Transition Culture

20 Jul 2010

A Review of ‘Local Money’ by Peter North

Here is a review of ‘Local Money’ by Jeremy over at MakeWealthHistory.   The book can be ordered here.  It was also mentioned recently by Lucy Siegle in the Observer.

“I’ve really enjoyed the last three books to come out of the Transition Books stable, so I was pleased to see the latest instalment was out: Local Money – how to make it happen in your community. It’s another big square book, following Local Food, and it’s got the same practical, inspiring, can-do approach. This time, it’s all about creating local money networks.

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5 Jul 2010

Tooting’s Trashcatchers Carnival a Huge Success

Here’s a press release from Transition Town Tooting about yesterday’s wonderful Trashcatchers’ Carnival….

Tooting Trashcatchers Carnival stops the traffic.

Traffic on Tooting High Street came to a stop today when the Tooting Trashcatchers Carnival came to town!   Over 800 participants from local schools, community groups and clubs took part in this unique carnival made almost entirely from household rubbish. Over 1 million plastic bottles and shopping bags, half a million crisp packets, half a ton of renewable willow and half a ton of materials were collected over a six month period to create this extravaganza.  Check out the great piece on local ITV News… and this film, filmed from the Turtle, which gives a flavour of the event…

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28 Jun 2010

What it Looks Like When Transition Meets Climate Activism….

Here is a fascinating short film about Transition Heathrow, which has emerged from the proposed (and now scrapped) Third Runway at Heathrow Airport, and is now focused around a community garden project called ‘Grow Heathrow’, a wonderful reclaiming of a derelict market garden site.  It will hopefully spark an interesting discussion here about how Transition and activism come together … thanks to the JustDoIt people for making the film…

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28 Jun 2010

Lord Monckton Defrocked, Point by Point….

I haven’t blogged about this before due to lack of time, but I really should have, given that it really is essential reading/viewing.  Lord Monckton is one the leading climate sceptics out there, who very publicly argues that the world is actually getting colder, the oceans are not acidifying, arctic ice is not retreating, and that climate change is all a scam cooked up by the UN in order to usher in a New World Order (still with me?). Last October, he gave a talk at Bethel University in Minnesota in which he set out his case.  In the audience was one John Abraham, associate professor in the School of Engineering at the University of St Thomas in Minnesota.  He knew something was wrong, and then went off and spent months chasing up Monckton’s references, arguing that “the science community is slowly learning that if we don’t perform this service, no one will”.  His conclusion?  Every single reference is misinterpreted, distorted or falsified.  His online presentation patiently goes through every one of Monckton’s slides and pulls his arguments to pieces.  If you still think climate sceptics have even half a leg to stand on, this is essential viewing.

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25 Jun 2010

An Inside View on the 2010 Transition Network conference, by Sophy Banks

Many of those who attended the recent Transition Network conference remarked on how well facilitated the event was, and on the group process run on the Sunday.  Although the event was designed to feel as self-organised as possible, there was a great deal of intentional design behind the event, much of which was the work of Sophy Banks (see left).  In the following piece, Sophy explains the thinking behind how the event was facilitated, and offers tips for those wanting to organise similar events.

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