http://transitionculture.org/2008/01/08/ted-trainers-qa-part-four/ An Evolving Exploration into the Head, Heart and Hands of Energy Descent Wed, 23 May 2012 18:55:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://transitionculture.org/2008/01/08/ted-trainers-qa-part-four/comment-page-1/#comment-54246 Jane Buttigieg Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:06:12 +0000 http://transitionculture.org/2008/01/08/ted-trainers-qa-part-four/#comment-54246 <p>I think that an understanding of Peak Oil issues necessarily leads to an understanding of the coming end to economic growth, and with that comes an understanding of how our current lifestyles will necessarily have to change. However, I don’t think we should use ’frugality’ as one of our sales pitches when it comes to telling people about the transition movement and how our lives will have to change as oil runs low. Just look at what advertising campaigns have done to make frugality cool. They’ve managed to do it with words like ’minimalism’ (tres chic) and ’less is more’. If they can do it, we can too. What we need to do (and I know that Rob is always saying this) is to talk about how great this reduced consumption way of life could be and encourage everyone to look positively at the changes we will all have to make. We could say how awful it is that we will no longer have convenience foods. Alternatively we could think about the fun we could have learning to cook local food for our families and friends. We could feel depressed about not having massive quantities of cheap clothing any more or we could start rediscovering charity shops, learn how to alter and repair and discover how we can have wonderfully individual pieces of clothing as a result. For everything from transport to food, clothing and entertainment we can either look at things negatively or positively. Let’s not forget that a reduction in consumption will come hand in hand with the end of the mad rat race that many of us have somehow joined. As long as I can eat every day and not freeze to death I can make myself and others happy. I want shared soup evenings, local walks, sharing clothes patterns, acapella singing, board games, skill sharing and homebrew. Imagine no more adverts, genuine darkness at night, a more spiritual world, streets where children are safe from the dangers of traffic. Frugality? What’s that?</p> I think that an understanding of Peak Oil issues necessarily leads to an understanding of the coming end to economic growth, and with that comes an understanding of how our current lifestyles will necessarily have to change. However, I don’t think we should use ’frugality’ as one of our sales pitches when it comes to telling people about the transition movement and how our lives will have to change as oil runs low. Just look at what advertising campaigns have done to make frugality cool. They’ve managed to do it with words like ’minimalism’ (tres chic) and ’less is more’. If they can do it, we can too.
What we need to do (and I know that Rob is always saying this) is to talk about how great this reduced consumption way of life could be and encourage everyone to look positively at the changes we will all have to make.
We could say how awful it is that we will no longer have convenience foods. Alternatively we could think about the fun we could have learning to cook local food for our families and friends. We could feel depressed about not having massive quantities of cheap clothing any more or we could start rediscovering charity shops, learn how to alter and repair and discover how we can have wonderfully individual pieces of clothing as a result. For everything from transport to food, clothing and entertainment we can either look at things negatively or positively. Let’s not forget that a reduction in consumption will come hand in hand with the end of the mad rat race that many of us have somehow joined.
As long as I can eat every day and not freeze to death I can make myself and others happy. I want shared soup evenings, local walks, sharing clothes patterns, acapella singing, board games, skill sharing and homebrew. Imagine no more adverts, genuine darkness at night, a more spiritual world, streets where children are safe from the dangers of traffic.
Frugality? What’s that?

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