Appalachian Institute for Renewable Energy

September 2006 at Highlander Research and Education Center

farmers1eliz-ton1
"...at the present there is nothing, literally nothing, that is held sacred by the proponents of so-called development."
Wendell Berry in The Way of Ignorance (2005)

Why are we loosing "main street" businesses? Why are manufacturing jobs being replaced by low wage "service economy" jobs? With rising energy costs, the ongoing destruction of Mountain Top Removal (MTR) mining, and the onset of peak oil, how should we be envisioning livelihoods, energy security, and community? This Appalachian regional roundtable will be one of a series nationwide seeking to envision the just and sustainable alternative, and to chart some concrete steps toward it.