Transition towns......in the US?! - by Robb

The transition town movement is a UK based intiative that aims to bring towns and cities into a sustainable and more self sufficient way of living. Utilizing careful planning, a locally specific energy descent plan, local food production, and an inclusive non political approach to organizing, this permaculture based movement is growing rapidly. From their website,

"A Transition Initiative is a community working together to look Peak Oil and Climate Change squarely in the eye and address this BIG question:

'for all those aspects of life that this community needs in order to sustain itself and thrive, how do we significantly increase resilience (to mitigate the effects of Peak Oil) and drastically reduce carbon emissions (to mitigate the effects of Climate Change)?'

The resulting coordinated range of projects across all these areas of life leads to a collectively designed energy descent pathway."

The list of towns involved include over 50 communities across England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, some large like Nottingham and Bristol, as well as small villages and towns like Ottery St. Mary and Mayfield. There are transition towns in Australia, New Zealand, and now even 2 in the US. Boulder Colorado and Sandpoint Idaho have become transition towns.

As more folks realize that gasoline isn't going to get significantly cheaper, water is going to get more precious, food is going to get more expensive, and the natural systems that support our excessive way of life are going to continue to collapse, cities and towns will need coherent plans to provide for their citizens and prevent chaos. The transition town movement is a functioning model of communities working together to deal with the twin threats of climate change and peak oil. It will provide those that pursue it a level of resiliency and flexibility in the face of hard times to come that those who pursue business as usual will not have.

Perhaps it is time to dredge up the old 60's chant "United we stand, divided we fall". Check it out, think about it, could your town become a transition town? The time is now to get started.