I think that most of the resources that we will need to get us through the next 10 years exist on PEI now. Just like the Cubans in 1989, we just can’t see them.
A big lesson in Cuba was that you were never going to have enough cheap energy to still have everyone driving long distance for everything - even with a public transportation system.
They had to “see” a decentralized world and they had to see “Resources” that had been hidden. So all services and work was pulled back into the local communities.
I have just played with a possible future here - is this feasible and sustainable? What would life be like in a province like this?
Lets start with the Lego Bricks of the New and then play with them and see that we can build by using them.
So let’s see what we can see:
When you see a school in your community you “see” only a school. But really it is a core piece of community infrastructure that could be a multi-purpose building that serves all the community all the time.
- When you see a school bus you “see” only a school bus. But really it is the core of a community based public transport system
- When you see an Access PEI Centre or a Tourism Centre you only “see” a special purpose government building. But they are really more nodes in a local system that will enable the centre to devolve government work out to the communities
- When you see an old dam like the one at Scales Pond, you only “see” a tourism attraction. But really it is part of our old hydro electric system that can be brought back at about 8 cents per kilowatt.
- When you see harness racing or see horse pulling at Old Home Week, you only “see” an expensive hobby. But these are deep wells of expertise that we will need to get horses back into our lives.
- When you see the few organic farms on PEI, you “see” people working on the edge of the system. But what they really are are the centre of the learning that we will all have to learn to get to the new system.
Some scenarios - visions of what might be
The lesson from Cuba is that to make Cuba self sufficient, communities had to be self sufficient. So let’s play with this idea. Let's imagine that it is happening right now - how does this feel?
To take the lead on reducing its own costs and the costs of its staff, the PEI and the Local Federal Government Departments have agreed to make telecommuting the centre of how work is done. Most jobs can be designed this way.
They test this in several communities across the Island using Access PEI and Tourism sites with volunteers. So now the commute is minutes. People from all departments in the provincial and federal government find that they work next to each other. All have one thing in common. They live within a few miles.
Soon a daycare centre opens in the local church and mothers now have their kids a walk away. Soon a coffee shop opens close by as well. The school becomes a regional centre of gravity and as more resources move in, so then more resources move in too. They come into town now and then for the odd meeting.
School is not just for kids either. There are people teaching organic farming, animal husbandry, carriage making and eco-house building. The local school bus takes both the kids and the parents to and from work/school. School buses become the foundation of a regional transportation system that operates 7 days a week 364 days of the year.
To ease the financial strain on many families, breakfast and a cooked main meal of the day is served at school. The food is sourced locally to stimulate local demand. It is cooked locally by some of the mums. They also provide simple meals to buy for home consumption. The meals come back in the buses. The school system becomes the regional hub of the emerging local food system. A shop/market opens selling raw and cooked food.
Particular importance has been placed in helping local markets spring up. Becoming food self sufficient and oil independent in food production has become a centerpiece of the overall plan. Just as Wind Power was jump started by the governments taking on enough power to pay for the infrastructure, so the Food Independence plan has been jump started by the School Food Plan.
The massive increase in energy costs have made commodity farming uneconomic. Large amounts of land are now needed for animal grazing, hay and grain.
The web becomes central in all of this.
In a few communities, we are testing the return of the one room school. But this is a one room school with a difference. It has massive web capability and is connected to the world.
It is also used to teach older people how to become web literate. When not used as a school, the building is a “commons” a work club. These are based in the old community centres. Again as more use and value take place here, the more value is attracted. So now people can walk to their Commons or take the Bus to the regional centre. The need for cars drops a lot.
UPEI has become a world leader in web based education with only first year students on campus. UPEI has a very large summer school for foreign students and for specialized 3 month courses.
Each watershed has its own energy co-op. Wherever possible the old hydro plants are being brought back into commission. The key here is local ownership and local help and expertise. Each watershed is a node in the provincial energy system. The local energy co-op also helps all the people in the area save energy. A process like barn building takes place. The expert does the design and the detailed work as was done in the old days of barn building, and then the community does the big labour. The plan is to have every home 50% more energy efficient by 2012.
The government has funded a lot of research into high efficiency wood furnaces and has a comprehensive wood management strategy designed to match supply with demand. Most houses now heat with wood or pellets.
PEI’s wind resource is recognized as being like our oil. The owners of the resource are Islanders. First call on the resource are Islanders. We plan to have 500% of our maximum needs in production. We use the profits to buy our oil.
To serve people’s health needs, the Government is experimenting with a tele-health triage system. Now Islanders call into a number that is staffed by nurses and doctors. About 80% of calls can be satisfied that way. More serious cases are referred to hospital and taken there by the inter town jitney service or ambulance.
The province has used its sovereignty, to make major changes in a series of regulations that have made life in the community better. Some in food health re-empowering local abattoirs and local markets. Local small scale butchering and food processing is encouraged.
The province and the towns have changed building regulations as well. High density and multi-use is encouraged. Incentives to use public transport have been brought in. The bicycle is now the core of Summer transport in Charlottetown and Summerside. All further suburban expansion is stopped. Taxes on the outer edges of Town are raised to punitive levels to discourage sprawl. The Island Food Coop brings food from across the Island into the larger towns where it supplies the Island Markets.
PEI works cooperatively with all the Atlantic Provinces and with the Eastern States on sharing ideas, on providing food and energy back ups to each other.
