Meet us at RiverRun Bookstore at 6 p.m. to have light snacks with other Seacoast Local members and learn more about strong local economies. Then at 7 p.m., join us in discovering “Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth” with our special guest, economist and best-selling author Juliet Schor, who says she’s here “to plant a stake in the heart of the Business-As-Usual economy and its bankrupt politics.”

Schor's new book examines the ways millions of us are seduced into emulating lifestyles we can never afford and become participants in a national culture of upscale spending. The result? We're overworked, pressed for time, and still perpetually aspiring.

Juliet's message is both a groundbreaking intellectual statement and a road map that gets us on a path that reverses the rampant destruction of the planet and restores true well-being to people and communities.

Meet Juliet and other business owners whose values align with her message on Wednesday, Sept. 22 at RiverRun Bookstore, 20 Congress St., Portsmouth. For more information about Schor's book, call 603-431-2100. For more information about the event, contact Seacoast Local at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 603-766-1775.

What better way to celebrate the little gems of summer than meeting up at one of them!
Francesca from Geno's will host our next mixer on Aug. 18, co-hosted by members and neighbors Strawbery Banke Museum, Prescott Park Arts Festival, Sanders Lobster Company and Sanders Fish Market. Come join us for some dockside drinks, snacks and handshakes. Meet some of your fellow local business owners and get the chance to hear some of their stories. Please bring your business cards as there will be a raffle, and we invite you to bring a friend that may be a local business owner who wants to learn more about us and what we're up to on your behalf. This will be a fun chance to see a hidden part of "downtown" Portsmouth and see, personally, the wonderful people that make up our organization.

Previously: Fishtival draws 4,000 to learn about local fishing industry

NH has only 18 miles of coast, but 400 years offishing and lobstering heritage, which was celebrated by more than 4,000 people at the first-ever NH Fish and Lobster Festival in September 2009.

The region's first-ever all-local seafoodfestival was an exciting, unique collaboration among the fishing community, theCity of Portsmouth, local restaurants, food fans, and marineconservation groups to support our fishing industry in a time of crisis.

A brand-new tradition in Prescott Park, the interactive event featured delicious tastings of fresh localseafood prepared by talented chefs, tours of working fishing boats, games and crafts for kids, an Iron Chef-style "seafood throwdown,"activities for all ages, live music, and plenty of education and information aboutlocally landed fish and our marine resources.

Seacoast Local and others are leading this effort to connect consumers with local seafood, the local fishing fleet, and related businesses. Learn how you can support this important local industry at  www.nhseafood.com.

previously: Woody Tasch on his new book, "Slow Money," Aug. 11

 Woody Tasch, author of "Slow Money: Investing as If Food, Farms and Fertility Mattered" will be speaking in Portsmouth on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m., as part of our "Making the Connection" speaker series, co-produced with RiverRun Bookstore.

So says Woody Tasch, who works at the intersection of venture capital and slow money. He is chairman emeritus of Investors' Circle, a nonprofit network of angel investors, venture capitalists, foundations, and family offices that, since 1992, has facilitated the flow of $130 million to 200 early-stage companies and venture funds dedicated to sustainability. Now, he is president of the newly formed NGO Slow Money. As part of the larger Slow Movement sweeping the cultures of food, travel, cities, and schools,

Slow Money proponents seek investments and returns at the pace of sustainable business development. Click here for more information about his new book, "Slow Money," and plan to join us at RiverRun Bookstore, 20 Congress St., on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m.

previously: Workshop with June Holley on "Transforming Our Local Food Economy," Aug. 5

June Holley (founder of ACEnet, online at www.acenetworks.org) will help us identify profitable ventures to make our local food economy more robust.

Our local food system already has many great components, but we know there is room to grow broader and deeper. June will help us identify our resources, discover what the missing links might be, and how we can help our local food enterprises grow, and be more profitable, for all of us, from farmers to processors, markets, restaurants and distributors.

All food leaders and resource agencies are invited to participate in this business-to-business meeting Wednesday, Aug. 5 from 9am to 12:30 p.m.  Please feel free to forward this along to those you know who may be interested. Ask questions or register at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or  603-766-1775.

