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| # Transition | This topic is part of [[gt:community|Community & culture]]. |
| | ====== Transition initiatives ====== |
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| ## What are Transition initiatives? | ===== What are Transition initiatives? ===== |
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| They're a great idea that's come to life – community groups, run by local people, to build [community](/comy/community) resilience to mitigate the effects of peak oil and drastically reduce carbon emissions to mitigate the effects of climate change (note however that you don't have to agree with the concepts of peak oil or climate change to understand the benefits that Transition Initiatives can bring, and join in anyway). They are based on four key assumptions: | They're a great idea that's come to life – community groups, run by local people, to build [community](/comy/community) resilience to mitigate the effects of peak oil and drastically reduce carbon emissions to mitigate the effects of climate change (note however that you don't have to agree with the concepts of peak oil or climate change to understand the benefits that Transition Initiatives can bring, and join in anyway). They are based on four key assumptions: |
| </WRAP> | </WRAP> |
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| ### Background | ==== Background ==== |
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| Initially, the term used to describe the concept was 'Transition Towns', but this has been changed to ‘Transition’ followed by the name of the place (e.g. Transition Brixton), as there are now Transition cities, boroughs, valleys, peninsulas, postcodes, villages, hamlets and islands. The Transition concept emerged from the work done at Kinsale Further Education College in Ireland, led by [permaculture](/prmc/permaculture) designer Rob Hopkins, who, with his students, wrote an Energy Descent Action Plan. They designed a 'road map' to a sustainable future for their town, involving energy production, health, education, economy and agriculture. Then one of his students, Louise Rooney, developed the Transition Towns concept and presented it to Kinsale Town Council - resulting in the historic decision by councillors to adopt the plan and work towards energy independence. | Initially, the term used to describe the concept was 'Transition Towns', but this has been changed to ‘Transition’ followed by the name of the place (e.g. Transition Brixton), as there are now Transition cities, boroughs, valleys, peninsulas, postcodes, villages, hamlets and islands. The Transition concept emerged from the work done at Kinsale Further Education College in Ireland, led by [permaculture](/prmc/permaculture) designer Rob Hopkins, who, with his students, wrote an Energy Descent Action Plan. They designed a 'road map' to a sustainable future for their town, involving energy production, health, education, economy and agriculture. Then one of his students, Louise Rooney, developed the Transition Towns concept and presented it to Kinsale Town Council - resulting in the historic decision by councillors to adopt the plan and work towards energy independence. |
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| ## What are the benefits of Transition initiatives? | ===== What are the benefits of Transition initiatives? ===== |
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| - Central to the Transition movement is the idea that life without oil could in fact be more enjoyable and fulfilling – 'by shifting our mindset we can actually recognise the coming post-cheap oil era as an opportunity rather than a threat, and design the future low-carbon age to be thriving, resilient and abundant — somewhere much better to live than our current alienated consumer culture based on greed, war and the myth of perpetual growth.' | - Central to the Transition movement is the idea that life without oil could in fact be more enjoyable and fulfilling – 'by shifting our mindset we can actually recognise the coming post-cheap oil era as an opportunity rather than a threat, and design the future low-carbon age to be thriving, resilient and abundant — somewhere much better to live than our current alienated consumer culture based on greed, war and the myth of perpetual growth.' |
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| ## What can I do? | ===== What can I do? ===== |
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| - Read about [peak oil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil) and [climate change](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming) to make informed decisions on their importance. | - Read about [peak oil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil) and [climate change](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming) to make informed decisions on their importance. |
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| ## Further resources | ===== Forum ===== |
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| | This topic belongs to the section [[gt:community|Community & culture]]. You can ask questions or add information on the corresponding [Forum section](https://forum.growingthecommons.org/t/community). |
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| | ===== Further resources ===== |
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| ## Specialist curators of this topic | - [Transition Network](https://transitionnetwork.org/) |
| | - [Rob Hopkins](https://www.robhopkins.net/) - Transition founder |
| | - [the Essential Guide to Doing Transition](https://transitionnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Essential-Guide-to-Doing-Transition.pdf) |
| | - [The Rocky Road to a Real Transition](https://thecommoner.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/TRAPESE-Collective-The-Rocky-Road-to-a-Real-Transition.pdf) - critical paper on the Transition movement, based on its apolitical approach and inability to penetrate working-class communities. [Rob Hopkins' response](https://www.transitionculture.org/2008/05/15/the-rocky-road-to-a-real-transition-by-paul-chatterton-and-alice-cutler-a-review/). |
| | - [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transition_town) - Transition town |
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| | ===== Related topics ===== |
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| | - [[comy:Community]] |
| | - [[smal:Small|Small is beautiful]] |
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| | ===== Specialist curators of this topic ===== |
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