Report by Tracey Dunn.
Rob, who has a background in permaculture, talked to us about the organization he founded in early 2006 to start dealing with our transition from peak oil to sustainable ways of living.
He started the group in Totnes, Devon. Rob felt we couldn’t continue as we have been as a species and there was a need to build something positive.
The last 150 years has been a ‘petroleum interval’ for medicines, fuel, plastics, dvds, cds etc. The oil price trend is upwards.The north sea has been rapidly depleted. Out of 94 oil producing nations in the world,64 are past their peak.
With climate change speeding up rapidly there is a great need to adapt.’Burnout’ is coming. We need great imagination and creativity if we are to survive as a species.
A short Q+A session brought up issues of funding. Rob Hopkins said that enthusiasm takes things a long way but some admin funds had been given by the Esme Fairbairn organization and London’s Tudor Trust. One issue is to get working groups up and running and then build partnerships with other green and local groups, who might well provide funding and other forms of support. But Rob was keen to say that they do not have all the answers for places like Liverpool in Totnes, and they look to learn from us.
Public health professionals are looking at transition hospitals. In the future Transition Towns’ hope to be more sustainable by generating their own funding through things like workshops.
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