Act: Inspiration

A day spent reflecting on Transition and the Big Society

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Over 40 people came together in Bristol on Wednesday to explore what the government’s Big Society agenda might mean for Transition initiatives. What follows is my attempt to produce a clear record of the event, the ideas and the debates, as well as the suggestions for where this might go next.

A high-risk fossil fuel boom sweeps across North America

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Energy companies are rushing to develop unconventional sources of oil and gas trapped in carbon-rich shales and sands throughout the western United States and Canada. So far, government officials have shown little concern for the environmental consequences of this new fossil fuel development boom.

Peak Moment 179: Fences down! Fostering community in an urban neighborhood

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Gardens replace driveways, a chicken coop replaces a garage, and personal relationships are deepening. Meet the residents of three adjoining houses, who removed the fences and talk about shared projects (and their one auto!), meals together, ecological living, and treasured conviviality. This idea could transform urban and suburban neighborhood life anywhere.

Throwing some light on the patterns….

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The idea of this patterns business is that, rather than the linear process suggested by the Transition Handbook’s ‘12 Steps’, (first do this, then do that etc…) what we see actually happening in Transition initiatives in practice is something much more organic, dynamic and self-organising, arranged in different ways in different places according to circumstances, interests and what is appropriate.

Waste: Climate change, peak oil, and the end of waste

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We in rich contries have almost lost the ability to supply our own needs through local manufacturing and agriculture–or even to extend the life of products through reuse, repair and repurposing.  We rely on others, and on a system lubricated by cheap oil, to meet our needs as well as our wants.

The food crisis is not about a shortage of food

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The food crisis of 2008 never really ended, it was ignored and forgotten. The rich and powerful are well fed; they had no food crisis, no shortage, so in the West, it was little more than a short lived sound bite, tragic but forgettable. To the poor in the developing world, whose ability to afford food is no better now than in 2008, the hunger continues.