These are the major projects that APPLE is working on now, or has been working on in the past. Explore these pages and see if they spark your interest - and let us know if you'd like to get involved!
(this page is under construction - past projects are not yet listed)
The APPLE Center for Sustainable Living is a project of APPLE-NC. It is initially funded through a grant from the Private Industry Council of Butte County, several individual and community donors, paid memberships, and support from Nevada City. The Grand Opening was September 20, 2009.
For all of the details, go directly to the Center's web page at http://www.applecenter.org
Welcome to the home page for the Nevada City Energy Solutions Task Force.
This online 'book' has one page for each focus area covered by the Task Force. Use the Previous and Next buttons at the bottom, and the Table of Contents on the left, to navigate.
Each page - and each focus area - generally corresponds to one monthly meeting of the Task Force. Keep in mind that the topics are all interrelated.
The model for this task force was boiled down from existing examples at Post Carbon Cities' database of Government Responses to Peak Oil.
As a fundamental starting point for this task force's recommendations, we have been looking at recommendations of other task forces around the world that have already completed their reports. All of those documents can be accessed from the Post Carbon Cities link above. If you would like a CD or FTP of all of these reports, please contact us by email.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Official Resolution adopted by Nevada City Council, Oct. 22 2008 (pdf, 2 pages) | 58.36 KB |
The first draft of the Energy Scarcity resolution was presented to City Council of Nevada City on August 13, 2008. The text of the first draft appears below.
Unfortunately the projector equipment was not working this night, so Tom Grundy spoke directly to City Council to present the draft Energy Scarcity resolution. As planned, council made several good suggestions but was open to the idea. APPLE board members then revised the resolution based on council's input and presented again in October (next page).
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Presentation to City Council (pdf, 30 slides) | 339.82 KB |
On October 22, 2008, the City Council of Nevada City heard APPLE's revised version of the proposed Energy Scarcity resolution. After discussion, the resolution was adopted by a vote of 4 to 1. The resolution as adopted is attached here and on the main page of the Task Force project.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Official Resolution as adopted by City Council on Oct. 22 2008 (pdf, 2 pages) | 58.36 KB |
This recruiting event was open to anyone, though we invited those we thought would be key players and those that we specifically wanted to be on the task force. After a short video - a combination of the introduction to "The Power of Community" and "Peak Oil for Policy Makers" from Post Carbon Institute - we showed the brief slideshow (attached) to give an overview of the task force purpose and structure. Plenty of good discussion and tentative task force sign-ups rounded out the night.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Recruiting Night presentation (pdf, 8 slides) | 554.84 KB |
| Recruiting meeting detailed notes (pdf, 2 pages) | 27.53 KB |
Instead of choosing one particular focus area for the first task force meeting, it was decided that we wanted to give a more general introduction and welcome to the process. We showed a presentation on the timeline, populations, key findings, and common themes from previous Peak Oil Task Force reports already completed around the world. Based on the database of municipal actions at www.postcarboncities.net we reviewed and summarized the task force reports (pdf slideshow is attached) from these municipalities:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Other Task Forces presentation (pdf, 30 slides) | 3.96 MB |
The first topic-specific meeting of the task force was centered around Food (i.e. how to ensure that we have secure food supplies locally in a world with much more expensive and/or less available fossil fuels). Rita deQuercus from the Local Food Coalition and Nevada County Grown gave a presentation to the task force on the present state of local food production in Nevada County, along with recommendations for actions that could be taken to ensure a local food supply. These recommendations will be combined with the task force discussion, and also broken down to determine which actions could be taken specifically by the city as opposed to Nevada County.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Food presentation from Rita deQuercus (pdf, 27 slides) | 59.02 KB |
| Food detailed notes (pdf, 18 pages) | 123.69 KB |
The second topic-specific meeting of the task force was focused on Emergency Preparedness in a post-peak-oil world. A presentation was given by Joshua Lichterman, (Ph.D. in Emergency Management, and APPLE board member) on the specific vulnerabilities of the Emergency Management field to Peak Oil. Tom Grundy gave a presentation summarizing the Emergency Management findings and recommendations of other Peak Oil Task Force reports from around the world. Discussion and brainstorming rounded out the night; detailed notes of the conversation were recorded, and are attached below.
