Transcript TA2 Transition Presentation April 09

They are Joining the Transition Movement
The movement is comprised of communities
that are making the Transition away from oil
dependency and towards local resilience.
But how did we get here?
With the most recent research and data,
we can begin to clearly coalesce and
identify Three (3) distinct crises barreling
our way. Each of them on their own are
daunting, and require immediate action.
Put together, they will pose the greatest
challenge that this generation has ever
faced.
Many are beginning to call it…
Peak Oil
Climate
Change
Economic Instability
“The Long Emergency is an opportunity to
pause, to think through our present course, and
to adjust to a saner path for the future. We had
best face facts: we really have no choice. The
Long Emergency is a horrible predicament. It is
also a wonderful opportunity to do a lot better.
Let’s not squander this moment.”
—Albert Bates (paraphrased)
The Post Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook
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The challenge of global climate change
makes a shift away from fossil fuels
necessary for planetary survival.
The impending peak in oil and gas
production means that the transition is
inevitable.
Our only choice is whether to proactively
undertake the transition now—or later.
For all those aspects of life that this
community needs to sustain itself and
thrive, how do we:
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Dramatically reduce carbon emissions
(in response to climate change);
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Significantly increase resilience
(in response to peak oil);
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Greatly strengthen our local economy
(in response to economic instability)?
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Life with less energy is inevitable, and it is
better to plan for it than be taken by
surprise.
We have lost the resilience to be able to
cope with energy shocks.
We have to act for ourselves and we have to
act now.
By unleashing the collective genius of the
community we can design ways of living
that are more enriching, satisfying and
connected.
“I believe that a lower-energy, more
localized future, in which we move from
being consumers to being
producer/consumers, where food, energy
and other essentials are locally produced,
local economies are strengthened and we
have learned to live more within our
means is a step towards something
extraordinary, not a step away from
something inherently irreplaceable.”
—Rob Hopkins
The Transition Handbook
…A creative, engaging, playful process,
wherein we support our communities through
the loss of the familiar and inspire and create
a new lower energy infrastructure which is
ultimately an improvement on the present.
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Local production of food, energy and goods
Local development of currency, government
and culture
Reducing consumption while improving
environmental and social conditions
Developing an exemplary community that can
be a working model for other communities
when the effects of energy decline become
more intense
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Percentage of food consumed
locally that was produced
within a given radius
Ratio of car parking space to
productive land use
Degree of engagement in
practical relocalization work by
local community
Amount of traffic on local
roads
Number of businesses owned
by local people
Percentage of local trade
carried out in local currency
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Proportion of the community
employed locally
Percentage of essential goods
manufactured within a given
radius
Percentage of local building
materials used in new housing
developments
Number of 16-year-olds able
to grow 10 different varieties
of vegetables to a given degree
of basic competency
Percentage of medicines
prescribed locally that have
been produced within a given
radius
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Care of the Earth—
rebuild natural capital
Care of People—look
after self, kin and
community
Fair Share—set limits
to consumption and
reproduction, and
redistribute surplus
“…I have become fascinated by how we apply
these principles to whole towns, whole
settlements, and in particular, to how we
design this transition in such a way that people
will embrace it as a common journey, as a
collective adventure, as something positive…
How can we design descent pathways which
make people feel alive, positive and included in
this process of societal transformation?”
—Rob Hopkins
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Our vision is a future where life is more socially
connected, more meaningful and satisfying, more
sustainable, and more equitable in a greater
community of relocalized communities…
Where production and consumption occur closer
to home…
Where long and fragile supply chains—now
vulnerable to surges in oil prices and economic
volatility—have been replaced by interconnected
local networks…
Where the total amount of energy consumed by
businesses and citizens is dramatically less than
current unsustainable levels…
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Set up an initiating
group
Raise awareness
Lay the foundations
(partnering)
Organize a Great
Unleashing
Form groups
Use Open Space
Technology
Develop visible,
practical projects
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Facilitate the Great
Reskilling
Build bridges to local
government
Honor and engage
the elders
Create an Energy
Descent Action Plan
(EDAP)
Let it go where it
wants to go
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..and design its evolution from the outset!
Collaborate
where possible
Co-operation,
not competition
“Maybe they will tell stories about what happened in Totnes. Maybe this
evening will be something that is the beginning of one of those stories”.
Dr Chris Johnstone – TTT Unleashing Sept ’06.
Up and Running
Arts / Food / Energy /
Economics / Liaison with Local
Government / Heart and Soul –
the psychology of change /
Medicine and Health /
Housing / Education /
Transport
local government
and MPs
experts
voluntary sector and
community groups
local businesses,
chamber of commerce
Skilling Up for
Powerdown
Peak Oil / Climate Change,
Permaculture Principles, Food,
Energy, Building and Housing,
Woodlands, Water, Waste,
Economics, The Psychology of
Change, Energy Descent Planning…
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Start with a vision and
then backcast
Incorporate Transition
Tales
Base it on current
planning documents
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Focus on the questions
Unleash the collective
genius of the community
Any sense of control is
illusory
“The future with less oil could be preferable to
the present, if we are able to engage with
enough imagination and creativity
sufficiently in advance of the peak…”
—Rob Hopkins
Balances inner/outer, left/right brain,
masculine/feminine, young/old
 Provides a replicable model, a clear
pathway
 Engages whole communities in the
process
 Scalable and adaptable to particular
communities
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“The Transition process is one of acting as a
catalyst, unlocking the collective genius and
enthusiasm of the community, and harnessing
the untapped power of engaged optimism.”
—Transition Town Totnes
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Boulder, CO
Sandpoint, ID
Montpelier, VT
Portland, ME
Ashland, OR
Berea, KY
Pima, AZ
Los Angeles, CA
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Sebastopol, CA
NE Seattle, WA
Denver, CO
Newburyport, MA
Laguna Beach, CA
Whatcom, WA
Mount Shasta, CA
Ann Arbor, MI!
Training for Transition
The 26th “official” Transition Initiative
in the U.S. (161st in the world)
 Initiating group of five, that will
dissolve within 6 – 12 months, after
minimum of 4 working groups have
formed
 Our focus: awareness-raising and
laying the foundations with existing
groups
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◦Speakers Bureau
◦PR (media outreach, tabling,
etc.)
◦Film Showings
◦Gather Information/Map
existing transition-related
groups
◦Spread the Transition
message in your own work
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Transition is a social experiment on a
massive scale; we don’t know if this will work.
If we wait for the governments, it’ll be too
little, too late.
If we act as individuals, it’ll be too little.
But if we act as communities, it might be just
enough, just in time.
“All things are possible once enough
human beings realize that
everything is at stake.”
—Norman Cousins