Impacts and Opportunities for Sawyer County: Looking at Choices Ahead

1. Impacts and Opportunities for Sawyer County:Looking at Choices Ahead

2. A Thought to Consider “Things that can’t go on forever ….. don’t.” - Herbert Stein, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers (under Nixon)

3. Part 1 - Problems Ahead • Gasoline and Petrol-Diesel • Natural Gas • Economic Decline • Erratic Extremes in Weather • Climate Change

4. What We Are In For • There is a “Perfect Storm” brewing. • It consists of a combined threat of high fuel costs, declining economy, severe weather, and possible shortages. • It is likely to de-rail the tourist economy, which largely depends on discretionary dollars.

5. Likely Effects and Impacts affecting Sawyer County • Drop off in Tourism as fuel crisis deepens. • Increased unemployment. • Drop-off in tax revenue. • Increased need for government services.

6. Possible Worse-Case Scenarios that Could Affect the County • Fuel and Food Prices rise to Record Levels • Reductions and Interruptions in Fuel Deliveries • Fuel Rationing • Reductions and Interruptions in Food Deliveries • Economic Recession or Depression

7. Effects on Farmers, Loggers, and Truckers • Higher fuel costs squeeze out profits needed to sustain operations. • Extremely Variable Weather increases uncertainty about sustaining operations. • Increasing number of business closures.

8. Effects on the Tourist Industry • Increased prices to address rising expenses. • Diminishing number of visitors to the area. • Diminishing sales revenues forces tourist-dependent enterprises to cut back expenses, including employees. • Increased business closures. • Decreased new (tourist) business startups.

9. Effects on School Systems • Operating budgets strained to extremes by escalating fuel costs. • Consolidations and reductions of busing services. • Reductions and Curtailment of extra-curricular activities dependent on busing. • Extreme austerity budgets.

10. Effects on Local Citizens • Increasing financial hardships. • Reductions in discretionary travel by car. • Less availability of goods and services. • Increased citizen outrage, anxiety, and despair. • Increased stress, depression, and anti-social and self-destructive behaviors.

11. Effects on Local Governments • Reduced tax revenue • Increased call for services • Necessity to exercise ‘Fiscal Triage’ • Cutbacks and curtailment of government services.

12. Effects on Plants and Wildlife • Early effects of fuel crisis beneficial to wildlife. (less road kills, hunting and fishing) • As food crisis escalates, out-of-season poaching increases. • As fuel crisis forces curtailment of enforcement activities populations could become stressed by over harvesting. • Weather and climate effects add to stresses on plant and animal populations.

13. Some Logical Questions to Ask • What are our options if the escalating fuel crisis precipitates a drastic reduction in tourists visiting our area? • What if the fuel crisis affects our ability to carry on our normal routines such as commuting, shopping, visiting, etc? • What can and should we be doing now, while we still have options and ‘normalcy’?

14. We are at a Crossroads

15. Part 2 - Hopeful Solutions “Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them.” - Albert Einstein

16. More Guiding Words “We must be the change that we want to see in the world.” - Mahatma Ghandhi

17. What is the ‘Desired Effect’? i.e. ‘What do we want to end up with’?

18. A Vision of a Sustainable future is needed Globally and Locally we must choose to change our economic and environmental policies to live in harmony with nature in order to preserve a decent world for future generations.

19. A Vision for a Sustainable Future • Distributed Power Generation • Integrated Multi-Modal Transportation System • Telecommuting • Electronic ‘Cottage Industries’ • Sustainable Living Lifestyle Patterns • Eco Tourism • Permaculture

20. A Map of a Future Self-Sufficient Sawyer County

21. Possibilities for a Good and Sustainable Life Assumptions, Presumptions, and Essential Conditions.

22. Assumptions • New type of Multi-Modal Rural Transit System • Maximize Renewable Energy production • Re-Localized Markets • Local Permaculture solutions • Re-Localized production of food, fuel, and fiber

23. Presumptions • We all want a healthy and productive environment for ourselves and our children. • We can put aside differences and work together for the common good. • We can work cooperatively to satisfy our local community needs.

24. Essential Conditions • Business Development Funds for new sustainably-based businesses. • Public grants to build bike lanes, station houses, RE power systems, etc. • Permit approvals for wind, solar, biofuel, geothermal and hydro energy systems.

