The Atkinson Diet

Citizens in Fort Atkinson address global warming with "The Atkinson Diet"- a plan to put their city on a "low-carbon" diet to reduce energy usage. Using wide community outreach, a creative website, and active conversations, we seek to raise awareness about energy issues and thus foster change.

When global warming hit the radar of our 7 year old citizen advocacy group, Heart of the City (HOC), we felt it to be the key issue of our time- that life as we know it hung in the balance- and that we could and should effect change locally. An HOC member serving on the city council brought a climate change resolution before it, and other members were appointed to a committee to study how the city could address climate change. Council and committee work are slow going, and do not engage many citizens. HOC wanted a means to inspire citizens to address global warming/energy issues on their own, and thought this could be achieved by creating an accessible forum- a website- that was educational, fun, dynamic and a "virtual" space for on-going public engagement. We borrowed the idea of a "low-carbon" diet to reduce energy usage and in March 2007 launched a website called the Atkinson Diet to play upon low-carb and the Atkins diet, our town being Fort Atkinson. We invited council members, business people, school officials, Chamber of Commerce officers, pastors, and all other citizens to join us on this energy-reducing diet. We view the Diet as a tool for starting a conversation that will lead to a unique and genuine local effort to confront the issue of global warming and energy conservation, with the goal of engaging all sectors in seeking solutions to the problems these issues present.

Ours is a small town (12000) with a strong sense of community. Within it there are smaller groups that form according to interests and beliefs (e.g. Rotary, soccer parents, Latinos, church congregations). HOC is a group that formed with a mission to advocate for sustainable change and promote the public good by working with government and other citizens in visioning and planning. With the Diet HOC hopes to engage diverse groups and ignite a community-wide conversation about the threat of climate change. From that conversation citizens will create their own solutions. We want partners in making the Diet all it can be, favoring personal outreach in informal settings (at work, in cafes, at public events). We use the paper (press releases and letters to the editor), radio, and cable access to cast a broader net. We network with city officials and staff, civic groups, the Chamber, and individuals to signal that we'd like them to add their stamp to the Diet and truly make it a tool for change. We've come to realize that despite many opportunities for partnering, we haven't the human or financial resources to move to the next level. A grant could help us improve our website, organize volunteers, raise our profile and credibility, fund a visible cost and energy-saving initiative, create a model to export the Diet to other towns, and spark the climate change conversation in English, in Spanish, with kids, the elderly, businesses and workers in a way that we cannot do now.

HOC works to strengthen our city's proven capacity to work through divisive issues. Citizen visioning kept out a big-box retailer in favor of preserving green spaces and supporting locally owned businesses. A wake-up call to citizen activism led our members to win council seats, serve on city and civic committees, and network with other groups. We deem it important to: support local businesses, champion green and community-building practices, volunteer on city projects, push for and give citizen input on planning issues, and study sustainability. We want people to realize that they can make a difference and solve problems- even global ones. Our goal with the Diet is to start a conversation about the importance of finding ways to reduce energy usage. We've learned from the 100 people who have already signed up that once people start talking they have their own ideas, and each idea inspires another. We've also begun conversations with nearby towns and regional organizations, sharing ideas and resources. We view the diet and website as ideal soil for growing a local movement about energy responsibility, but it is just a part of an ongoing initiative to involve citizens in decisions which affect them, and in supporting and challenging government so that it can better do its work. As we have resources to improve the website and strategically partner with more groups, citywide and regionally, we'll be able to expand the forum, on-line and in person, and affect greater change.

Kitty Welch: co-owner of the Cafe Carpe, a downtown meeting place for 22 years and a nexus for information exchange, she has a partner, 2 children, and an unshakable sense that people can do better by each other and the planet. Cynthia Holt: new to Fort, single, with a background in social marketing/non-profit, and a solid sense of the potential of everyone and everything, she makes things happen. Beth Gehred: non-traditional student and mother of 4, a fire soul for sustainability who networks with the philosophy of "both lender and borrower be", she is a co-founder of HOC with Kitty, her passion at the core of its success. Steve Tesmer: 3-year resident, councilman, runs a website service, co-secretary of HOC, unglitches our site. Jeremy Pinc: artist, iconoclast, has sworn off motorized vehicles for a year- provides artwork. This team leads the effort supported by the passion, ideas, and connections of all HOC members. We can do this because we believe in it! Through HOC, Kitty's cafe, in our jobs and volunteer work, we talk to people! Teachers, Rotarians, hospital workers, bike clubs, Spanish class, are inspired to make a difference in their spheres. A grant would help this conversation to permeate all corners, and to execute ideas that spring from it. Maybe we could help the city to buy LED traffic light bulbs, hire an energy consultant, work to reduce waste at all local events, promote biking, start a program to help people pay for improved home energy efficiency...