19 Mar 2007
Transition Town Totnes on the Two Degree Show.
The concept of Transition Towns and the work underway here in Totnes was the subject of a recent edition of **The Two Degree Show** which is broadcast in London on Resonance 104.4FM and which you will find archived here. The archive is hosted by the Climate Outreach and Information Network (COIN) and is syndicated to other community radio stations. In the archive you will also find other previous interviews, including George Monbiot, Meyer Hillman and Mark Lynas.
Here is the information release they did about the programme….
**TRANSITION TOWNS**
Continuing our look at solutions…
It’s becoming increasingly clear that a country which uses economic growth
rather than well-being as its measure of progress is not only barking up the
wrong tree – it is driving us toward social and environmental catastrophe. A
few weeks ago, a report by UNICEF put the UK at the very bottom of a league
table of child well-being indicators amongst rich developed nations and last
year Nicholas Stern blamed climate change on the failure of the market to
account for environmental impacts.
In order to avoid the worst impacts of global warming we need to move to a
post-fossil fuel society in a decade or two. While the government in the UK
forges ahead insanely with a road building programme costing £11bn and
continues to make provision for a doubling or even tripling of aviation
capacity, communities are now starting to make the necessary changes
themselves.
The single most inspirational project I’ve come across recently is the
Transition Town concept.
Towns, villages and even cities are engaging in the process of envisioning a
future without oil and setting out a plan for how to get there. In the
process they are imagining a world that it is cleaner, has an enhanced sense
of community, is more local, where people are fitter and healthier, and
there is a stronger connection to the land. Every week a new transition town
seems to emerge.
So last week I took the train to Totnes to interview Rob Hopkins – the
person who set the ball rolling three years ago. Rob is a permaculture
teacher who has been exploring and documenting the emerging process on his
transitionculture.org blog since November 2005.
Links:
Transition Towns Wiki
http://www.transitiontowns.org
Rob Hopkin’s Blog: Transition Culture
https://www.transitionculture.org/
Kinsale Energy Descent Plan
10 First Steps for a Transition Town Inititative
http://www.energybulletin.net/25464.html
Lewes launch youtube
UNICEF Overview of Child Well Being in Rich Countries
http://www.unicef.org/media/files/ChildPovertyReport.pdf
One Planet Agriculture – The Case for Action (Soil Association)
https://www.transitionculture.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/thecaseforaction.pdf
——————————————–
DON’T FORGET…
You can listen to these radio programmes at the time most convenient to you
by visiting the Climate Radio archive at:
http://www.climateradio.co.uk
You can download the programme or simply listen to it online.
Many thanks to Climate Outreach and Information Network (COIN) for offering
to host this archive.
Please note: The latest programme in the series appears on the archive a day
or two after it is broadcast.