Transformation Moment: low carbon travel.
How, and how far, will we travel if we make the changes we need to in order to thrive in a carbon constrained society? For a range of interlocking reasons, the conclusion of this paper is that we will be happier, healthier and more resilient if we radically change from [...]

This documentary from the BBC is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen on TV for a long time. Highly recommended.

Wildlife film maker Rebecca Hosking investigates how to transform her family’s farm in Devon into a low energy farm for the future, and discovers that nature holds the key.

With her father close to retirement, Rebecca returns to her family’s wildlife-friendly farm in Devon, to become the next generation to farm the land. But last year’s high fuel prices were a wake-up call for Rebecca. Realising that all food production in the UK is completely dependent on abundant cheap fossil fuel, particularly oil, she sets out to discover just how secure this oil supply is.

Alarmed by the answers, she explores ways of farming without using fossil fuel. With the help of pioneering farmers and growers, Rebecca learns that it is actually nature that holds the key to farming in a low-energy future. (from BBC)

UPDATE: The Transtion Handbook is now online in a wiki!

UPDATE: download Transition-Handbook.pdf

UPDATE: download Transition-Handbook.odt

See also: Transition Primer

[amtap book:isbn=1900322188]

I really can’t recommend this book highly enough, but if you need more convincing…

“a must-read labelled, ‘immediate’ “ – Jeremy Leggett, founder of Solarcentury and SolarAid

“The Transition Handbook will come to be seen as one of the seminal books which emerged at the end of the Oil Age” – Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association

“There is no more important book than this one for any community seeking to change toward ecological sustainability” – Jerry Mander, founder/director of the International Forum on Globalization

“There is no better call to action than this book, and no better guide to the hands-on creation of a liveable future” – Dr Stephan Harding, co-ordinator of the MSc Holistic Science at Schumacher College

“This is much more than just a book. It is a manual for a movement. And not just any movement, but one which could prove to be the most important social force humanity has ever seen” – Mark Lynas, author of Six Degrees

“The Transition movement is the best news there’s been for a long time and this manual is a goldmine of inspiration to get you started” – New Internationalist

“The most important book we have yet published” – John Elford, Green Books (publishers of LOTS of VERY good books)

“The book succeeds brilliantly at every level… Seriously, this is one of the most important books in the sustainability field to appear in this decade” – Robert Morgan, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science at the University of Glamorgan and Co-Director, The Green College

“The newly published Transition Handbook is so important that I am tempted just to confine this review to five simple words ‘You must read this book!’” – Richard Barnett, editor of Ethical Pulse (Ethical Junction’s newletter)

Need yet more convincing?

Watch these videos!

Caroline Lucas Launches The Transition Handbook

Rob Hopkins’ on the Transition Handbook

Read these reviews…

• A Review of The Transition Handbook by Graham Strouts of Zone5.org
• The Transition Handbook Reviewed in ‘The Guardian’
• Review of Transition Handbook from New Internationalist magazine
• Another Review of The Transition Handbook by Richard Barnett, editor of Ethical Pulse
• Patrick Whitefield Reviews The Transition Handbook
• A review from Friends of the Earth Earthmatters Magazine
• Carbusters Magazine review
• Carolyn Baker’s review

Enjoy!

Josef.

A while ago a couple of peace activists who broke into a military airfield to damage B52 bombers argued they were preventing a greater crime and won their case (see http://www.b52two.org/ for the story).

At the time I wondered “what if you used a similar defense for an action to prevent climate change”?

Well, that has now happened and the jury is out, damaging property to prevent climate change is legal:

Kingsnorth trial: Coal protesters cleared of criminal damage to chimney
The trial of the six Greenpeace UK activists was the first case in which acting to prevent climate change causing damage to property formed part of a ‘lawful excuse’ defence
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/10/activists.carbonemissions

Previous victories where environmental activists have been found not guilty:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/10/activists.kingsnorthclimatecamp1

Is preventing climate change a valid defence? VOTE NOW:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/poll/2008/sep/11/climatechange.kingsnorthclimatecamp

On a more sober note, read Climate Code Red:
http://www.climatecodered.net/

Enjoy!