Seacoast Local has organized this interactive workshop to increase the percentage of local food in sold and eaten in NH and across New England, as part of our 10% Shift campaign to strengthen our local economy. Join us!

In her new book, Hamilton interviews a Texas dairyman, a New Mexico rancher and modern pioneer family in North Dakota who reject the passive role that modern agriculture has insisted they accept and instead reclaim their place as stewards of the land and leaders within society. They are the David to the Goliath of agribusiness corporations, a story many local business owners can relate to. They also connect us with our nation's strong food heritage.

Slow Food Seacoast is co-sponsoring this event, and we have all kinds of fun things planned for your evening out on the town. You won't want to miss the debut of Slow Food's new game "Who Wants to be a Locavore" 'cause there will be prizes galore and as always, refreshments of the local variety will be served. See you there!   

In “Bad Money,” Kevin Phillips points out that our current economic scenario is a result of a 25-year debt build-up, mostly undertaken by the financial sector, which reached 20 percent of U.S. GDP over the last five years. Manufacturing led financial services by 2:1 back in the 1970s, but it's now just 12 percent of GDP.

The paperback edition features a new preface and afterword, and Phillips’ explanation of why we’re now in a full-blown, never-before-in-our-lifetimes crisis is a must read now more than ever. Some of the new talking points include:

“Since the mid-1980s, finance and financial products have dominated the U.S. economy which has been gravely endangered by the irresponsible actions of 10-20 major firms identifiable by 1) the amount of “assets” they have written off 2) their earlier prominence in derivatives, securitization or mortgage gamesmanship 3) their pre-eminence in bail-out money taken from the Treasury and Federal Reserve. The negligent federal regulation that allowed this misconduct can be likened to that of the 1920s.”

Phillips, a former Republican and White House strategist, has been a well-regarded political and economic commentator for more than three decades. He has been a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times and National Public Radio and has written for Harper's and Time. His 13 books include the New York Times bestsellers "American Theocracy" and "American Dynasty."

Seacoast Repertory Theatre will co-host the event, as well as the pre-event reception for the Seacoast Local Business Exchange, a network led by local, independent business owners invested in our economy, community and environment.

Previously: Economic Expert Stacy Mitchell to Speak in South Berwick on October 22

Where's the best place to put your money today? In your neighborhood.

Economic researcher Stacy Mitchell, of Portland, will explain why at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, at South Berwick Town Hall.

RiverRun Bookstore thinks her message is so critical that the store is offering her book to Seacoast Local members at a special rate of $10 in advance of the reading. 

The book is subtitled "The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses," and Mitchell will talk about how the lessons learned in communities like ours around the country can help us build a stable economic future on the Seacoast. 

The event, which is free, will include a reception with free refreshments from local businesses, and organizers are giving away dozens of gift certificates to local businesses as door prizes, including a $100 gift certificate to Little Hat Company. Parents are invited to bring children to the craft room and face-painting room, which will be chaperone

The evening is hosted by Smart Growth South Berwick and co-sponsored by Seacoast Local and RiverRun Bookstore as part of the "Making the Connection" speaker series. The series aims to be a catalyst for continuing education, community connections, and sustainable change for Seacoast residents. Previous speakers in the series have included Alan Weisman, Bill McKibben and Gary Hirshberg.

"Big-Box Swindle," named one of the top 10 business books of the year by the American Library Association's Booklist, contends big-box store companies have contributed to everything from the shrinking middle class to soaring gasoline consumption and declining community involvement.

"This region is at a crossroads," Mitchell said. "Fortunately, there's still time to ensure that it doesn't end up like so many places across the country, where nearby big-box stores rob village downtowns of their economic vigor as well as the sense of community provided by locally owned businesses."

For more information, call 207-384-2082.

previously: John Abrams, owner of South Mountain Company and author of "Companies We Keep," Oct. 2

In 1975, John Abrams and his best friend Mitchell Posin ventured to Martha's Vineyard to build a house for John's parents. What began as a summertime detour and a passion for woodworking became permanent residency and business success. Since 1976, John has served as president of South Mountain Company, which today has 30 employees (over half of whom share ownership in the business), has designed and built more than 100 major renovation and new housing projects, and earns $6 million in annual revenues.