25. Distributed Power using Renewable Energy

26. Prospecting for Wind Generation • A comprehensive county-wide wind assessment can establish the most favorable sites for wind generation. • Wind Developers can be solicited for proposals.

27. Wind Power Feasibility Studies Site Assessment is needed to determine if wind resources are adequate to economically develop a proposed wind project. Anemometers collect wind data over a period of 12-14 months which is then analyzed and used to determine economic and technical viability for a project.

28. Solar Generation for Heat and Power

29. Re-Localizing Markets and Food Production

30. How does CSA work? A farmer or grower, often with the assistance of a core group, draws up a budget reflecting the production costs for the year. This includes all salaries, distribution costs, investments for seeds and tools, land payments, machinery maintenance, etc. The budget is then divided by the number of people for which the farm will provide and this determines the cost of each share of the harvest. One share is usually designed to provide the weekly vegetable needs for a family of four. CSA - Community Supported Agriculture As energy and food costs increase, local food production becomes more essential. The CSA approach can be used both for subsistence needs as well as for one’s livelihood.

31. Integrated, Multi-Modal Transportation Links

32. Transportation • Current transit system will need continuing support • Bio-Diesel powered vehicles can provide a more sustainable fuel as gasoline becomes too expensive • Crop cultivation for bio-diesel fuel production needed for sustainable operation • Electric vehicles charged by sun and wind could provide sustainable transportation option for local trips

33. RE-Powered Station House

34. Station Serves As Node • Roads, Trails, Pathways, Light Rail all connect at Station House • Recharging outlets for EVs • Is powered by its own autonomous RE-power system • Heated by Passive Solar and either Geothermal or BioFuel

35. Other Transportation Options • Bio-diesel taxis and vans • Bike and walking paths • Electric vehicles • Buses for regional travel • Car-pooling/ride-sharing • (Average of 1.2 riders per car in USA versus average of 5-6 riders per car in post-oil Cuba) • Shared car ownership co-ops • Internet as transportation resource • Can facilitate scheduling/coordination • Could eliminate need for many vehicle trips

36. Electric Cars These EV Cars can cruise at 50-65 mph!

37. Velomobiles Velomobiles can cruise over 20-30 mph!

38. E-Bikes E-Bikes can cruise at 12-20 mph!

39. Eco - Tourism Electric Pontoon Boat - Sunroof is a solar panel

40. Sawyer County could be an Eco-Tourism destination • Light rail or EV/Hybrid Buses pick up visitors at designated stops throughout the greater region. • Once visitors are in the county they use the integrated transit system to get around. • E-Boats/Sailboating • E-Bikes/EV-ATVs • Farmers Markets/Fairs/Chattaquas

41. Eco Industrial Park • Revolving Micro-Loan Funding • Procurement preference with Local Businesses • Energy self-sufficiency achieved by using renewable energy • Coordinate with regional sustainability initiatives

42. Local Fuel Production • Wood Pyrolysis - Bio-Liqueur/BioDiesel • Methane from treatment plants/landfills/farms • Hydrogen from PV/Wind electrolysis • BioDiesel Processors • Wood Gas (Producer Gas)

43. Farming and Permaculture • Greenhouses • Organic beef and dairy farms • Permaculture fruit/nuts production • Organic vegetable growers • Sheep/Llama/fiber producers

44. How does CSA work? A farmer or grower, often with the assistance of a core group, draws up a budget reflecting the production costs for the year. This includes all salaries, distribution costs, investments for seeds and tools, land payments, machinery maintenance, etc. The budget is then divided by the number of people for which the farm will provide and this determines the cost of each share of the harvest. One share is usually designed to provide the weekly vegetable needs for a family of four. As energy and food costs increase, local food production becomes more essential. The CSA approach can be used both for subsistence needs as well as for one’s livelihood. CSA - Community Supported Agriculture

45. ‘Natural’ Building Construction

46. Here’s what a Sustainable Neighborhood could look like

47. Recycling Industry • Salvage Collectors/Dealers • De-Construction Contractors • BioDiesel Processors • Organic Farmers

48. Eco - Schools LCOOCC’s RESDI facility

49. Electronic Cottage Industries • UPS truck or equivalent for deliveries and shipment • Computer desk/worker • Musicians • Media Producers • Writers • Teachers • Sales and Marketing

50. Where Do We Go From Here? • Options • How we can start to move towards a Sustainable Future ? • Choices