What a Bummer

So, after a number of years away from the activist gig, an issue arised that made me want to get back into it. That issue is peak oil. While it's not something you can really stop from happening, it's something that I would really like to raise awareness about and try to form a group of people to figure out startegies on how to adapt to this new world that we face. To digress for a moment, people are so clueless on energy, it just blows my mind. For example, a loved one the other day remarked that a suggestion from someone to save gas was if you are driving up a hill, shut off your engine on the way down. I don't know how much sense that makes, but this loved one then said, "how about lowering the price of gas?" Sighs. Another loved one saw a neighbor carpooling with others, and said that that might have made sense when gas was 4+ dollars a gallon, but now that it's a little lower, what's the point? Double sigh. Anyone who realizes that the era of cheap energy is over, can understand my frustration, and a key reason for me starting a group is to make people realize this.

Anyway, as I'm about to have a little more time on my hands, I figured that I would start a Meetup group (Tentative title: Peak Oil Society of Long Island) as sort of a test balloon. I wasn't going to have Meetups every month, just one or so to gauge interest within the local community, and then I would have started a more formal organization (which I still might do, BTW, this by no means cancels that). I was a Meetup organizer 5 years ago, when I headed the local leg of a presidential campaign, and enjoyed it. But that was when it was free of charge. To my surprise, when I began to enter information on this Meetup group, I saw that a Meetup organizer is charged up to $20 a month. It could be as little as $12, but I would have to commit for 6 months. Egads! I'm not planning to make money off this, but want to try not to lose too much either. I realize there are many other ways to start a group on the Internet, but the thing is, ensuring that its exposure to others is as good (or nearly) as Meetup's. Long shot, but any suggestions?