He'll share the secrets of a profitable and fair business at RiverRun Bookstore on Thursday, October 2 at 7 p.m. as part of the ongoing Seacoast Local and RiverRun Bookstore "Making the Connection" speaker series.

"Developing affordable housing in desirable locations such as Portsmouth can be a special challenge," says Dick Ingram, executive director of the Housing Partnership and a board member of Seacoast Local. "John Abrams and the South Mountain Company have successfully done it in another desirable location, Martha's Vineyard. His experience will make for an interesting conversation on October 2."

previously: Alan Weisman, author of "The World Without Us," Sept. 5, 2008

Alan Weisman, radio producer and author of the heavily praised "The World Without Us," a New York Times bestseller and Time Magazine's Nonfiction Book of the Year, explores the idea of how our planet would respond without all the stresses and impact from humans. Bill McKibben says it's "one of the grandest thought experiments of our time."

Weisman will discuss his imaginative tour of a post-human earth as part of Seacoast Local's "Making the Connection" speaker series on Friday, Sept. 5 at 7:30 p.m. at South Church, 292 State St., Portsmouth.

Seacoast Local and RiverRun Bookstore co-present "Making the Connection" as a catalyst for continuing education, community connections and sustainable change for Seacoast residents. The Green Sanctuary program at South Church will host the event, which includes a reception and book-signing.

Weisman's well-researched look at what life would be like if humans disappeared reveals the planet's tremendous capacity for self-healing and ultimately heightens awareness of our touch on the places we live.

While people are responsible for deforestation, climate change and pollution, we've also created art, architecture and radio waves. As Weisman shows which human devastations are indelible and which examples of our hightest art and culture would endure longest, his narrative ultimately drives toward a radical but persuasive solution that doesn't depend on our demise. The book has been simultaneously described as terrifying and illuminating (Barry Lopez, "Arctic Dreams"), and harrowing and oddly comforting (Louise Erdrich, "Love Medicine").

Alan Wiesman reports from around the world have appeared in Harper's, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Orion, Wilson Quarterly, Vanity Fair, Mother Jones, Discover, Audubon, and Conde Nast Traveler, and in many anthologies, including "Best American Science Writing 2006." "The World Without Us," a bestseller translated into 30 languages was named the Best Nonfiction Book of 2007 by both Time Magazine and Entertainment Weekly, the #1 Nonfiction Audiobook of 2007 by iTunes, a finalist for the National Book Critics Cirlce Award in Nonfiction, a nominee for the Orion Prize, and a Book Sense 2008 Honor Book. His previous books include "An Echo In My Blood," "Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World," and "La Frontera: The United States Border With Mexico." A senior producer for Homelands Productions, Weisman's documentaries have aired on National Public Radio, Public Radio International and American Public Media.

For more details on the event, call 603-431-2100. For more information on Seacoast Local, call 603-766-1775.  

previously: Bill McKibben: building thriving communities in an era of climate change, July 20, 2008

A pioneering writer and activist in the sustainability movement, author Bill McKibben will speak as part of Seacoast Local's "Making the Connection" speaker series on Sunday, July 20 at 4 p.m. at South Church in Portsmouth.

"I'm eager to talk about the ways that 'local' and 'global' connect—about the hopes for a thriving New England on a planet that also works," says McKibben about his upcoming talk.

Seacoast Local and RiverRun Bookstore co-present "Making the Connection" as a catalyst for continuing education, community connections and sustainable change. South Church's Minds Alive! and Green Sanctuary programs will co-host the event, with support from Rye Energy Committee. Slow Food Seacoast will offer a reception after McKibben's talk.

McKibben is the author of the first popularized book on global climate change, "The End of Nature" (1989), and his numerous essays, magazine articles and books explore the connections between people, place and planet. His topics range from global warming to local communities to genetic engineering to family. McKibben's latest book, "Deep Economy, the Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future," addresses what the author sees as the shortcomings of the growth economy and envisions a transition to a more local-scale enterprise.