Josef.

YouTube – GOOD: Oil Addiction.

If we’re addicted to oil, our twelve-step program should begin with admitting that we have a problem. As the price of oil creeps higher, finding new energy sources is more important than ever. But the search for alternatives, combined with environmental disruptions, is putting new pressures on other essentials like food. There are some things that are going well in the world. Right now, the economy is not one of them.

http://www.goodmagazine.com/

Animation & Design by Chris Weller
Directed by Max Joseph
Music: “Genesis” by Justice

http://www.myspace.com/etjusticepourtous

http://www.christopherweller.com
http://www.chimponachain.com

Here is some scary inside news on Big Energy plans for biofuel and biomass energy production (my own quick thoughts and some useful links follow):

I went ‘undercover’ to a 2 days summit last year in Paris,
This event was meant for all the oil companies of the world to network,
share about how to improve oil sales and what they should in the future.

Here is what I understood
(I must underline that this is my very personal point of view and engages
only me):

First it was very clear to me that big oil companies are very aware that the
shortage of oil is going to happen soon,
And that they should prepare for the future to maintain good profits.

From what I understood, their plan is:

1- to buy a maximum of land all over the world: big oil companies seem to be
in a rush to buy whatever land they can find at the moment: competition
between oil companies seems to be strong there.

2- To begin to grow the plants necessary to produce biofuel
=> this means the parallel development of hybrid cars they (of course)
advertised for in the conference

But this is not over, because big oil companies already forecast the
shortage of land that will occur due to competition with food land,
So they have 2 plans to deal with that:

a- improve soil productivity by massive use of pesticides and GMOs
What shocked me, and that I really would like to share with you,
Is that they felt that there didn’t see any problem to do so,
because no one was going to EAT these plants.

But to me it represents a potential MASSIVE danger for the future: as you
know, pesticides are huge pollutants and ruin the soil (and water underneath
and all around) for years; but most of all GMOs don’t stop at the end of a
field and spread easily throughout the globe:
This means a potential uncontrolled dispersion of genetically modified
organisms all around the planet, with results that I think can be completely
disastrous.
Also: would you like to grow the food you will eat on a soil where GM were
grown for ages? This means that a very strange ’sentencing to death’ of
biofuel soils that might be already happening without us really noticing.

You will say: there is legislation for that not to happen.
What I think is: only in the ‘developed’ countries you can find this type of
legislation, unluckily.
So about other countries:
when they grow food, ‘developed’ countries’s legislation is enforced because
food can only be bought uder certain conditions, but what happens when it is
not food?

b- then, when all possible land is bought and the need for energy is still
increasing (due to the increase of population, mostly), they will go to the
3rd stage, which is biomass.
Biomass can be obtained by plants or by algae.
So it will first start with plants and then will go to algae.
I recently read that experiments with algae were starting in the US.
The advantage of algae is that it can potentially be grown in the sea, so
not on land, so it could be a solution to land shortage and the food
problem.
But again, the big danger is there is no real economical reasons for the big
oil companies not to use GM, which means potential biological catastrophies
whenever an algae farm will accidently leak in the ocean.
Think about this green algae in the Mediterranean sea.

So to summarize, my take on this problem is three fold:
1 a soil shortage problem/ competition with food
2 soil ’sentenced to death’by massive use of pesticides and GM
3 potential biological catastrophy with the uncontrolled use of GM all
around the globe to produce biofuel and then biomass algae.
And this really worries me, that is why I shared this with you.

My hope is that every person that read this e-mail will have this in mind as
well when thinking about biofuel.

This is really only my own point of view from what I understood, but I
thought you would be interested to read it.

Scary news indeed.

I’ve a few (ok, a lot) quick thoughts/ points to share…

The Future of Food is a good documentary about GM if anyone isn’t concerned about that yet.

