What: The Hyperlocavore Book Club

Reading: The Transition Handbook

Where: Hyperlocavore.com

Why: Because intelligent discussion about books is great!

I was particularly pleased that The Transition Handbook (by Rob Hopkins) won the vote for the first round of the newly formed Hyperlocavore Book Club, because I was fascinated by the Bright Green vs. Transition Towns discussion that has been going on throughout the last month.  (The key posts are Transition Towns or Bright Green Cities? posted at Worldchanging, and the response written by Rob Hopkins himself: Responding to Alex Steffen’s Critique of Transition at Worldchanging.)

I recently purchased Alex Steffen’s Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century, which I have started to work my way through.  And now I’ll be joining in the discussion of The Transition Handbook with the cool people over at Hyperlocavore.  Good timing, huh?

It’s not too late to join up.  Discussion on Chapter 1 begins on December 7th.  Just go and sign up at Hyperlocavore.com and then join in on the Book Club discussion.  Look forward to seeing you there!

P.S. If you don’t know about Hyperlocavore,com, you can read my very long interview with founder Liz McLellan.  In short, Hyperlocavore.com is an online community dedicated to the formation of “yard sharing” groups around the world.  A brief excerpt from the interview explaining one of the many models of yard sharing:

Let’s say you live in an apartment, you have a green thumb and really miss digging in the dirt.  And your neighbor (friend or family member) Mrs. Jefferson has a nice big yard but has arthritis and a bum knee.  Another friend, Joe, also would like to lower his bills but still eat lots of organic fruit and vegetables.  The three of you form a yard share group.  You agree to grow for one season together as a test run.

Now what happens?  All three of you eat better food that has traveled zero miles to get to your plate.  It is in season, delicious and has a low-carbon impact.  Mrs. Jefferson has two younger people in her life, a shared meal now and then and fresh flowers every day, she not only is eating better, but is more connected to the community.  You and Joe are saving money, getting fit, eating better and diminishing your climate impact.  And I haven’t even gotten to how much your kids love the garden, how much they are learning about life and healthy eating, and how much they liked making that apple pie with Mrs. Jefferson.

Related posts:

1. Are You A Hyperlocavore?