APPLE's mission is to find ways to help maintain some semblance of a local economy when energy inputs, especially liquid fuels, are much less abundant / more expensive. So, the topic of local economy overlaps all other specific focus areas that the task force is covering. This month mainly deals with the most direct form of the local economy: local businesses keeping their doors open; inputs to local tax coffers, and financial well-being of local residents.
The task force collectively decided a few months ago that we would like to see a summary of two or three months worth of discussion, and an opportunity to go into more detail, all rolled into one night. So, for the October meeting, rather than starting a new topic or focus area, we had a review and 'second round' of discussion covering the last three topics: Food, Emergency Management, and Local Economy.
No presentation was given - instead, the task force discussed the 'first draft' of the list of recommendations, shown on the large screen. Several items were reworded, clarified, added, or removed - making it a very productive night.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Agenda (pdf, 1 page) | 80.72 KB |
| Minutes (pdf, 3 pages) | 236.87 KB |
Transportation is a huge topic, and it's clear to see how transportation is affected by peak oil i.e. liquid fuel prices and availability. This topic is highly interconnected to all of the other task force topics.
These services were mainly developed to address public health problems. Water treatment, sewage treatment, and garbage removal service are all inherently very energy-intensive tasks. The vulnerabilities to less available energy are clear.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Agenda (pdf, 1 page) | 80.51 KB |
| Presentation on other task force findings (pdf, 33 slides) | 4.2 MB |
| Summary notes from the meeting (pdf, 1 page) | 26.44 KB |
| Detailed notes from the meeting (pdf, 5 pages) | 61.38 KB |
AB811 and the promised federal version (Property-assessed Clean Energy) is making a lot of news here. Efficiency first, renewables second. Retrofit, retrofit, retrofit. Whether it's marketed as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to comply with AB32, or, as a way to reduce energy costs and make the community more resilient to future energy uncertainty, the focus is the same. Huge amounts of money are becoming available right now, especially through the federal ARRA stimulus package.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Agenda (pdf, 1 page) | 74.93 KB |
| Detailed meeting notes (pdf, 8 pages) | 52.61 KB |
| Summary meeting notes (pdf, 1 page) | 16.88 KB |
| CBPCA Presentation - Mike Thompson and Randal Reidel (ppt, 18 slides) | 507 KB |
Like the October 2009 meeting, task force staff shows a list of vulnerabilities and proposed actions in the topic areas from the past three task force meetings. The list is projected on the screen so that everyone involved can discuss and revise the list in real time. This is basically a preliminary first draft of the final report for the mentioned topics.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Agenda (pdf, 1 page) | 51.8 KB |
APPLE and other nonprofits have teamed up to ask energy-related questions to all local candidates in recent elections. See the questions and answers for each round of elections here.
YubaNet graciously offered to host our energy questions and answers for the June 2008 election:
This online 'book' has a page for each month's public program of the APPLE/UUCM Sustainability Series.
Under Construction
February 4th: “Driving Yourself Crazy? Alternatives to In-CAR-ceration”
March 4th: “Plug Into the Future: Getting Rid of Your GAS ... (Vehicles, that is)!”
April 1st: “Is Your House Leaking Money? How to Make It Safe, Comfortable, and Energy-Efficient”
May 6th: “EAT, MEET and GREET”
June 3rd: “Support the Home Team: Making the Transition to a Local Economy”
Preserving Your Food and Your Health: Why Certain Food Preservation Techniques Promote Good Health and How to Preserve Food Safely
Wednesday, August 5, 2009, at 7:00 p.m.
at Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains, 246 S. Church Street, Grass Valley
Suggested Donation $3-$5
Whether you harvest from your own garden or buy produce at the local growers' market, summertime provides a bounty of fresh, healthy food. In the past, people preserved food when it was abundant and made the bounty last all year long. This evenings presentations will reveal some ancient secrets and some modern science to help you enjoy your local culinary delights throughout the year.