"Deep Economy" makes the compelling case for moving beyond growth as the paramount economic ideal and pursuing prosperity in a more local direction, with regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, and even creating more of their own culture and entertainment.

"Our purchases need not be at odds with the things we truly value," McKibben writes, "and the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own."

McKibben has worked on large-scale activism as well. Beginning in the summer of 2006, he led the organization of the largest demonstration in U.S. history to demand government action on climate change, Step It Up. Today, he's at work on 350.org, which promotes participation in and documentation of the global climate movement. Evidence suggests that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause irreversible damage to the earth.

McKibben's reading on Sunday, July 20 at 4 p.m. takes place at South Church, 292 State St. in downtown Portsmouth. For more information on his research, visit www.billmckibben.com. For more details on the event, call 603-431-2100 or visit www.riverrunbookstore.com. For more information on Seacoast Local, including its "Buy Local" program, call 603-766-1775 or visit www.seacoastlocal.org. South Church is online at www.southchurch-uu.org. Slow Food Seacoast is at www.slowfoodseacoast.org , and the Rye Energy Committee can be reached via www.town.rye.nh.us.

Previously: The Business of Local Farms, May 8, 2008

How can New Hampshire boost the local agricultural economy and lower our carbon footprint? Dedicatingland for grazing taps into our state's heritage and is a natural fit for the future. John Carroll, author of "Pastures of Plenty: The Future of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Conservation in New England," comes to RiverRun Bookstore in Portsmouth on Thursday, May 8 at 7pm to talk about restoring our food independence while supporting local traditions.

"This is an important message for our community, especially in light of rising food prices," says Rich Wood, a board member of Seacoast Local, home to the Seacoast Buy Local program. "Food self-sufficiency represents security and independence. And we know that money spent locally stays in the community, so re-building local food capacity will make everyone's dollar stretch farther while enhancing our overall economic vitality."

Carroll explains why we should be thinking about raising our self-sufficiency. "In all of the preparations we must make in order to respond to the demands of greenhouse gas reduction—80 to 90 percent reduction in carbon dioxide by 2050 or sooner—and the end of the era of cheap oil, our greatest challenge will not be transportation nor home heating, but food and the threat to our food supply," he says.

Princeton petroleum geologist Kenneth Deffeyes, author of "Beyond Hubbert's Peak: The End of Oil," has said that agriculture is the first victim of peak oil. James Howard Kunstler, author of "The Long Emergency," has written that "Agriculture is going to come back to the center of the American way of life in a way that we couldn't imagine." Matthew Simmons, Houston oil analyst and investment banker, tells us that local agriculture will be of critical importance to our future.

Carroll offers a response for our locale, New England: grass-based agriculture. The how and why for a return to grazing; for a full range of dairy and meat product (not only cows, dairy and beef, but also sheep, pigs, goats and poultry); for integration with diversified horticulture for vegetables and fruit; and for integration with forestry, is spelled out in detail in the new University of New Hampshire book, "Pastures of Plenty: The Future of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Conservation in New England."

A sequel to his earlier work on sustainable agriculture at the local level, "The Wisdom of Small Farms and Local Food," Carroll's latest book takes a close look at the prospects for our own region. "Take advantage of your local circumstances," Carroll suggests, "and reconstruct your world around them."

John Carroll is professor of environmental conservation at the University of New Hampshire. He's published numerous books on issues of sustainability, including "Sustainability and Spirituality" and "The Greening of Faith," both with forewards written by Bill McKibben, who will be the next featured speaker in the "Making the Connection" series, on July 20.

Carroll will read at RiverRun Bookstore, located at 20 Congress Street in downtown Portsmouth. For more information on his research, visit http://www.unh.edu/natural-resources/fac-carroll.html. For more details on the event, contact the bookstore at 603-431-2100 or www.riverrunbookstore.com; or contact Seacoast Local at 603-766-1775 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

previously: Gary Hirshberg: making sustainable choices in a global world, March 20, 2008

Stonyfield Farm CEO and New Hampshire native Gary Hirshberg spoke to a crowd of about 60 people RiverRun Bookstore on Thursday, March 20 at 7pm about the impact sustainable practices have had on his balance sheet.

