Transition Culture

Just read ‘Ancient Futures Learning from Ladakh’ by Helena Norberg-Hodge, Peter Matthiessen. The first part tells of the harmony and simplicity of the Ladakh way of life as it was for hundreds of years, until the tourists came in the 1970s. The second part gives a heartbreaking account of what happened next. It is a microcosm of what has happened all over the world, but in Ladakh it happens very fast. The third part gives hope as the ‘modernised’ Ladakh people realise what they had, and have almost completely lost, is what many in the world are now searching for.

There is a really good book by a thouroughly good bloke called ‘The Transition Handbook.’ Other than that I can highly recommend taking a break from all this admittedly facinating non fiction and picking up Lord of the Rings for some good old fasioned back garden summer novel absorbsion. Or the ‘Life of Pi’ for something to really get excited about. Other interesting not eco stuff is ‘in search of schrodingers cat’ a book on quantum physics and reality for the layman. And ‘ sophies world’ a look at the evolution of western philosophy in novel format. Hogging the space now but I look forward to picking up some good tips on transition type books from all you intelligent cats out there.

Is this really your bedtime reading Rob??? Blimey!! saw Andy Langford do a talk on Spiral Dynamics once at a Permaculture Convergence, couldn’t make head or tail of it!!

One book I’d thoroughly recommend is ‘How To Be Free’ by Tom Hodgkinson, which is light enough that you genuinely CAN read it in bed, but none the less has serious points to make about how we need to slow down and reclaim our culture and our freedom. plus lots about organic gardening and permaculture… Just like what it will be in the post transition society in fact! I don’t agree with everything he says, but the overall tone is rather like a rambling pub chat, albeit one sided… unfortunately you can’t say “Hang on Tom, I think you’re talking bollocks now” when he comes out with rather naive comments about the importance of Class for example…

Also I’m currently reading ‘Wild’ by jay griffiths, again, not really one for by the bed, indeed its pretty grueling in places with its actual and philosophical accounts of the devastation ‘civilisation’ has wrought upon the wilderness and its peoples…

I’ve also got Kim Stanley Robinson’s ‘Red Mars’ by the bed, but unfortunately i got bored with it around page 400 and havn’t picked it up again lately, too much technical detail and not enough pictures for my woeful attention span I’m afraid… Regulars that do get dipped into at bedtime include Paul repps’ ‘Zen Flesh, Zen Bones’, Alan Moores collected DC ‘Swamp Thing’ comics and david Holmgren’s ‘Permaculture – Principles and Pathways beyond Sustainability’

Graham,
I also struggled with Kim Stanley Robinson’s ‘Red Mars’ but then picked up his trilogy on climate change which is set in the near future and couldn’t put it down.

‘Forty Signs of Rain’ is the first volume of the trilogy which tells the story of the efforts of a loosely connected group of scientists, campaigners and politicians to provoke a national response to the climate crisis. By the third book the president talks about permaculture in his address to the nation.

Great bedtime reading!

A book I would like to add to everyone’s reading list is “Web of Debt” by Ellen Brown. I only came across it the other day but it looks like the book I have been waiting for to explain where money comes from and, in so doing, why we are on this treadmill to turn the planet into consumer goods. It seems like everything ultimately is owned by the banks as they have the power to create money at the stroke of a pen each time they make a loan, which then has to be paid back with interest (for which of course another loan is taken out somewhere else … ).

I won’t spoil the punchline, but here’s a thought: at one time the state of Pennsylvania issued its own currency, which was like a loan from the government to the people — it was repaid with interest and the interest was used to do public works, as opposed to being returned to private corporations called banks. Not only that, but the interest repaid effectively replaced income-tax, which is what governments use now to repay the interest on the money they have borrowed from (guess what?) banks.

Give me a local currency any day!

Ha, I’ve got a 220 page Island Strategic Plan to review – thats going to be hard work. It is supposed to be a 10 year view but as neither peak oil nor food security gets a mention its not a very secure foundation to plan a society.

Then there is the recent medical health officer’s report, which show Jersey has possibly the highest incidence of alcoholism and obesity in the developed world.

Oh and there is the Keeping Jersey Special report on tackling the ‘problem ‘of an ageing socity. That’s predicated on getting more workes from elsewhere to pay the increasing costs and keep up the tax revenues.

Sustainability and transition culture thinking really haven’t significantly impacted on our policy making. In fact they have barely scratched the new shiny go for growth gas guzzler that is the Jersey economic model.

Oh and then there is the work, the family and all the usual living to get on with.

I’m feeling overwhelmed and a bit beleaguered. I would love the time to read some positive stuff on the future….

… and how could I forget “Crash Course: Preparing for Peak Oil” by Zachary Nowak?

From reading some of the above posts, it sounds like what’s needed is a little less exercising of the grey matter and some more hands-on action. To that end, there is really only one book you need: Grow Your Own Vegetables, by Joy Larkcom. Fruit is trickier as there is no definitive guide; the best bet would be to search out a second hand copy of The Fruit Garden Displayed. It has some black and white photos (shock, horror) but it’s sound.

