Jeff Birkby (jbirkby)

I’ve been lucky to have spent most of the past three decades working on renewable energy, sustainable community, and sustainable agriculture issues. 

During the 1980s I worked on renewable energy issues for the Montana Department of Natural Resources energy division.  I hosted a passel of workshops and wrote many publications on Montana solar energy, energy efficiency, and geothermal energy issues (and this was during the cheap oil years). 

I especially enjoyed assisting hot springs owners in Montana on geothermal energy heating issues, as well as learning of the old legends and social history of Montana’s hot springs.  I still do consulting for Montana state agencies on geothermal energy development, and give the occasional lecture around Montana on the history of old hot springs resorts in the west.

Still hunting down hot springs                    
in 2008.                                                  

The Clinton/Gore years from 1992 to 2000 were exciting times at NCAT for the emerging science of sustainable development.  I spent a summer in the early 1990s at the University of Oslo in Norway, rubbing shoulders with Arne Naess of the Deep Ecology movement, as well as a dozens of other professionals from around the world working on  sustainable community projects.  

In 1996 I began working with a talented team to create a new website for the US Department of Energy that focused on what communities in the US were doing to become more livable, more walkable, and more sustainable.  (Several current biomimicry team members also worked on that project, including Chris Allen, John Webb, and Megan Schuknecht—definitely one of the highlights of my career!)

I managed community sustainability projects for about ten years, and it allowed me to get involved with several national and international sustainable venues, including several consulting and speaking engagements in Brazil. NCAT still hosts the website for the project, now renamed the “Smart Communities Network.” www.smartcommunities.ncat.org. The website contains thousands of links and success stories on community sustainability topics, including land use planning, community-based strategies to reduce global warming, eco-industrial parks, sustainability indicator development, transportation options, and community energy conservation and community-based renewable energy production.  

For the past few years I’ve shifted much of my focus to sustainable agriculture projects. I manage media campaigns and other outreach  for USDA’s National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (also called ATTRA www.attra.org).  I also work closely with technical staff with backgrounds in farm energy, organic livestock, agronomy, horticulture, and local foods systems.

Missoula Farmers Market--2008

Along the way I’ve attended many workshops and meetings on renewable energy, biomimicry, community-based social marketing, green buildings, natural capitalism, and livable communities. I've written many government and foundation proposals, managed dozens of federal, state, and regional projects, and try always to combine work with adventures, travels, and friendships.

I look forward to networking with others in the AskNature community.

Favorite quote:

 'I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.'
                                                                                            -E.B. White