[Graeme]

The village that could save the planet$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')ut it's the human capital our convoy carries, not cocaine, that has brought out the big guns today: two men whom an Army general sitting near me describes as holding the future of Colombia - if not the world - in their hands. And our destination is not a Venezuelan drug drop, but the site of an economic miracle in the making called Gaviotas II.

The first Gaviotas, located 250 miles to the west, is the creation of the more senior of the two dignitaries at the center of our convoy. Paolo Lugari, 63, is a self-taught inventor who has become a folk hero in South America for founding a model community of sustainable development in the parched Colombian lowlands.

Their shared vision begins with Gaviotas, the ecovillage Lugari launched in 1971. It's one of the most improbable field experiments in the annals of science and engineering: a freewheeling center of innovation devoted to building a sustainable society in one of the globe's least hospitable climates.

Built from scratch in a treeless corner of the country, this community of scientists, tinkerers, and refugees - now numbering more than 200 - has created a verdant rainforest where once there was nothing but scrub grass. It has also devised and deployed dozens of inventions with a frequency and success rate that puts some of America's most storied technology companies to shame.

Its products include a hydroelectric microturbine that generates 30 kilowatts and thousands of RPMs from a mere 1-meter drop in a low-fall dam; a system of solar panels, spherical boilers, and tanks that can provide hot water for housing projects as large as 30,000 units; and a remote-controlled zeppelin that uses videocameras to spot forest fires.

If the enterprise succeeds (and Pauli has already lined up funding pledges worth hundreds of millions of dollars from investors such as JPMorgan (Charts, Fortune 500)), this area could become one of the largest biodiverse reforestation projects on earth. At the same time, it would put a measurable dent in global climate change: Gaviotas II's carbon sequestration would offset the equivalent of the CO2 emissions from all of Japan.

Pauli's deeper purpose is to create a living laboratory to show other developing countries how to do the same - how to end their dependence on oil imports and grow their economies by becoming exporters of biodiesel. "This is a high-risk, high-reward project," Pauli says. "You need an example of how you can make it work before big investors come in with a lot of money. That example is Gaviotas."

[Jack]

If the enterprise succeeds (and Pauli has already lined up funding pledges worth hundreds of millions of dollars from investors such as JPMorgan

Wonder how that will scale?

[Ludi]

Really excellent point, Jack. There need to be examples people can follow which don't require millions of dollars.

[OilIsMastery]

All made possible by petroleum

How much pertroleum was used to make the solar panels?

[FireJack]

I think that kind of lifeboat idea has the best chance. I remember seeing on discovery a bit on a large cement housing project, it was basically a small carless community. As long as you can grow enough food and get enough water it would be a decent place to live assuming it doesn't become a target of some local warlord or whatever form of totarialism will replace the current government in the post collapse world.

[jeffvail]

In a rare moment of "anti-doomerism," I have to back Graeme's post about Gaviotas. I read the original book "Gaviotas" probably 10 years ago, and I think that it is a great example of a viable path forward in a post-peak world. I agree with the criticism that trying to scale it with hundreds of millions in investments isn't likely to succeed--but the very promise of Gaviotas is that it was built originally without such investment, as a viable example of alternative/renewable energy on a small/local scale demonstrating the potential for innovation and community success. What is needed, in my opinion, is not scaling Gaviotas, but repeating it, at least in spirit, in locally appropriate fashion. If a "save-the-planet from global warming/peak oil" scheme requires mass centralized investment, I'm doubtful of its prospects, but if it relies on repeating small, localized initiatives that don't require profit generation or centralized organization (as in the original Gaviotas), then I'm hopeful.

I highly recommend the book "Gaviotas" chornicaling the development of the original project. I isn't Peak-Oil focused, and would need to be modified some as a model for post-peak localization, but it is an inspirational and enjoyable read.

Just my two cents...

[Jack]

I read the original book "Gaviotas" probably 10 years ago, and I think that it is a great example of a viable path forward in a post-peak world.

Ten years....and how much progress has the world made along that path?

How long do we have before the gathering storm breaks? At this rate, it had best be a millennium or two.

[jeffvail]

"how much progress has the world made along that path?"

Negative progress. I think that Gaviotas is an inspirational idea, and I am quite confident that there is a way to effectively relocalize/powerdown to mitigate the impact of peak oil on humanity. One of the few things that I am even more confident of is that there isn't a chance in hell that we'll actually follow such a path!

[JPL]

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Its products include a hydroelectric microturbine that generates 30 kilowatts and thousands of RPMs from a mere 1-meter drop in a low-fall dam

[strider3700]

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Its products include a hydroelectric microturbine that generates 30 kilowatts and thousands of RPMs from a mere 1-meter drop in a low-fall dam