Kahlil Gibran’s ‘The Prophet’. Read it for the first time recently and it’s totally fantastic.

‘Reinventing collapse’ by Dmitry Orlov. A totally different perspective from someone who saw the Soviet collapse first-hand. Essential (and very enjoyable!) reading.

I wrote a full review on my blog here:

http://www.darkoptimism.org/2008/06/29/reinventing-collapse/

ps I can’t go without seconding the recommendation on Kahlil Gibran’s ‘The Prophet’. “Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding”.

These are great books. I also have two huge piles going beside the bed. I too am usually reading several simultaneously. However, I have found that it is essential to include some selections grounded in the love of nature. I would recommend Robert MacFarlane-The Wild Places and Mountains of The Mind. Also Roger Deakin-Waterlog or anything by John Muir or John Burroughs. When the fear and turmoil start to wind me up these books give me a reminder of what we’re hoping to reconnect with after all the tribulation to come.

hey great selection of books above. I’m surely going to check some of them out.

At the moment the one I’m trying to crack is Paulo Freire “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Freire

Didn’t expect to find so many insights and parallels with the process of co-education I’m trying to practice when meeting groups and exploring with them Transition.
I always deny I’m an expert. What I look for are answers from within the community and people can be so creative though they deny it;)

http://westclifftransition.wordpress.com/2008/06/25/grow-your-own-film-night-at-springfield-drive-allotments-19th-june-2008/
see post it tool write up.

So keep the reading up and maybe this post could be changed to a link on transition towns network page detailing a transition library:)

Another nod towards Dmitry Orlov’s book. A fascinating account, a metaphor in every other sentence!

Toolbox for Sustainable City Living by Scott Kellogg and Stacy Pettigrew. It has lots of practical stuff, like mushroom log cultivation, rainwater collection, rocket stoves and bioremediation, as well as more “normal” stuff like composting, home livestock, and edible forests.

But I will second Steve in recommending that really awesome book The Transition Handbook. My copy is now full of bookmarks of things to do and try here in Los Angeles.

Great list Rob thanks. Glad to see Naomi Klein’s “The Shock Doctrine”- essential for understanding the world today.
I would like to add anything by Michael Pollan- I am reading “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” right now- ideal for the bedside table, lyrical and stimulating;
and also the wonderful “The World Without Us” by Alan Wiseman which takes us on a journey around the world to consider how rapidly nature would return were humans to suddenly disappear- great insights into both our predicament and our relationship with the natural world.

My book pile has now reached heights that threaten to squash me during my sleep!

There is so much to read about the head and hands of Transition, which can end up being quite overwhelming. I thought I would offer a couple of suggestions for when that all gets too much.

The first one isn’t a book, but something I have found really useful for the inevitable sleepless nights. Joanna Macy’s DVD “The Work that Reconnects” is truely inspiring. She is an awesome lady and her work has completely changed my own perspective on what is happening at the moment.

And, on a similar note, Starhawk’s “The Fifth Sacred Thing” is also a highly recommended antidote to feeling bogged down by the complexities and difficulties facing us. This novel offers one possible vision of the future. Set in a world dealing with the after effects of both the collapse of industrial civilisation and climate change, she lays out a vision of how one city has evolved into a sustainable haven.

Happy reading!!

There are some good reads coming out in these comments.
Try ‘Endgame’ by Derrick Jensen- strong words calling us to bring a sick civilisation crashing down- the longer we leave it the worse it will be, I can’t say I agree with it all but it’s a useful catalyst of ideas.
And ‘The Theory of Everything’ by Ken Wilber- in the vain of spiral dynamics, a must for permaculture designers- with his 4 quarant approach taking off around the world, it’s a clear path of how to bring Holism to what we do.
Happy reading.

A book I read a while ago was “Jersey: Not Quite British – The Rural History of a Singular People” which describes how rural life used to be like in Jersey. Don’t let the fire go out!

I recently read Dmitry Orlov’s “Reinventing Collapse” where he points out a critical difference between the Russian and American systems is there being no incentive for planned obsolescence in Russian equipment – meaning their level of resilience is much better.

He introduced an interesting idea of being semi-nomadic, whereby you could be known by a number of communities, and move between them as necessary.

I’m currently reading “Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times” which is looking very good indeed. So far it has explained soil chemistry and I have a far better understanding of what discriminates good soil from poor soil.

I read Wilber’s “A Theory of Everything” a few years ago and became very interested in Spiral Dynamics and the developmental model of change:
Q: “Why dont more people care about the world?”
A: “Because they havent yet reached World centric Consciousness”.
While I still think this is a valuable approach to understanding the world and human behaviour, Wilber’s “integral theory of everything” is not really so integral after all: there is no mention of the role of energy in aiding psychological development, or any discussion of how decline in available energy after peak oil might effect the stages of growth- Orlov’s book would suggest a likely reversion to earlier stages of survival modes as we become forced to compete with each other more.
Wilber’s concepts of “Third Tier” and transpersonal stages appear to be purely speculative and his methodology highly questionable.