An intro is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNezTsrCY0Q

I’ve got the full thing if anyone wants it.

A more positive film is:

How to save the world: One Man, One Cow, One Planet
http://howtosavetheworld.co.nz/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l84laB4JPdw

I’ve got that too
Using waste veg oil for fuel makes sense, clear cutting forests to grow it certainly doesn’t.

In case anyone has missed it in the news, the price of food has already sky rocketed for many of the worlds poorest people and there are riots around the globe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMZ6zt3OHK8

If you are going to grow fuel, Dale Sorghum is considered a good plant to grow by many permaculturalists, because of its “Stacked Functions” (basically, it can be used for lots of different things):
http://www.energyfarms.net/node/1434

As for biomass, here are some good trees for fuel:
http://permaculturetokyo.blogspot.com/2006/05/top-10-fuel-trees-for-zone-5-and-above.html

And http://solaroof.org/wiki has lots of potential for growing algae (and more).

As for generating our own energy, I’m getting more and more into concentrated solar power (CSP).

Check out:
http://openfarmtech.org/weblog/?p=164
http://www.concentratingsolarpower.info/
http://trec-uk.org.uk/

Polly Higgins (an organiser of the upcoming WISE Women Peak Oil event at The Hub) is a CSP expert:
http://thelazyenvironmentalist.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Josef.

This looks set to be an amazing event…

This is one of the best peak oil movies. A must see documentary.

Via Dandelion Salad

By Carolyn Baker
Speaking Truth to Power
Sunday, 04 November 2007

This past week I attended another screening of “What A Way To Go: Life At The End Of Empire“[1]. My intention was not to see the documentary yet again-perhaps for the fifteenth time, but to support the film makers, my friends Sally Erickson and Tim Bennett, who were completing the last leg of their West Coast screening tour in my state. However, I did watch most of the film again, and this time, my experience was different. No doubt that had something to do with the walk Tim and I took during part of the film, bouncing around the narrow, vintage streets of Silver City, New Mexico and filling our lungs with the chilly night air. Maybe it was Tim’s comment that when people ask “What can I do?” they don’t really want the truth but rather ten easy steps that will require no sacrifice, no pain, and certainly no change of lifestyle. Tim’s comment resonated with my experience in teaching history to college students who incessantly ask, “But what can we do?” when I systematically lay out the reality of the corporatocracy the United States has become, energy depletion, climate change, and of course, the police state in which we now reside. When I answer the students with my perception of options rather than solutions, they tend to sink in their chairs and tell me that they feel overwhelmed not only with the daunting reality of the planetary situation but even worse, that they wanted me to offer them “hope”, and are disappointed that I instead offer them responsibility. I tell them that since I don’t have any “hope” it would be disingenuous of me to attempt to offer it to anyone else.

Along with showing them “What A Way To Go”, I’ve been showing another documentary lately, “Escape From Suburbia[2] which focuses on individuals and communities who are either relocating to other countries or areas of the U.S. or are digging in to relocalize their communities for sustainable living. It seems that when students or most Americans for that matter realize the enormous personal responsibility that telling the whole truth about the collapse of civilization requires and the commitment, courage, and action that is necessary in order to navigate collapse, they can’t wait to turn their attention elsewhere. Perhaps if they don’t think about it, it will all go away-or so they wish.

By the end of the semester my students usually realize that the future they thought they had doesn’t exist, and they admit, albeit reluctantly, that the class has caused them to ponder profoundly their career path, their values, their desire to have children, and the very reasons they are on the planet. While it’s true that they may leave my class and repress everything they learned, it’s also true that they will not be totally surprised by collapse and that they will have some tools for preparation they might not have otherwise had.

