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Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's, Cuba lost nearly all access to its imported energy like gasoline and diesel and overnight they had to reinvent. As an island community 90% dependent on imported energy and food, we should take a look at their challenges and consider the self-sufficient solutions that have evolved since their "Special Period". Among the most important are embracing food security by going local with food production and moving away from petroleum based farming and towards organic.
Plus a look at peak oil, consumption habits and what is on the horizon for the future of energy. Bring your questions and let's have fun!
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Faith Morgan is a film director, writer, painter and sculptor (although The Power of Community was her first film). She directed and co-wrote the film The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil , released in May, 2006. She has also been associated with Community Service, Inc. for many years. Over the last four years she has attended the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO) meetings in Europe and helped plan and implement the first three U.S. conferences on Peak Oil and Community Solutions. In 2003 she made two trips to Cuba to study what happened after the USSR collapsed in 1990, when Cuba's oil subsidies were suddenly cut in half. In 2004 she was part of the film crew, going back to Cuba to document the story of this major social disaster and Cuba's creative response to living without cheap, abundant oil.
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Eugene "Pat" Murphy is the Executive Director of Community Service, Inc., the designer of the organization's latest program, The Community Solution, and the author of its New Solutions reports. He lectures widely across the country on Peak Oil, geopolitics, and community-based solutions and was also a co-writer and co-producer of his organization's new documentary film, The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil . His main interest is on the techniques and strategies for a steady reduction in the per capital use of fossil fuels in years to come. Prior to working for Community Service, Pat was the founder of a software company that developed a "design for manufacturing" program for residential building, which greatly reduced waste in the construction process. He also designed and built active solar homes. In addition, Pat had a long career in computer applications in transportation, construction and energy industries. He has been involved in community much of his life and sees community as the context within which "powerdown" can be viewed as a blessing rather than a curse. |
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