Hirshberg's latest book, "Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the Word" (Hyperion Books, 2008), outlines how consumers and businesses can be forces for positive and tangible change.

Active in the sustainable food movement since the early 1970s, Hirshberg, 53, has overseen the growth of Stonyfield Farm from its infancy as a seven-cow organic farming school in 1983 to its current $300 million annual sales as the world's largest organic yogurt company. This growth has been built with innovative marketing techniques that often combine the social, environmental, and financial missions of the company. One of the company's five missions is "to serve as a model that environmentally and socially responsible businesses can also be profitable."

In the early days of Stonyfield, he wore many hats - from yogurt-maker to bookkeeper. He served as director of the Rural Education Center, the small organic farming school from which Stonyfield was spawned. Before that, he was executive director of The New Alchemy Institute, an ecological institute devoted to organic agriculture, aquaculture and renewable energy systems. Hirshberg was also the Founding President of the Cape Cod Environmental Coalition which sued the US Air Force over a large radar facility that has recently returned to the news. And he was the Founding Chairman of the Cape and Islands Self-Reliance Corporation. Earlier in his career, he was a water-pumping windmill specialist, an author, an environmental education specialist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a manager of environmental tours to the People's Republic of China.

He serves on several corporate and non- profit boards including Honest Tea, Sambazon, Inc., Peak Organic Brewing and as the Chairman/Cofounder of O'Naturals, a chain of organic and natural fast food restaurants.  He co-chaired The Social Venture Network for 5 years and is the Founder of the Social Venture Institute, a "boot camp" for community-minded entrepreneurs. He also coaches three youth soccer teams and is president of the Express Soccer Club.

Hirshberg has won numerous awards for corporate and environmental leadership including: the 1999 Global Green USA's Green Cross Millennium Award (inspired by Mikhail S. Gorbachev) for Corporate Environmental Leadership. He was named "Business Leader of the Year" by Business NH Magazine and "New Hampshire's 1998 Small Business Person of the Year" by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

previously: Stacy Mitchell and Big-Box Swindle, Nov. 1, 2007

On November 1, noted national speaker and author Stacy Mitchell spoke to a crowd of more than 50 business owners and local residents at The Portsmouth Brewery in downtown Portsmouth.  Her book Big Box Swindle is an in depth look at the effect of large chain retailers on communities across the country, and a call to arms to citizens wishing to protect the vibrant, individual characteristics of their cities and towns. 

Mitchell's speech began with a synopsis of the current market saturation of Wal-Mart in areas as diverse as toys, jewelry, music and groceries (Wal-Mart is the nation's largest grocer).

Mitchell produced a seemingly endless flow of statistics concerning the ways in which consumer shopping habits have changed in the last ten years and the effect these decisions have had on average wages, urban blight, environmental health and other issues.

"It was great to see the audience really get jazzed up," said Tom Holbrook, president of Seacoast Local's board of directors. "A lot of the folks who attended were already members of the Buy Local program and thought they had a good sense of this issue, but Big Box Swindle is really like Fast Food Nation in that it continually surprises you with how methodical, damaging and insidious these chain retailers are.  The best news is there are now studies that give hard data to these assertions that we've been making all along about the benefits of buying locally, and Mitchell knows these facts and uses them well."

Mitchell is a senior researcher at the New Rules Project, a program of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and she has served as an advisor to numerous small business groups, elected officials, and community organizations. Mitchell balanced her talk by sharing some of the success stories she has encountered in her travels around the United States, and encouraged attendees by insisting that each community could and should stand up for its own economic and cultural well-being. At the conclusion of her presentation Mitchell spent a long time taking questions and then spent time talking individually with audience members.

"We really appreciated her willingness to engage one-on-one with local business people," said Karen Marzloff, Seacoast Local coordinator and board member.

Seacoast Local is especially grateful to Peter Egleston and The Portsmouth Brewery staff for hosting the event.

More information about Stacy Mitchell and the Institute for Self-Reliance can be found at the following sites:

www.bigboxswindle.com

www.newrules.org

www.ilsr.org

www.bigboxtoolkit.com