What The Question “What Can I Do?” Prevents Us From Experiencing

As I teach, write, and travel throughout America, I have come to understand that Tim was right: No one who asks “What can I do?” really wants an answer-at least not a real answer. For this reason, the charade of political candidates, elections, and the corporate media that guarantees the success of that particular con game has hypnotically entranced the electorate who overwhelmingly prefer to remain delusional. The majority take little interest in the candidates anyway, perceiving them as yet another group of celebrities. Yet even more delusional are those who call themselves progressive. These individuals are desperate to keep the show on the road and sanction its validity, and they are the ones who least want to know the answer to “What can I do?” because of what it would cost them.

Consequently, they must pre-occupy themselves with “solutions” that have nothing to do with the actual state of the earth and its inhabitants but which offer a false sense of making a difference. When I think of them, I cannot help but note that as the Titanic was sinking it would have made no difference if hundreds of its passengers had collected endless buckets of water the ship had taken on and emptied it back into the sea, but it may have provided them with a momentary sense of participating in a “solution.”

Tenaciously grasping for solutions serves no other purpose at this point in human history than distracting us from the myriad layers of feelings we have regarding the death of planet earth. As Americans we are more afflicted with “death phobia” than are other cultures around the world. Most indigenous traditions have some sort of “good day to die” perspective, but we heroically persevere in our war on death. It seems this is what Tim Bennett meant earlier this year when he wrote a blog piece in which he stated that the switch had flipped and that it is now time to let go of the shore, sailing into the unknown in the lifeboats we have created. As we do so, we exit the paradigm of suicide and opt for survival, knowing all the while that there are no guarantees that we will not succumb.

Whereas many collapse watchers disparage feeling feelings as extraneous and insist that we must focus on taking action dispassionately, I argue that action must be informed by emotion. Otherwise, we will only perpetuate the paradigm of doing estranged from feeling, that is, living from the head while disowning the heart-one of the fundamental premises of the culture of civilization which has brought us to where we are now. Thus, as one part of us may minimize the importance of our actions being informed by emotion, the seasoned sage in us must continually ask ourselves how different we want the new world/community/individual that we are becoming and shaping to be? If we merely pour new wine into old bottles, we fundamentally change nothing. If we take action without feeling the full impact of our fear, grief, and anger, as well as our gratitude for what resources we do have in our lives, we are likely to re-create the culture of empire in another form elsewhere.

Lose The Word “Solutions”; Embrace The Notion Of “Options”

At the same time that I’m pleading for the end of “solution obsession”, I’m suggesting re-focusing on options. We cannot “solve” the issues of climate change, energy depletion, species die-off, global pandemics, global government, or the rampant proliferation of fascism. For those awaiting a mass awakening or mass resistance, I fear you wait in vain. We would be hard-pressed to find any population in the history of the human race that is as comatose as that of the United States in this moment. In my opinion, focusing on “mass” anything is the opposite of where our attention must be, namely, local and community survival. Notice, I did not say local “solutions” but rather, survival. As I have stated repeatedly, the issues are: Who do I want to be in the face of collapse? Who do I love and trust and want to share my life with? Who do I need to reach out to in order to enhance all of our well being? As the “I” becomes “we”, we all must ask: Do we need to remain where we are in order to survive, or do we need to go elsewhere? What actions should we be taking? Have we put in place a structure or process for practicing and improving our communication skills and resolving conflict? What is our level of food and water security? What is our access to alternative or traditional medicine?

These are merely a few of the plethora of questions that must be addressed, and putting our attention on “solutions” will only distract us from doing so. In other words, “What can I do?” is not only not useful, it could actually get you dead.

More Options

I borrow again from the film makers of “What A Way To Go” when I offer “Five Things You Can Do” from their website:

•1) “Fully acknowledge and internalize that the culture of Empire is destroying the support systems on which the community of life depends, and robbing us of our essential humanity.”

I suggest mulling the words “internalize” and “humanity.” Then ask yourself how electing presidential or Congressional candidates, not unlike putting lipstick on a pig, can stop the evisceration of your essential humanity. Ponder the system that nominates and owns those candidates and determines their political positions during their terms in office. Notice that all candidates, in order to be nominated or elected, must participate in the evisceration of your humanity.

