Sustainable Living: Transition 101- post #1

As I posted yesterday, we are very likely now in a world where oil production has peaked and I've posted repeatedly we are without a doubt experiencing the early stages of climate change.

Even if oil hasn't quite peaked yet and certainly if it has, we need to reduce our dependency on resources that we can't control access to, are bound to get more scarce, and more expensive from both a financial and environmental perspective. There are many reasons to do so, chief among them is our own personal and community resilience and the gorilla in the room, Climate Change. Just about anything you do in the modern western way of life is contributing to climate change and is dependent upon fossil fuels. It doesn't take a genius to see the risk to our well being of continuing down the path we are on. Business as usual will not do!

But weaning ourselves and community off of fossil fuel dependence is not an easy thing to imagine. Fortunately there are those who have already done it or are in process. On a large scale, Cuba had to deal with a rapid reduction of oil supply when the Soviet Union collapsed. On a smaller scale, towns like Totnes in England have become Transition Towns.
See a more complete list below of the 152 transition towns worldwide.

Transition is a growing movement designed to prepare ourselves for the coming of the hydrocarbon twins, Peak Oil (PO) and Climate Change (CC). I am currently involved in helping to start up a transition movement in Bermuda. As a result I am working with others to prepare some basic materials to begin to educate the public about the twin threats of PO and CC as well as the nuts and bolts of transition. As this process progresses I will post these materials here on this blog.

Here is what I have so far;

Transition initiatives are based on 4 key assumptions:
1. Life with dramatically lower energy consumption is inevitable and it's better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
2. Our community presently lacks the resilience to enable them to weather the severe energy shocks that will accompany peak oil.
3. We have to act collectively and we have to act now.
4. Unleashing the collective genius of us all to creatively and proactively design our energy descent, we can build ways of living that are more connected, more enriching and that recognise the biological limits of the planet. (Hopkins 2008 p134)

6 principles underpin the model;
1. Visioning - imagine in detail what the goal is
2. Inclusion - all sectors involved with all other sectors
3. Awareness raising - start with an assumption that everyone is ignorant of the issues, insures that all are informed to an equal level. Mainstream media intentionally tries to downplay these issues and is therefore confusing.
4. Resilience - rebuilding resilience is central and crucial
5. Psych insights - understand and remain sensitive to the psychological impacts of the message
6. Credible and appropriate solutions - what can be achieved at a community level while still working on the personal and governmental levels. (Hopkins 2008 p142)

Here is a list of the "official" Transition Towns as found at the Transition Network WIKI, many more are thinking over and are termed "mullers";

References:

Hopkins, R 2008 The Transition Handbook; From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience - published by Green Books

Transition Towns WIKI - Transition Network/Transition Communities http://transitiontowns.org/TransitionNetwork/TransitionCommunities

thanks to Transition Towns WIKI - Transition Network/ Transition training for the image http://transitiontowns.org/TransitionNetwork/TransitionTraining