainable living that seeks to work with nature, rather than against it, in farming, civic planning, and home building, among other things. The Willits Economic Localization (WELL) group in Willits, California, is the leading relocalization group in America. Their work has pioneered the methods by which many other groups are implementing relocalization in their areas. The Tompkins County Relocalization Project in Tompkins County, NY, is the closest to us both geographically and demographically -- Tompkins County is home to Cornell University. Their efforts are just getting started, but we could learn much from their work. (A bit of trivia here for web-development geeks: TCRP is headed up by Jon Bosak, the XML guy.) Catherine Austin Fitts' work on the process of "Coming Clean" financially is invaluable in understanding how shifting our "dollar votes" to community banks, local farmers and craftspersons, and local business contributes to the demise of what she terms the "tapeworm economy" and turns it into a renaissance of community life. If the relocalization movement interests you at all, please don't hesitate to contact me for more information or even to discuss starting a group. -Paula