Transition Culture

An Evolving Exploration into the Head, Heart and Hands of Energy Descent

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I no longer blog on this site. You can now find me, my general blogs, and the work I am doing researching my forthcoming book on imagination, on my new blog.

Archive for “Economics” category

Showing results 166 - 170 of 243 for the category: Economics.


10 Dec 2008

9%, the Wizard of Oz and Sex

Last week a friend sent me a stunning, thinking-shifting powerpoint by Kevin Anderson of the Tyndall Centre’s Energy Programme entitled Reframing Climate Change: from long-term targets to emission pathways. If you want a sobering and, frankly, deeply depressing, update on the implications of the latest climate science, this is as good a place to start as any. It looks at the scale of the year-on-year emissions that we need to make, and it is quite something.

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8 Dec 2008

When “Doing a Clarkson” Takes on a Whole New Meaning

While editing the Transition Timeline (coming soon), Shaun and I came up with the following from a section looking at transportation in 2018. “In addition, those who tried to flaunt wealth by driving a car everywhere and buying showy possessions increasingly became seen at best as rather selfish and passé figures of fun. Calling someone a ‘Clarkson’ became a gentle form of abuse, but one which underpinned how far society had moved away from the kind of flamboyant car culture seen 10 years previously”. However, over the last couple of days, ‘doing a Clarkson’ has taken on an entirely different meaning.

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Discussion: 10 Comments

Categories: Climate Change, Economics, Energy


17 Nov 2008

The Great Betrayal: why global recession means we can abandon Tibet

One of the most appalling betrayals in recent history slipped by unseen by most people in last week’s media.  The UK Government stated that Tibet has actually always been a part of China, and that it has no claim whatsoever to be viewed in anyway differently from the rest of China.  For the Tibetan people, who have suffered genocide, the suppression and erosion of their cultural and religious identity, huge population transfer, famine and police brutality, this is the final kick in the teeth, the final glimmer of hope snuffed out.  The fact that that the Olympics are over, and China can stop pretending again that it gives a toss what the rest of the world thinks about anything, coupled with Western governments’ decision that the way out of crippling recession is to spend, spend, spend in order to encourage us to spend, spend, spend, means that no-one needs Tibet. It is dispensible and can now officially crawl away and die slowly.  This is a disgusting betrayal.

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Discussion: 8 Comments

Categories: Economics, Politics, Population, Resilience


11 Nov 2008

A Call for Input for the Transition Guide to Money

(A message from Peter North at Liverpool University)… Green Books in the UK will be publishing a guide to alternative currencies as part of their “Transition Guides” series called: “Money: how to unleash a money revolution where you live”.  I am writing it, and it will be published in September next year. It won’t be an inaccessible academic tome, but an affordable accessible ‘how to’ guide.  I have to deliver the manuscript in February.

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Discussion: 4 Comments

Categories: Economics, General


23 Sep 2008

Transition Glastonbury’s Submission to Mendip District Council’s Future Planning Document

I wrote last week about the submission that Transition Leicester made about eco-towns, today I want to celebrate the excellent piece of work done by Transition Glastonbury in pulling together their response to a report prepared by their local Council setting out plans for the development of the area over the next 20 years.  As with most Council plans, it starts with assuming a graph with a line that rises as it moves towards the right, increased growth, increased investment, increased energy availability.  Transition Glastonbury’s submission asks, what if it doesn’t?  How might this area thrive in uncertain times?  This is a timely post, as tomorrow night in Totnes sees the formal launch of our Energy Descent Pathways process, the creation, in effect, of the town’s Plan B.  Congratulations to Transition Glastonbury for blazing a trail with this so brilliantly.

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