The end of growth?

On track for disaster
In case you haven’t heard the latest, the world is on track for “massive global economic collapse … in 2030 as resources run dry, and the downturn could be so bad that human population could decline,” according to a recent article in Money News. Numerous sources are reporting similar news.

Australian physicist Graham Turner recently took another look at a study conducted by MIT researchers in the early 1970s, titled “The Limits to Growth,” and fed the information into modern economic-forecasting models. Turner’s findings are bleak.

“Industrial output, food, services and even pollution will continue to climb until plunging around 2030 as all resources go scarce and the economy collapses, bringing human population down with them for decades,” wrote Money News’ Forrest Jones.

“There is a very clear warning bell being rung here,” Turner was quoted as saying. “We are not on a sustainable trajectory.”

Life after peak oil
Chico State’s Institute for Sustainable Development and the Rawlins Endowed Fellowship are hosting a talk on April 24 by Richard Heinberg, writer and senior fellow of the Post Carbon Institute in Santa Rosa. Heinberg (pictured) “is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost peak-oil educators,” according to a recent university press release. Among his many accomplishments, his latest animation, 300 Years of Fossil Fuels in 300 Seconds, went viral on YouTube and won the DoGooder YouTube Nonprofit Video of the Year Award. (Go to http://tinyurl.com/postpeak to watch Heinberg’s video.)

Heinberg’s talk is titled “The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality,” and will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in Colusa Hall, Room 100A. Seating is limited—arrive early.

Call 898-3333 or head to www.csuchico.edu/sustainablefuture for more info. Check out the Post Carbon Institute at www.postcarbon.org to learn more.

Water wisdom
Cultivating Community NV is presenting a free “Water Wisely with Drip Irrigation” workshop on April 22 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the West Lindo Community Garden (305 West Lindo Ave.). “Learn to water fruits and vegetables with drip irrigation. Save money, conserve water, minimize weeds,” said the email I received about this event. The workshop will cover basic design, installation, operation and maintenance of a simple, above-ground drip-irrigation system.

Sign up at www.cultivatingcommunitynv.org/register or by calling Jonah at 588-0585.

Community Garden Board
The city of Chico recently approved the lease of an acre of land to the Butte Environmental Council (BEC) for a new community garden on Humboldt Road across from Marsh Junior High School. GRUB’s Stephanie Elliott informed me that a successful fundraiser on April 1 raised enough money for the garden’s water lines and fencing.

“Now the next step,” wrote Elliott. “We are looking for community members to join the Community Garden Board. We need 7 to 9 board members. They will meet once a month and help decide the direction of the garden, make sure it is being maintained … and see that it has a future.”

For more information, contact Elliott at stephanie@grubchico.org or 354-1646.

“Indeed, if we focus on improving quality of life rather than increasing quantity of consumption, we could all be happier even as our economy downsizes to fit Nature’s limits.” – Richard Heinberg