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Transition Towns Training
Mike Adams, Culture Change
San Francisco — This past weekend I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with folks who are looking into the future and not talking only about the doom and gloom scenarios that certainly will befall pockets, if not most of humanity, if we continue down the path of consumption, ignorance, and denial that we are currently walking. Instead, this weekend was more about accepting that we are going to live in a world that will need to go through a period of transition away from our reliance on cheap, abundant liquid fuels and into one that is short on dense, transportable energy and one that is affected by climate change that is most inevitably upon us.
I wrote recently a summary of Transition Towns. That can be found at http://leftcoastjournals.blogspot.com/2008/09/transition-towns.html.
The event was called “Transition Towns Training.” Transition Towns is a movement started in England about 4 years ago. This is on their home page: “It all starts off when a small collection of motivated individuals within a community come together with a shared concern: how can our community respond to the challenges, and opportunities, of Peak Oil and Climate Change?” They put forth a series of steps, or ingredients, that communities can implement if they want the transition to be smoother. “We are all in transition, whether we like it or not, some of us are just not aware of it.” Through increased awareness we have much to gain, including a less panicked population, more time for preparation and the most valuable resource of all, in my opinion, engaged humans bringing forth their individual knowledge.
We met on the northern coast of San Francisco as the moon was in its third quarter.
(22 December 2008)
Ecolocity DC – peak oil group in Washinginton DC
Group website
Rapid changes are taking place. Whether or not we accept peak oil, global warming, and climate change, increasing gas and food prices are an undeniable reality. Economic decline, financial meltdown, and the housing crisis have come together in a perfect storm that challenges us to make better choices. Responses range from survivalist homesteaders, earthship bioneers, and ecovillages to Transition towns and eco-cities.
The majority of the world’s inhabitants live in urban areas. It would be impossible and disastrous for large numbers to seek refuge in the countryside. Cities therefore have to be made sustainable and not continue to be toxic to the biosphere. Many towns in Ireland, Britain, Australia and New Zealand have taken the initiative to transform themselves into Transition towns. Curitiba, Brazil is cited as being at the forefront of most sustainable cities. Cuba has been forced early into solutions by its own peak oil crisis when they lost Russian oil support. In the US, Portland, Oregon, San Francisco and Oakland in California, have begun the process of becoming ecocities.
The District of Columbia has a lot of catching up to do. While there are some admirable and necessary individual and municipal initiatives, they are too little, too late. The air quality in DC is one of the nation’s worst despite extensive tree cover. The exigencies of our current national and global situation demand that urgent, drastic action be taken now. What is accomplished in DC, the capital of the US, will have far-reaching influence and tremendous impact in halting environmental decline.
Our primary focus is making DC a Transition town, working with other groups to devise and implement an Energy Descent ActionPplan to get DC carbon-free by 2020.
We intend to establish an intentional community in the District that will put into practice alternative solutions that can be spread to neighboring areas and ultimately be applied on a wider scale.
(1 January 2009)
Extensive website with some nice collection of related online videos.
Relocalize Newsletter: Year in Review
Post Carbon Institute
As we get ready to wrap up 2008 we are taking the opportunity to reflect on the year and recap some of the highlights. Communities around the world are working to reduce oil dependency and build local resilience. For this newsletter we invited groups in the Relocalization Network to update us on their activities. It has been a fantastic year of learning and discovery. Thanks to everyone for being part of this community and sharing your inspiration in these challenging times. Best wishes for the holidays as we prepare for another year! IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Looking back on 2008
2. Transition Sunshine Coast Recap
3. Torri Superiore Recap
4. Let’s Live Local Wood Pellet Co-op
5. Earth Charter Lifeboat Academy Recap
6. Events
1. Looking back on 2008
Farmer’s MarketWith the economic crisis pointing to harder financial times to come, the need to build local resiliency is coming to the forefront of discussions among policy-makers on local, regional and national levels. Relocalization is about reducing consumption and producing locally — building community resilience as a response to climate change and energy uncertainty. It is also a way to preserve and promote local knowledge and culture. It’s about being self-reliant, planning for the unknown, and understanding the risks of putting all our eggs in one basket.
Take, for example, food. 2008 saw a massive swell of interest in local food and urban gardening. Food riots and e-coli scares demonstrated the vulnerability of our current food system. The concern that this caused, along with inspiration from a growing body of literature on the topic, resulted in community gardens and farmers markets cropping up in increasing numbers on abandoned strips and empty parking lots. More people are searching for local producers to source their basic needs, and have challenged themselves to eating a local diet. People understand the importance of supporting the local economy, but even more so it seems that people want to rediscover their sense of place. In an era of globalized culture, it’s in the local parks and markets and squares that people are connecting with the neighbours and strengthening their ties with the place that they live in …
(30 December 2008)
Community website for online journalism
NewsTechZilla
Our plans are to write about what we know, what we want to learn and hopefully be a guide for other journalists trying to be viable in new markets. There is some fantastic information out in the blogosphere that we will spotlight all in one convenient location. We wanted to also be more than an aggregator of the beast combining news and technology, thus the name NewsTechZilla. Send us your questions, items that you might think would be of value and even if your aren’t in journalism, we wish to be of assistance. If we don’t know the answer, we will try to find it.
(1 January 2009)
Suggested by Amy Gahran, editor of Poynter’s E-Media Tidbits. She writes:
For those of you looking to learn more about online, social, and multi-media, you might want to check out a new community site that launched today on news & tech.
Happy 15th Birthday, Sightline
Eric Hess, Sightline
Fifteen years ago this Autumn, a 28-year-old researcher names Alan Durning lugged a refurbished library table into the cramped bedroom closet of his Seattle home, drilled a phone line through the wall, and filed the legal papers to create a nonprofit research institute.
We’ve come a long way since 1993, but our overarching goal remains the same: to arm change-makers with the independent research, ideas, and tools they need to shape the region in favor of a healthy, lasting prosperity for all.
In honor of our Quinceaños, we’ve taken a break from our usual modesty and decided to celebrate some of our biggest accomplishments by telling their stories. You can check out the whole article, but here are a few examples (and, surrendering to our wonky nature, we’ve got the by-the-numbers story, too):
* Putting Walkability on the Map: From our 1996 classic, The Car and the City, to the launch of Walkscore, Sightline’s work on walkability and compact communities has inspired pedestrian- and transit-friendly planning throughout the region.
* Do Mess With Taxes: Overhaul the tax code, save the world. That’s the core of Sightline’s 1999 book that has inspiring tax shifting throughout the region and beyond – including BC’s pioneering carbon tax this year.
* Telling the Truth About Prices: One of Sightline’s core values, this principle has been the spark for powerful solutions throughout Cascadia, including congestion pricing, parking taxes, electronic waste programs, and—coming soon to a city near you—pay-as-you-drive car insurance.
(19 December 2008)
