BerkShares Local Currency on BBC provided by the E.F. Schumacher Society and the BBC; BerkShares local currency supports the community, economy, ecology, and sustainability of the southern Berkshire region of Massachusetts. Launched by the E. F. Schumacher Society, BerkShares create consumer awareness about the consequences of spending practices, supports local businesses, facilitates the development of import replacing industries, and serves as a model for other regions.
Coming Home: E.F. Schumacher and the Reinvention of the Local Economy” provided by Chris Bedford Films and the Schumacher Society; Sincere appreciation goes to Chris Bedford who made this film as a labor of love, telling the story of rebuilding a local economy using strategies from community land trusts to the nation’s most successful local currency – Berkshares. Copies of the film can be obtained at www.localharvest.org.
The Organic Opportunity provided by Chris Bedford Films; Chris Bedford tells the story of Woodbury County, Iowa, first in the US to promote local organic agriculture as economic development by offering tax rebates to farmers transitioning to organic agriculture, mandating purchase of locally grown organic food by county institutions and offering no-cost loans and free building lots to farmers relocating to the county to farm organically. Copies of the film can be obtained at www.localharvest.org.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS – With the collapse of global financial norms, these videos demonstrate the creative ways in which communities are facing the challenges of producing and consuming sustainably.
Navajo Green provided by LivingOnEarth; shows effort and enthusiasm to bring green jobs to Navajo communities by adopting green job legislation, complimenting a way of life valued by many indigenous peoples.
Ellen Brown – Financial meltdown: Why it happened, How it can be reversed provided by Democracy for America; Ellen Brown, author of Web of Debt, explains the roots of the current economic crisis and a way out. Brown’s articles are regularly posted at www.ethicalmarkets.com. Her presentation begins about 11 1/2 minutes into the video. Worth the wait!
Move Your Money provided by MoveYourMoney.info; introduces the compelling movement to move individual bank accounts from the “too big to fail” institutions into community banks and credit unions
The Economics of Happiness — provided by The Dylan Ratigan Show; Helena Norberg-Hodge of the International Society for Ecology & Culture (ISEC) promotes her film which offers simple policy steps to reduce unemployment and pollution if we can get beyond the economic myths which have us rushing in the wrong direction.
Bank of North Dakota – provided by Prairie Public Television and the Public Banking Institute; During the early 1900s, North Dakota was dependent on agriculture. To diversify the economy, North Dakota created the state-owned Bank of North Dakota, largely credited for making North Dakota the only state with a large budget surplus. This film discusses the bank’s history and plans for the future.