Thanks for another great book list. I’ve recently been inspired by Joanna Macy’s ‘World as Lover World as Self’ – I love the way she weaves the Buddha’s teachings together with ‘the sustainability revolution’. We could all do with a little less grasping.
‘Non-violent Communication’ by Marshall B. Rosenberg is full of spot on tips to improve these skills in the future.
Orlov’s ‘Reinventing Collapse’ gets my vote too – humour takes away much of the worry.
Chris Salewicz’s ‘Redemption Song – the definitive biography of Joe Strummer’ is a good reminder of the punk DIY ethic which opposed the bloated corporate rock of the previous generation. Holmgren refers to self-reliance as political action ‘undermining the market share and psychosocial dominance of the centralised and large-scale economies that support and maintain addictive and dysfunctional behaviour’ (‘Permaculture, Principles and Pathways…’) Self reliance as punk DIY ethic!
Looking forward to ‘Bridge at the End of the World – Capitalism, the Environment and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability’ by Gus Speth. Have to wait for the paperback.

Allow me to recommend a new book by Path Murphy called “Plan C: Community Survival Strategies for Peak Oil and Climate Change”. Murphy is the ED of Community Solutions, he was the co-writer and co-producer of the film “Power of Community: How Cuba survived Peak Oil”.
Briefly, Murphy says that for advocates of Plan A is just “business as usual”, there is no need for any change, economic growth is the only way to go. Then, advocates of Plan B are happy with a status quo, their life styles, and hope to simply replace non-renewable energy products with renewable ones. They still believe there are no limits to growth, that a green market with solve everything, that is the government’s and corporations’ responsibility to make all necessary changes, not the consumers! He even says that Al Gore and many environmentalists are supporters of this Plan B.
On the other hand, the two key ingredients for his Plan C are Curtailment and Community. He says: “this plan implies permanent societal change to reduce consumption of dwindling natural resources in order to control and mitigate climate change. It calls for a resurgence of small local communities as the alternative to the American way of life that must be abandoned; And it accepts a reduced standard of living as part of being global citizen.” The key action in his Plan C is to curtail, meaning buying less, using less, wanting less and wasting less. In other words, we need to change, from being consumers to curtailers…

WOW ! this sounds quite radical, quite un-American, isn’t it ? I truly believe this is the way to go, and we need to begin curtailing.. yesterday !

The ideas in this book go along so well with Rob’s Transition Handbook.

good reading !

1) Since reading Rob’s post on 20 June about the Amen Drum Break, I’ve been on a bender of cultural exploration! I never really ‘got’ hip hop before watching the video he posted, but since then I’ve had my eyes and ears opened to nothing less than the cultural history of our times. The key book that has made sense of this for me is The Pirate’s Dilemma, by Matt Mason. I’m now recommending it to everyone I can (and as you might expect, you can pay what you want for a download).

The point is that remixing is the way our culture (and possibly all culture) works. As Lawrence Lessig says (download source pdf):
“The idea, first, is that you take creative work, mix it together and then other people take it and they remix it; they re-express it. In this sense, culture is remix; knowledge is remix; politics is remix. Remix in this sense is the essence of what it is to be human.”

So I strongly agree with Josef’s comment, that the Transition Handbook, and other transition info, could be made remixable, by putting it onto a wiki, or suchlike. Or maybe just an annotated ‘webliography’, as has been done for Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody – a book I’d also highly recommend.

A recent report by Charles Leadbetter, Remixing Cities, shows how some of these ideas can take hold in urban governance.

2) I have a concern with the way most people tend to be pretty certain that Peak Oil either is or isn’t happening. It’s hard to take F Scott Fizgerald’s advice that “The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” So Robert A. Burton’s book, On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not is very helpful and provocative. Basically, the story we tell ourselves about certainty is completely wrong. What we think happens is that we weigh up the evidence then decide what it tells us. For Burton, neuroscience shows certainty to be “neither a conscious choice nor even a thought process.” Instead, certainty is a feeling and as such it “arises out of involuntary brain mechanisms that, like love or anger, function independently of reason.” For the transition movement, I think this helps to suggest that we should be wary of acting or not acting out of feelings of certainty. One reviewer said “Being certain is nice, but it’s doubt that gets you an education”.

I recommend the Art of War, attributed to Sun Tzu. Not a modern book, incredibly old in fact, but one of the Toaist texts. I think it is central to the ‘Hearts and Minds’ part of transition, inso far that it says that everything that is required to deal with conflict wisely, with honor and victoriously is within all of us.

[…] couple of weeks later, Rob was reading Charles Leadbeater’s We Think and then in his Transition Network structure proposal he wrote: […]