Gobs of government money will not change the fact that the old economy is dead.  We are entering a new economic paradigm, one that has been brewing under the surface for some time and is now emerging from the ashes of global corporatism.  It’s called the “local living economy,” and it’s all about returning value back to the people.  The false prosperity of globalism actually extracted value from our communities, laying waste to our once vibrant downtowns. The new economy of localism, instead, builds value for the people and places within a community.  It's a call to support locally owned businesses that don't outsource, don't pack up their businesses and leave on a moment's notice, and who recycle their customers' dollars back into the community.  The stimulus for this new paradigm, then, lies not in the hand of government bailouts and subsidies, but lies in our own hands.  We can be the agents of change, by simply redirecting the dollars we spend towards local investments.

Fortunately, we live in a region of strong local assets, and the opportunity to strengthen our neighbors is all around us.  One such investor of change is Chef Larry Schepici of the Tosca Grille in Troy.  With the selfish interest of wanting to provide his restaurant patrons with the freshest, most nutritious food possible, he discovered a couple of farmers in his backyard of Brunswick that could deliver that and more.  Chef Larry’s investment in these local farmers has allowed them to grow and prosper, and is a testimony of what one person can do to affect positive change.  Larry Schepici is the definition of my term “eco-localizer,” and we are proud to feature him as our cover story.

We have in our midst, other champions of localism, and one need not go far to find them. Despite the presence of super-sized grocery chains, there are a handful of small independent grocers who are thriving by providing healthy food options with an emphasis on local sourcing.  Personal service and relationship are the hallmarks of these ma and pa operations.  If you want to know where your food comes from, then you are in the right place.  These grocers know their suppliers on a first name basis; many of their products come from within a 100 mile radius. Your investment in them is also an investment in the farms in our region.  Everybody wins.

In the old economy, for every winner there were a multitude of losers.  In this new local living economy that you are participating in by reading this magazine, there are no losers. When we consciously decide to invest in each other, we are all winners.  We are local. We are the economy.  We are eco-Local!

IN THIS ISSUE

Summer eco-Localizer: Chef Larry Shepici of Tosca Grill

SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY- -Seeing the Forest FOR the Trees

WAKING UP the Sleeping Cities

TRASH TO TREASURE

BUYING LOCAL

Solar Power: The Local Energy Supply

Eco-Friendly Walls: available locally