Comments on: Kinsale Energy Descent Action Plan (2005)

By: Transition Culture: radio shows about transition towns and more « Its A Funny Old World

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:11:21 +0000

[...] in Kinsale in Ireland with Rob Hopkins who set up the Permaculture college there. They set up the Kinsale Energy descent plan, looking at how their town could make the transition to less oil dependancy over a 20 year time [...]

By: The Art of the Possible » Blog Archive » Peak Oil and Decentralization

The Art of the Possible » Blog Archive » Peak Oil and Decentralization — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:56:42 +0000

[...] are a number of concrete models for getting from here to there. For example, the Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP), developed by students in the Practical Sustainability course at Ireland’s Kinsale College, [...]

By: How Community Collaborative Design Can Save the World | Nooventures

How Community Collaborative Design Can Save the World | Nooventures — Wed, 07 May 2008 08:32:44 +0000

[...] Kinsale Energy Descent Action Plan, a detailed plan on transitioning | Read >> [...]

By: Community Peak Oil Prep « Villageblog

Community Peak Oil Prep « Villageblog — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 09:55:30 +0000

[...] My hat’s well-off to Rob Hopkins and the students of Kinsale Further Education College for their Energy Decent Action Plan and especially for the community consultation process that they used and especially-especially for [...]

By: Zone5 » Peak opportunity #3- Pathways to Powerdown

Zone5 » Peak opportunity #3- Pathways to Powerdown — Tue, 29 May 2007 09:32:38 +0000

[...] in every way possible; and that we need to re-invent the economy to be in line with natural systems that are inherently limited by available energy. On an individual level, one of the first pieces of advice would be to Get Out of Debt. Although some say that when the crash comes everyone will be in the same boat and the banks wont be able to repossess everyone, this is a high-risk strategy, and it is unlikely we will be able to command the incomes we are used to for very far into the future. Rising energy prices are already putting the squeeze on many small businesses and we need to plan our livelihoods to be able to adapt to the near-future where many products will be redundant or simply too expensive. We will be moving into a “lean economy” in which waste will have to be curtailed and goods and services extraneous to meeting our basic needs eliminated. So we might consider taking stock of our current situation and write a Personal Powerdown Pathway in which we plan to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels in every way we can and plan to adapt our livelihoods for a low-energy future. What skills do we have that might be useful in such a future? What goods or services could I offer the local community (forget about the Global Market Place!)? What do I need to put in place NOW while I still have access to fossil energy that will help support a more sustainable lifestyle in the future? On a community basis, this could develop into an Energy descent Plan [...]

By: Zone5 » Peak Opportunity

Zone5 » Peak Opportunity — Sun, 06 May 2007 17:59:26 +0000

[...] showed it to the students and embarked on the now famous project which resulted in the report Kinsale 2021: An Energy Descent Action Plan. The key significance of understanding Peak was I think, that the environmental movement finally had [...]

By: Anna Mackey

Anna Mackey — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 20:09:17 +0000

Hope that you will allow me to download the Kinsale plan. No ulterior motive – just interest as outlined above!

By: Northeastern Students for Environmental Action » Blog Archive » Two Awesome Items Poached From Worldchanging

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 18:37:32 +0000

[...] Pretty encouraging, this: The 7,000-person town of Kinsale, Ireland – previously best known as a center for gourmet food and the home of a jazz festival – has adopted a plan to transition away from fossil-fuel dependence, with the goal to be energy-independent by 2021. Their local college is even offering a two-year course (the first in Europe) on “Practical Sustainabililty.” Such local action is ideally suited to the current political situation here in the US, where there is a broad understanding that something must be done about global warming and the developing energy crisis, but almost no useful political leadership is going on at the national level. Let’s see some DIY Kyoto action in the USA – from individuals to towns and cities. [...]

By: how to wean a community off fossil fuels « whole life

how to wean a community off fossil fuels « whole life — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 19:46:41 +0000

[...] The story of the Kinsale Energy Descent Action Plan is an extraordinary one. A mid-thirties Englishman with a penchant for permaculture and an interest in peak oil moves to rural Ireland, starts teaching at the local further education college, and ends up writing, with his students, a ground-breaking document: the first timetabled strategy for weaning a town off fossil fuels. And what is more, that small Irish town actually adopts the action plan and starts to implement it. [...]

By: Schumacher College contact - Cliona O Conaill

Schumacher College contact - Cliona O Conaill — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 10:56:34 +0000

The college is running a course called Life After Oil, November 12 – 24 which looks at how we can redesign our society to free ourselves from oil dependence.

Rob Hopkins will be a teacher on this. Other teachers are Ron Oxburgh (Chairman of Shell and previously Chief Scientific Advisor to Ministry of Defence) who will be guiding participants on an exploration of the path to a non-fossil fuel economy;
David Fleming author and developer of Tradable Energy Quotas, who will review the growing gap between energy sources and future needs; and
Richard Heinberg foremost expert on Peak Oil and author of The Party’s Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies;

Call 01803 865 934 or see http://www.schumachercollege.org.uk

Places are limited and filling up fast

By: Peaknik « collusive insanity & other thoughts on sustainable design

Peaknik « collusive insanity & other thoughts on sustainable design — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:34:03 +0000

[...] At first I was angry and asking, why isn’t more being done? Then I moved into survivalist mode, telling myself, “I’m going to do whatever I can over the next few years to become self sufficient in preparation for the wind down of the oil era.” Now, after reading Why the Survivalists Have Got It Wrong by Rob Hopkins, I agree that he presents a more idealistic solution to the problem at hand. He introduces the concept of Energy Descent planning or pulling together your resources as a community in the era of declining oil. My personal goals will be to continue to integrate more eco-responsible choices into my life to assist in conservation and the weaning process, while simultaneously educating myself on some basic survival skills. I figure those skills could come in handy anyway. Also, I’d like to seek out a collective body of local, like-minded folks that are open to the idea of energy descent planning. To some degree, I may have an advantage in this area of gathering these people. Living in a coastal hurricane region often requires that one must enlist the help of a neighbor for assistance with various tasks during times of emergency preparedness and evacuation. An energy descent plan could just be an extension or other aspect of the emergency planning we are already familiar with. Instead of people running to Home Depot to purchase a generator or running away (where are we going to run if our resources are depleted), we would draw on each others strengths and the resources at hand to sustain us as a small community. Could work…right? [...]

By: Sarah Partridge

Sarah Partridge — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 17:27:42 +0000

Here in East of England we are still at the vision stage, and are hugely inspired by what you have done and are doing. HOORAY, and YES

By: Ann Kenis

Ann Kenis — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 18:25:30 +0000

Congratulations on an important work that looks to the future. All communities should begin this process.

By: Fiona Mullins

Fiona Mullins — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 15:38:51 +0000

Rob – Kinsale 2021 is a great approach to sorting out practical ways to make energy descent happen on the ground in an actual place, which is just what is needed to move beyond talk about sustainability.

By: Ted Howard

Ted Howard — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 10:10:41 +0000

Thank you for leading the way!
Our local Peak Oil Group will be using this report as part of our planning and will continue to lobby the local councils with great reports like this.

Nelson, New Zealand