DBL Program Meeting:
The Transition Movement
Guest presenters: Tommy Tolson, Norm Ballinger, Lester Germanio
So much peak oil and other environmental literature is doom-laden and information heavy, and most peoples’ reaction is to switch off. How can we design descent pathways which make people feel alive, positive and included in this process of societal transformation?
—Rob Hopkins, author of Transition Handbook
Every human not in denial realizes that we must reduce our impact on this Earth or the potential for a quality life for our future generat ions wi l l be unlikely. While the doom and gloom is difficult to ignore and we need to understand potential threats to human existence, let it serve to motivate us to action. And, as Transition Town originator Rob Hopkins declares, let this action be done “in a way that is imaginative, fun and engaging.”
The Transition movement originated in the British Isles (in approximately 2005) in response to the challenge and opportunity of peak oil—that is, life with diminishing fossil fuels. Other words and concepts associated with the Transition Movement include Local Self Reliance, Appropriate Technology, Decentralization, Localization, Relocalization, Post Carbon, Post Petroleum, and Beyond Oil. There are now many US states and towns with Transition initiatives.
Transition Texas and Transition Austin movements began only recently in 2008. January‚Äö√Ñ√¥s Design~Build~Live program is intended to acquaint us with the greater Transition movement and the new state and local initiatives, as well as to start us thinking how DBL, and each of us, fit into the whole equation. We will start by viewing the video “Transition Towns: An Interview with Rob Hopkins” about Rob‚Äö√Ñ√¥s work in Totnes, Devon, UK, and elsewhere. This will be followed by discussion and questions and answers from our panel of three Austin Transition leaders, Tommy Tolson, Norm Ballinger and Lester Germanio.
People are starting to see peak oil as the Great Opportunity, the chance to build the world they always dreamt of.
—Rob Hopkins
