First they ignore you...

Interesting warnings and things to be aware of…  There seems to be a un-concerted effort (common goals of big money corporations, however) against the type of "return to simple living" "downshifting" "simplifying."  I have recently seen where a lady in Michigan was apparently harassed by code enforcement for having vegetable plants in her yard. They focused on dog licensing and apparently considered wheelbarrows in her yard (that she used everyday to do her work) trashy refuse and in violation of city code.
We need to be more vigilant and aware of the types of attacks that seem to come the way of home gardeners, bicyclists, and small/alternative housing proponents. - They will say "these people are cheating the system, they cannot possibly be happy or comfortable, they are beyond abnormal for not believing in and participating in the credit based monetary system. We are going to have to confront these kinds of attacks, not be concerned about them.  We need to keep the conversations on the issues, and not let anything get personal.  I make it clear that I am not doing anything new, in fact everything I'm doing is something I've known about or learned about as a child.  I am happy to share my technology/science knowledge and experience with others because I feel like it is important for people to know.

I have some spiritual based reasons personally for why I am participating in the Emerald City project.  I don't preach to anyone and I don't expect anyone to shed their personal spiritualism. My reasons have to do with feeling part of a whole in humanity and the belief that I can be the change that I want to see in the world ~ and that it makes a difference.

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."
                                ~Mahatmas Gandhi 

There is a struggle, between the people that want to be self reliant to some degree and the corporations who see this form of self-reliance as a threat.  They would like us to continue to drive ICE cars running fixed-priced gasoline. They would like us to continue to be forced to pay telecom, electricity, water, gas and entertainment bills (for each home)  Banks and other large companies want a world where there is no collectivity allowed.  There is both an element of self-reliance and community resource sharing going on.  I have found the other people involved to be charitable people that also understand that every little bit helps and also have personal goals that are not selfish, but would allow them more capacity to be charitable and sharing.

We are looking for people who are interested in the following projects:
SunJar Decorating co-ordianator for children's groups
Solar 12v demonstration system
Intercom system
local community radio podcast or teleconference formats
Inventive and novel water systems (stills, filter purifiers, solar invective heaters, rainwater integration)
Solar cooking

We are working on a papercrete workshop and I am personally looking for someone to teach me how to weld, and to mix and pour concrete to assist me with my artistic sculptural pursuits.