Some food preservation methods, such as lacto-fermentation, actually add to the health benefits of food. Local food sleuth and cooking teacher, Shan Kendall, will explain how certain traditional methods of food preservation can improve your health.
While preserving food can be simple, it does have risks if not done properly. Stephanie Rosa, Master Food Preserver from U.C. Davis Cooperative Extension, will talk about various methods of canning food and how to ensure that your canning process is safe and your products healthy.
April Reese, Professor of Canning from the A to Z Garden Center in Grass Valley, will put the evenings lessons to use by demonstrating how to make her delicious fruit jams. Tasting will be encouraged.
WHAT: Maintaining Your Health in an Energy-Uncertain Future
Part 1 of a 3-Part Series: What's Going On in Your Gut and Your Ever-Changing Needs for Nutrients
WHO: APPLE (Alliance for a Post Petroleum Local Economy) and The Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
WHEN: Wednesday, September 2, 2009, at 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains, 246 S. Church Street, Grass Valley
COST: Suggested Donation $3-$5
For More Information: web site: www.apple-nc.org; email info@apple-nc.org or www.uugrassvalley.org; or call Kate at (530) 274-3435
A new health care paradigm that integrates ancient wisdom (herbs, acupuncture, natural foods, etc.) and modern allopathic medicine is emerging. This collaboration empowers us to be proactive in the maintenance of our own health, which is ever more important due to the challenges that economic uncertainty and oil depletion will bring. The reality is that declining oil production will eventually affect all aspects of the current health care system. As it is, our health care system is not working very well for most Americans, many of whom cannot afford to use it. So, the more we know about our physical, mental, and emotional health, the more options we'll have to take care of ourselves and our families in the event of changes in our current access to medical care.
Tonight's program will focus on digestion and nutrition. Hippocrates’ belief that "all disease begins in the gut" has found new supporters as the importance of the digestive system is reevaluated in both traditional medicine and medical science today. Two leading medical practitioners in our area will reveal how your daily diet can keep your digestive track healthy, and what you should know about your changing nutrient needs as you grow older.
Our speakers are both popular practitioners who are well established in our community:
Dr. Dale Jacobson, D.C. — TOPIC: Digestion: All Disease Begins in the Gut
Dr. Lisa Hosbein, M.D., — TOPIC: How Your Nutrient Needs Change after Age 40.
The belief that we greatly influence our health, or lack thereof, through our daily habits, thoughts, and feelings is now common knowledge in many medical, philosophical, and religious systems. In this presentation, we will hear how the beliefs of two local health practitioners, one a practicing physician and the other a practitioner of Ayurvedic medicine, compare as we examine the narrowing gap between traditional practices and modern medicine.
- How Your Daily Routine Determines Your Health – Holly Leeds, M.D., Family Practice and General Surgery
- How We Create Our Health Daily through Our Perceptions, Thoughts, and Feelings — Marc Halpern, D.C., C.A.S., Founder and Director of California College of Ayurveda
Herbs are fundamental to both Western medicine and the various forms of healing practiced in the Orient. But these two healing traditions developed in isolation from each other for tens of thousands of years. Two practitioners of herbal medicine, one schooled in the Western tradition and one in the Eastern tradition practiced over many millennia in China, will talk about the similarities and differences between these two forms of ancient wisdom and what they offer us today. A Sacramento homeopathist will tell us how to use homeopathic remedies for minor ailments.
- Western Herbs: From the Kitchen to the Medicine Chest — Kathi Keville, nationally-known herbalist and author of 11 books, Director of the American Herb Association
- Utilizing Chinese Herbs to Enhance Your Health and Well Being – Carrie Ann Smith, Licensed Acupuncturist and practitioner of Chinese Herbal Medicine
- Using Homeopathy to Sustain Your Health — Maureen Shepard, CCH, Nevada County Association for Homeopathic Education