Community Initiatives/Nevada City

Alliance for a Post-Petroleum Local Economy (APPLE)
Adapted from Website

Alliance for a Post-Petroleum Local Economy is working to reduce dependency on fossil fuels, and to promote a more self-reliant local economy. Like so many of the communities involved in localization, APPLE is a grassroots effort developed by citizens concerned with repercussions from what David Korten refers to as the “perfect economic storm”--declining oil and natural gas, global climate change, and the vulnerability of the US dollar.

APPLE provides a local forum where citizens can gather to develop practical solutions to the challenges ahead. Their vision is “a more self-reliant, sustainable local economy which is localized — the opposite of globalized: we produce locally what we consume locally.”

Beginning steps for APPLE include: inventory of local resources for energy, transportation, food and water, preparedness, and the economy; envisioning alternatives in electrical power sources, locally-grown foods, and transportation; and building alliances with local organizations, government, and businesses.

As part of their outreach strategy APPLE hosted several public events including a Town Hall Conference in May 2006 focusing on Global Climate Change. They have also prepared introductory pamphlets on such topics as: energy, peak oil resources, local food, food security, pubic transportation, and passenger vehicles.

Nevada City is also the home of Yuba Gals, an independent film group producing Peak Moment: Community Responses to a Changing Energy Future. This 30-minute weekly show features energy news along with guest interviews on various topics such as: local food production, renewable energy, transportation alternatives, sustainability, economic localization, personal responses, and other topics. Peak Moment asks the question, “How can we thrive, build stronger communities, and help one another in this time of transition?” Yuba Gals also produce special feature programming.