Mid-Valley Voice

What: Lecture, Beyond Environmentalism: The Case for a New Politics with Michael Shellenberger, Time Magazine “Hero of the Environment”
When: 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 4
LaSells Engineering Auditorium, Oregon State University
Michael Shellenberger will give the fourth lecture in this year’s “Food for Thought” Lecture series at OSU.
In his lecture “Beyond Environmentalism: The Case for a New Politics”, Shellenberger will explore how political agendas regarding environmental problems like climate change often create their own obstacles to finding the solutions they seek, and discuss the need to shift political focus from issues and interests to core needs and values.

Arizona Mountain Man by Donald Crowley

Just in case you’re ready to start holing up in the mountains with jars of canned food and a bearskin rug (which actually sounds kind of cozy) in the face of economic turmoil, The Oregon Coast Community College and OSU Extension is hosting a self-reliance seminar on Wednesday.

Here is a bit of what it will cover:

• Energy
• Growing local foods and the local economy
• Eco-density, building for preservation and quality of life
• Presentation by The Villages at Cascade Head, a Platinum LEED resort community
• Living off the grid
• Biofuels
• Wind power, solar panels, wave energy
• Tax credits for green residences and businesses discussed by a staffer from the state Department of Energy

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, March 25
Where: Chinook Winds Hotel, Lincoln City
Cost: $20 per person, includes lunch

Pre-registration is required, so hurry up and print the form. It’ll have to be in the mail today. Click for details.

Only thing I’d add is that you’d have to be pretty self-reliant already to make an all-day seminar on a Wednesday. Here’s to hoping for a weekend reprise.