Ecomunicipality.com

Living in this part of Wisconsin, it is evident how far we have strayed from a sustainable way of life. There are cars, trucks, planes, buses--all run on fossil fuels--along with the whole agricultural economy, not to mention the recreational world of snowmobiles and ATVs.  Garbage trucks come home full every day.  We get our power from coal plants and here and there are ethanol production sites, belching steam and ruining watersheds.

Yet, only decades ago, this area was a rich, self-sustaining, locally oriented economy which produced its own food, products and energy. The know-how was among the people, from medicine to mushrooms, tinctures to trains, cabinetry to composting. They didn't need a lot of government, or corporations, or extensive educational facilities. 

They had in-tact, integral communities. They fed themselves, cared for their own, and lived good lives close to the land, values and people they loved.