•2) “Talk about your concerns with everyone you know.” Notice their reactions. Notice the incredulity, the apathy, the denial, the false hopes of “solutions.” Then notice how you feel. Notice also the individuals who hear you and sense that what you are feeling is valid because they feel it too. Continue to connect with those individuals; they are inestimably valuable to you.

•3) “Find your work in the world to preserve life, change this culture and/or create restorative ways for individuals and communities to live in harmony with each other and the non-human world.”

Start asking yourself why you are here. What did you come here to do? Why did you show up on planet earth at this time and not another?

•4) “Assess what you actually need during this transition in order to live and do your work. Only buy what you need and buy from local sources in order to support the creation of local economies.” To what extent are you powering down and simplifying your life? Do you know your neighbors? Local farmers? Local business people?

•5) “Find or deepen your spiritual connection to that which is greater than you. Ask and then listen for guidance about how to live joyfully and creatively in the face of these unprecedented times.”

Notice that none of these has anything to do with mass movements or political candidates. In fact, they are all about you and your internal and local worlds. Could it be that for some of us it might be easier if the options were all about the macrocosm instead of the microcosm? Is it not more comfortable to focus on mass movements and political candidates instead of the personal responsibility that collapse throws in our faces?

Options Engender Opportunities

Collapse is a multi-faceted word which I frequently use in my writing and speaking. It is important to use the word and not resist it because the entire construct of civilization is collapsing in front of our eyes. For example, the U.S. has not “entered a recession” but rather the first stages of global economic collapse. Our public schools are not merely turning out undereducated students, the entire educational system is collapsing. It’s not that energy depletion will make it more difficult to “grow our economy,” but rather that in reality, growth is over! Although we refuse to recognize our limits on planet earth, planet earth is setting limits whether we like it or not. As James Howard Kunstler says in “Escape From Suburbia” in response to Dick Cheney’s maxim that “The American way of life is not negotiable,” if we refuse to negotiate our way of life, then energy depletion will make sure that we get a new negotiating partner called “reality.”

When we refuse to accept the fact of collapse, we armor ourselves from endless opportunities for personal and community growth. Perhaps other collapse watchers would prefer not to hear about “opportunities” inherent in collapse, but I feel compelled to name them!

I would be the first to admit the possibility that nuclear war may erase all potential for human survival as collapse more fully unfolds. However, I would also adamantly insist that it may not be inevitable and that local communities and families who have consciously prepared for collapse can not only navigate it but create mini-societies where an entirely new paradigm prevails. In the latter scenario unimaginable opportunities (a word very closely connected with “options”) abound for remaking human relationships, human connection with the earth and the non-human world, and the reclaiming of our ancient memory of living within limits as partners with, not dominators of, the earth.

Paradoxically, “solutions” obfuscate opportunities whereas options nurture them. Not only is it too late for “solutions” but the process of collapse, which is well underway, challenges us to revere and seize options in which reside unfathomable opportunities. The switch has been flipped; there’s no turning back to antiquated means of addressing unprecedented challenges. Time to stop asking “What can I do?” and start doing the five things you can. It could mean the difference between suicide and survival.

__________________________________

Watch this website, Speaking Truth to Power for more information about Carolyn’s forthcoming book, The Spirituality Of Collapse: Restoring Life On A Dying Planet.

[1] See review of “What A Way To Go: Life At The End Of Empire” by Carolyn Baker

[2] See review of “Escape From Suburbia” by Mick Winter

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see
Escape from Suburbia: A Documentary Review By Carolyn Baker + Holloway: Escape from Suburbia (videos; trailers)

I just watched this.

As it says at the beginning it is very dense, but overall I think it is really rather good.

For more info about the movie visit the website

Trailer

Peak Moment 72: “What a Way to Go” – Meet the Filmmakers

It was on google video but seems to have gone: