Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
its consumption of fossil fuels. The transition town movement is above all about
articulating an ethical but practical vision that local inhabitants can support, develop
and identify with. As Hopkins (2005) writes:
The continual decline in the net energy supporting humanity [is] a decline which
mirrors the ascent in net energy that has taken place since the Industrial
Revolution. It also refers to a future scenario in which humanity has successfully
adapted to the declining net fossil fuel energy availability and has become more
localized and self-reliant. It is a term favoured by people looking towards peak
energy as an opportunity for positive change rather than an inevitable disaster.
The idea was provoked by the notion of 'peak oil' and the work of Richard Heinberg,
particularly
Powerdown
(2004), and inspired by the social and economic changes
that have taken place in Cuba since 1991, following the drastic reduction in its oil
supplies, food and trade economy following the fall of the Soviet Union (Quinn,
2006). Limited petrol supplies have transformed Cuban agriculture, with much food
now grown in urban neighbourhoods, and permaculture design principles applied
widely. Small-scale renewable energy and energy-saving mass transit systems have
been developed. Educational and healthcare provision has been localized. The Cuban
national slogan is now 'A Better World is Possible', replacing 'Socialism or Death'.
The first decade of the twenty-first century will probably see the maximum extraction
of oil from the Earth, after which oil supplies will steadily diminish while the need
for processing will increase as the oil extracted decreases in quality. It is therefore
imperative for all communities to develop alternative energy sources and reduce
energy consumption, while maintaining and enhancing the quality of individual and
collective living. To do this, it is necessary to establish a path of 'energy descent',
applying permaculture design systems and relocalizing the economy. The anticipated
benefits include:
•
healthier food;
•
more active lifestyles;
•
greater self-reliance;
•
a sense of connection to place and products;
•
the re-emergence of local identity;
•
an emphasis on quality over quantity;
•
a means of overcoming addictive behaviours such as over-consumption; and
•
a meaningful common goal and sense of purpose.
In 2005 Hopkins, working with students and colleagues, devised the first energy
descent plan,
Kinsale 2021
, with Kinsale Town Council in Ireland a little later
officially adopting it as council policy. Energy descent is about
living
a post-carbon
future rather than preparing to
live in
a post-carbon future. It is about changing
everyday habits, behaviours, proclivities and perceptions. It means rooting transitional
change in individual and community action. The transition process involves com-
munity education and networking; food mapping; community arts activities and craft
workshops; research, natural building, renewable energy and permaculture projects;
the creation of community gardens; and local political lobbying, dialogue and clear
media communication. The idea has caught on. By 2007, a number of towns in the
