Transiton Towns

Organising without an organisation

James Samuel — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:55:59 +0000

I posted a Clay Shirky video on my blog a little while back. Then Rob Hopkins picked it up, posted it on his blog and it got a few comments. Through Rob's blog Neil L sent a link to a second video by Clay Shirky in which he described what is happening in the Transition Network, through this site and the www.transitionaotearoa.org social networking site.

http://www.thersa.org/events/vision/vision-videos/clay-shirky

Getting ready to go

James Samuel — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:13:54 +0000

I am getting ready to turn off the tap on my email for a couple of weeks - actually divert it to someone who can read it and filter out anything that needs urgent attention. On Saturday I'm heading off from Waiheke, and have hired a car to drive down to the Hawkes Bay. This will be the first stop on a week long visit to some of the towns dotted across the lower North Island.

Lewes Pound launches 9th September!

James Samuel — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:52:55 +0000

Starts with an interview with Rob Hopkins, then the local Mayor at the launch of the Lewes Pound. They filled the hall and made it clear - this is a new moment in our history together. Want some inspiration? Click play...

UK Transition Towns Newsletter - growth is exponential!

James Samuel — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:42:32 +0000

So much has happened since the last newsletter an (embarassingly long) while ago. Where to start...

"Official" initiatives and all the mullers

In the Japanese myth, the hundredth monkey represents the point at which a learned behaviour spreads instantaneously from one group of monkeys to ALL related monkeys once a critical number is reached. So it's somehow fitting that the 100th official transition initiative was Fujino in Japan.

Did you know?

James Samuel — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:31:56 +0000

In this article Sarah goes beyond the personal and embraces the need to act collectivley. That is where our power is. Right at the end she points people to Transition Towns.

Eco-Anxiety: A Call to Action, by Sarah Anne Edwards

And So It Begins... The signs are all about. Each day there are more, and they are escalating in seriousness. It’s hard to ignore a few signs from the past couple weeks:

Delta Airlines is significantly cutting its number of flights this summer.
Flights that aren’t full in time for take off will be cancelled.
Middle-aged white-collar workers in their 40s and 50s are moving back into their parents’ homes for shelter.
Twenty-four states are now paying $4 or higher for gasoline.
To save money and stay in business, truckers and carriers are slowing down and carrying loads for multiple suppliers at a time. In some parts of the country, truckers are protesting and poised to strike.
Bread, a friend complained, is over $5.00 for a standard brand loaf at the supermarket. A loaf of our spelt bread, which we eat because we are allergic to wheat, costs over $6.00 now.
Merchants are resorting to haggling in order to sell their merchandise.
Airlines are returning to prop planes for regional flights because they use less fuel.
Worldwide food shortages are arising, from Africa to Central America and Afghanistan. Food riots have broken out in Haiti. Food prices are escalating not only here in the US but everywhere, even Rome and Paris.
Water wars have begun in Colorado.
Shell Oil took out a full-page ad in Time and Fortune magazines saying, “no combination of technologies can plug the energy gap … There will be a … global energy crisis. It will dwarf previous crises. Profound economic dislocation will result. The challenge for human civilization will be to rebuild ‘post-peak.’” view pdf

Yes, Shell Oil.

Where it all began

Kazel — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:50:03 +0000

In 2001 Rob Hopkins began teaching a Practical Sustainablity course in Ireland, based on the principles of Permaculture. More than just an organic gardening technique, it encompasses a whole way of thinking about the world and how we use it. The foundations are Earth care, people care, an