Biofuels Community Conference & Car Show

Biofuels-enthusiasts from all over will join community members, students, performers, cooperatives, consumers, farmers, advocacy groups and small businesses at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC), May 21-22, 2005 for the Biofuels Community Conference and Car Show. The two day event features small group discussions, workshops, sustainability circus performances, music, local and organic meals, and a car show including everything from diesel schools buses fueled on vegetable oil to 2-stroke gasoline chainsaws fueled on alcohol.

The event is hosted by Homes On Wheels, http://www.biofuel.coop, students from the UCSC Education for Sustainable Living Program, and the Reserach Foundation for Community, Ecology and Local Self-Reliance.

The conference will be run using Open Space Technology, a facilitation method that enables self-organizing groups of all sizes to deal with complex issues in a short period of time. The conference framework enables participants to create their own program of workshops, presentations and discussion groups around the central theme: The Future of Biofuels.

The Conference is at UCSC Kresge College from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Saturday and 8:00 am – 12:00 pm Sunday. Participants will identify issues which are important, and develop action steps for addressing them.

The Car Show will convene from 12:00 pm – 3:30 pm at the UCSC North Remote Parking Lot. Participants are invited to attend workshops, and vote in the Car Show Awards based on the vehicles and persons in attendance. Awards will be presented with a Ceremony to begin the Sustainability Circus in the Park, 3:30 pm – Sunset, featuring a circus arts, a bicycle parade, barbeque, music, and an all-ages vaudeville puppet show performance by the Big Tadoo Puppet Crew at the UCSC Camper Park.

Waste will be eliminated through conscious cooperation between participants and the many hosting organizations. Reusable dishware is available from the Merrill Pottery Coop, recyclables and organic matter are collected by the Student Environmental Center's Waste Prevention team and composted at the on-campus Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, and food is sourced from local farmers, thus decreasing waste in transportation. Additionally, participants are encouraged to locally source their fuels by pre-registering for the community biofuels rideshare board and guest housing options, and through choosing to bike, walk or bus.

Everyone is invited to attend. More information and pre-registration instructions are available at http://www.biofuel.coop. Voluntary donations are appreciated. Suggested donation is $40 per day, however, no one will be turned away for lack of funds.