The Earth is showing signs and our science giving us data that clearly indicates human survival on the earth necessitates that we (collective speak here) willingly impose limits on expansion/growth to allow others to have access to necessary resources in the future. Peak Everything (video) is now a reality, along with its good friend anthropogenic climate change. The global economy is based on never ending expansion, and due to peak oil, water (video), and resources, humanity is faced with tough and dire questions.
How do we go forward from this? I think re-localization through the model of Transition Towns is one of the most positive ideas that is being acted on around the world to make real change.
In the summer of 2009, I wanted to get some training on the model. I did some email magic and Tina Clarke (a long time activist) came to Boston to give a weekend workshop called 'Training for Transition'. Here I got to meet plenty of people who were also looking at this data, and wanted to take some sort of action. This workshop gave hope.
The model (oodles of details here) empowers local social movements from the bottom up. It is a permaculture based model for re-localization. People start small, and empower each other to do what they want to do on the very local scale. The closer to home the better. Great results have been had so far, and there are more transition initiatives happening every day.
Personally I haven't started or been involved with a movement yet, primarily based on not knowing where I want to reside. In the near future, I may get the ball rolling locally in New Hampshire, but maybe my efforts will exist more on the internet side (other than my gardening at home).
Tina Clarke and I are working to start a website titled Transition Together. It is named after project that is currently active in UK neighborhoods. The aim is to have people work in small clusters to become more resilient, self reliant and community oriented. This is achieved by sharing crops, gardening tools, and machinery. I have a bunch of media (podcast photos and videos) begging to get on the site, and soon it will be. If you are interested and have any questions on the project, feel free to ask.
Treehugger on Peak Everything
3 comments:
living and working in a small city you can see that it can work. i travel to and from work without a car and hardly use it during the week because everything is walking/biking/T distance. it's cool the idea of creating these sustainable neighborhoods is growing. one day I'll be looking for a house/place to live and sustainability will be high on the priority list.
Glad to see I have a subscriber.
Boston itself has a lot of Transition stuff going on. Should be rad to see how it plays out.
Models project New England to be one of the most ideals spots to live after Climate Change sets in more seriously.
just read this, http://www.good.is/post/on-the-potential-glory-of-20-minute-neighborhoods/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+good%2Flbvp+%28GOOD+Main+RSS+Feed%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
yea thats a long url, enjoi.
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