Thanks to Rashmi Sinha’s blog I just found out about Thirst, a masterpiece of information presentation. Thirst, created by Jeff Brenman, won the World’s Best Presentation Contest. The relevance to Fairfield is somewhat oblique, but very important. I have never experienced a sense of scarcity with water here. When I first moved here (having lived in the 3rd world most of my life) it was quite impressive that there was no thought of water conservation. In the early 90’s when I went out to LA for the first time I learned about rationing, but it was very localized, and that sensibility has faded away (in spite of a much more looming water shortage out west).

Interestingly (and very satisfyingly), everywhere I go in Fairfield I see increase in self-sufficiency – there are more front-of-the-house vegetable gardens, more people with self-made rainwater collection systems, and more people thinking about sustainability in a self-preserving way (which is a Good Thing). This may have always been the case, but it’s much more poignant now.

Anyway, what has this got to do with Jeff Brenman’s Thirst presentation? The missing ingredient in the presentation is the solution. The fear has been set up well. But what can the average citizen do? Low-cost, community-manageable and scalable solutions are what are necessary, and I see communities like Fairfield, and people like the rainwater collectors here as the missing slides.

In spite of all the problems out there, it’s the village which figures out how to be self-reliant which offers the promise to everyone else!