One Planet Agriculture #4: Transition Towns
First Broadcast: 24 April 2007
Featuring:
- Rob Hopkins
ONE PLANET AGRICULTURE - ROB HOPKINS ON TRANSITION TOWNS
Climate Radio presents the last in our series of four talks recorded earlier
this year at the Soil Association annual conference looking at the impact of
peak oil on agriculture.
This week the founder of the Transition Town movement, Rob Hopkins, relates
how he has been turning to challenges of peak oil and climate change into
action now for a better future. If you've not heard Rob speak before, I'd
highly recommend it as he is hugely inspirational. Here he describes the
thinking behind the community-led process of designing Energy Descent Action
Plans and the Transition Town model which is helping 'unlock the collective
genius of the community'. The original Transition Town in Totness is buzzing
with creative energy and positive projects:
- an awareness raising programme (film screenings and talks)
- community "open space" days which brainstorm solutions and ideas for
action
- oral history interviews - finding out what life was like with less fossil
fuel from older people
- specific action groups on food, psychological aspects of change, medicine
& health, the arts, energy, economics and local government
- evening classes
- bulk community purchase of solar water heating
- formation of a renewable energy services company
- local food directory
- oil vulnerability auditing for local business
- nut tree planting project
And that's after just four months...
At the end of the programme we find just enough time to squeeze in a live
recording of a lightbulb moment from the Boycott Coca Cola Experience.
"Everybody Suddenly Got Real" was recorded live at Club Integral in Brixton
earlier this year. For more info on BCCE including pedal-powered concerts
and green tea, see: http://fairtradetrousers.wordpress.com/
Many thanks to the Soil Association and Tim Siddall (aka Boycott Coca Cola
Experience) for their kind permission to broadcast this material.
Next week sees the launch of Climate Radio's new series seeking out the
green shoots of our post-carbon future, "The Low Carbon Show".
View the slideshow of Rob Hopkins' presentation at:
http://www.soilassociation.org/Web/SA/saweb.nsf/cfff6730b881e40e80256a6a002a765c/902f12def991d13a80256f9c005e300e/$FILE/conference_hopkins_workshop.pps
Rob Hopkins' blog:
http://transitionculture.org/
Transition Towns Wiki
http://www.transitiontowns.org/
Kinsale Energy Descent Action Plan
http://transitionculture.org/?page_id=104
The First 12 Steps for a Transition Town Initiative
http://transitionculture.org/2007/03/26/the-10-first-steps-for-a-transition-town-initiative-become-12/
"One Planet Agriculture - The case for action" (PDF)
http://www.soilassociation.org/Web/SA/saweb.nsf/cfff6730b881e40e80256a6a002a765c/902f12def991d13a80256f9c005e300e/$FILE/conference_caseforaction.pdf
Soil Association One Planet Agriculture campaign:
http://www.soilassociation.org/oneplanetagriculture
"The Power of Community - How Cuba survived peak oil" (DVD)
http://www.communitysolution.org
Available Audio
2768-1-20070425-one_planet_agriculture-4 – Listen Online | Download .mp3 (26.71 MB)