An Evolving Exploration into the Head, Heart and Hands of Energy Descent
Transition Culture has moved
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.
You may remember recently Ted Trainer’s first draft of his paper “The Transition Towns Movement: its huge significance, and a friendly criticism”, and my subsequent response. Ted subsequently sent some more detailed thoughts, and has since rewritten his piece, which you can download here. Brian Davey of Transition Nottingham responded to Ted’s piece in a beautiful, heartfelt and fiery response, which he has kindly allowed me to share with you, as many of you might find that his key points resonate quite deeply. My thanks to both.
We had a great event last week in Totnes, called ‘How We Used to Live’, which explored the most recent period in history when the town had a more localised economy and less energy than it does today. It was built on the oral history work that I have been doing, which will feature in the Totnes EDAP when it comes out. The evening featured Barrington Weekes from the wonderful Totnes Image Bank and Rural Archive, and four of the people I interviewed. Two of them, Douglas Matthews and Ian Slatter, have since passed away, and the evening was dedicated to their memory.
Here, finally, is the TED talk I gave in Oxford earlier this year. Probably the most nervousness-enducing talk I have ever given. I hope you find it useful.
Transition Town Tooting recently held their fantastic ‘Foodival‘ event. Rather than me write reams about it, check out the film below which offers a great record of the day.
How We Used To Live – Food, energy, skills, and elbow-grease: memories of a pre-oil Totnes.
How did Totnes feed, heat and transport itself before the age of globalisation and cheap energy? What did a local food system look like to those who depended on it? Two generations have passed with no first-hand knowledge of living with much less energy than we expect today. This event, illustrated with images from Totnes and District Image Bank presented by Barrington Weekes, and introduced by Rob Hopkins of Transition Town Totnes, will introduce you to the first hand stories of life growing up in the 1940s and 50s, where central heating was unknown and most food was, by necessity, local, through the memories of those who were there. This fascinating and illuminating evening will leave you seeing the town in a very different way.
How might our response to peak oil and climate change look more like a party than a protest march? This site explores the emerging transition model in its many manifestations
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You may remember recently Ted Trainer’s first draft of his paper “The Transition Towns Movement: its huge significance, and a friendly criticism”, and my subsequent response. Ted subsequently sent some more detailed thoughts, and has since rewritten his piece, which you can download here. Brian Davey of Transition Nottingham responded to Ted’s piece in a beautiful, heartfelt and fiery response, which he has kindly allowed me to share with you, as many of you might find that his key points resonate quite deeply. My thanks to both. 
