My first Meetup gathering

Tonight I met with the Atlanta Oil Awareness Meetup group that I first blogged about here. It was satisfying on several levels and I had a lot of fun. I got there late because I mapquested the wrong address and slavishly followed it even though it really didn't look like we were heading into Buckhead. (Picture railroad tracks and strip malls.)

Once I got there I found our group had introduced itself and were engrossed in conversation. They graciously allowed me to join in and present my agenda. We further broke the ice by answering a series of questions--"what is your interest in oil awareness?" "how did you find out about this topic?" and "what does your background bring to the table?" Our group included a city planner, a cohousing member, a systems analyst, an architect whose firm specialized in sustainability, a copier repair person, a craftsperson and me (communication and education.)

I asked people to fill out a questionnaire about their interests and people resonated with discussing Peak Oil, discussing sustainability, discussing survival plans, and planning The End of Suburbia showings.

We decided to set up an email list so that we can pass on resources to each other easily.

I reported on the activities of the San Francisco Oil Awareness Meetup Group. They have done something really cool: they published a peak oil information poster, which I will post about when I get a copy of it (soon).

One of our members is going to the Second U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community next weekend, so we are looking forward to hearing her report on it.

We brainstormed on how to set up showings of the The End of Suburbia with help from the Post Carbon Institute's Guidebook.

We decided that the next book we will read is Richard Heinberg's Powerdown, as we are freaked out enough and would like to focus on solutions.

We heard a funny story in which one person had confused the end of the movie "Suburbia" with the movie "The End of Suburbia." He could not figure out why people were so fired up about it.

One of our members has schedules a showing of The End of Suburbia Friday, September 23rd and 7:00 and 9:00 PM at Jake's Ice Cream at 970 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta. Pass it on!