BRATTLEBORO — Everyone's Books on Elliot Street will sponsor a book publication party for Tim Stevenson's Resilience and Resistance: Building Sustainable Communities for a Post Oil Age on Friday, Nov. 6, from 4:30 t0 6 p.m.
Published by Brattleboro-based Green Writers Press, the book is based on Stevenson's experiences with Post Oil Solutions, the 10-year-old nonprofit organization he helped found. It is a collection of original and previously-published essays that center around the author's perspective on what communities need to do to both survive the climate crisis and thrive in what he calls a post-petroleum world.
The collection emphasizes the importance of “re-localization,” where communities increasingly learn to be self-sufficient around their basic needs. Central to this idea is the conviction that social justice must be at the heart of all efforts. This is emphasized in the essays that focus on food security and especially detail the initiatives that Post Oil has taken to make local food both accessible and affordable for all.
In other essays, Stevenson argues for the importance of preparedness. For example, he calls for, “intentional communities,” where people purposely come together now, while there is still time, to prepare for severe weather events, share work and materials, and develop strategies where they can learn to be collaborative.
The book also calls for town selectboards to organize Citizen Climate Committees that would help their citizens become better prepared for the possible multiple effects of the growing crisis. Most of all, perhaps, the writing encourages people to talk about climate change with their families, neighbors, work mates, and fellow students, as if it were a part of their daily reality.
Stevenson has done community organizing much of his adult life around such issues as welfare rights, peace and war, box stores, and nuclear power plants. He lives with his wife, Sherry, in Athens.
He will also be giving a book talk on Nov. 13, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., at Village Square Booksellers in Bellows Falls.