Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brenda C. Carr on July 27, 2010 at 12:00pm

Thanks for "keeping it simple". I concur.

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Permalink Reply by Terry Edlin on July 16, 2010 at 9:23pm

I know what my wishes are: to collaborate with others on what I'm doing so that I am more effective. I feel overwhelmed to begin with (who isn't?) and the technology just gets away from me. A mentor, someone who sees the big picture, would be a tremendous help. I don't understand some things that I'm trying to do on my website. It's simple once you know, until then however, I'm stumbling around in the dark. A technology mentor and a message mentor would be great. My website, New Community Vision, has lots of content that explains what I'm trying to do.
Thanks for asking the question.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Potyen on July 18, 2010 at 10:53am

I'd love to see a way for Transition US to support a national awareness-raising event. To that end, I'd like to propose a bike ride across the country next summer, ending in a photo op or meeting with secretary of the interior Salazar. (I suggest this because I live in Steamboat Springs, CO) and I think I can facilitate such a meeting.)

I will ride from Steamboat Springs, CO, to Washington D.C. myself. But i think this could be much more effective if others were to join me along the way. In fact, there's no reason this collective ride could not begin on the west coast, with others joining as the ride progresses to the east. Everyone involved could converge on a specific date in D.C.

I tried to organize this myself for this summer, but I didn't have the time to organize everything AND train for the ride.

How could Transition US facilitate and support such an event?

1. By raising awareness starting now via the Transition newsletter and website.
2. By fundraising to support those who are riding. This would include food, lodging and hopefully a small per diem for riders. (It is a bit of a hardship for me to take a month off from work to do this, and I suspect he same is true of many others.) This could come from private parties, restaurants, donations from organic retailers, organic food growers, and corporate entities who support the Transition movement.
3. By helping to solicit alternative-fueled support vehicles for each leg (1 or more days) of the ride. This could be accomplished by contacting
a) anyone who is part of the transition movement, has access to such a vehicle, and is willing to arrange for a driver
b) contacting dealers along the way, who would have an invested interest in raising awareness for their alternative-fueled vehicle dealerships
c) getting sponsorship from alternative vehicle manufacturers, such as Tesla, etc.
d) By contacting media outlets along the route and helping to arrange interviews, as well as helping to arrange venues in appropriate towns for presentation by rider participants about the transition movement.

The goal is to get national attention for the transition movement.

that's it in a nutshell. I have more ideas, but I thought i would just float the concept and see what happens.

Paul Potyen
Initiator
Transition Steamboat

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Permalink Reply by Tamara SunSong on July 16, 2010 at 9:48pm

Two wishes:

1) I'm with Gregory in wishing that the Transition movement (at least where I live -- Victoria, BC) had a broad, diverse social base in practice, not only in theory. It would be great to see more indigenous, anti-poverty, immigrant groups, etc. represented.

2) Though we're making progress on this, I wish that there were more people willing to share leadership and really engage with the Transition process. We have quite a few committed folks here in Victoria, and I'm incredibly grateful for their work; we also have a lot of people who hang at the fringes and make suggestions for what "we" should do. The suggestions are appreciated, but those of us currently taking leadership are usually stretched to the limit, so my answer is usually, "great idea! would you like to do it?" How do we develop a culture of collaborative leadership so that people really feel empowered and committed to bringing these changes about together, rather than wanting to looks to "leaders" to make things happen?

This applies not only to the official Transition movement but to the many other related projects going on, including our local permaculture commons garden, for which we seem to have trouble mustering enough consistent support to keep it happening. Everyone I talk to has an idea for what I could do differently to generate more volunteer support, but no one has yet said, "wow, I'd love to help you with that. What can I do to help create more support for Springridge Commons?"

Feel like I'm whining, but how to create and encourage a sense of empowerment and individual responsibility for shared resources seems like a really crucial issue that we need to address explicitly if we want to keep the global commons of soil, atmosphere, and oceans in a state that supports life. And I sure haven't worked it out yet.

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Permalink Reply by Giuliana Giorgi on July 17, 2010 at 3:38am

I would like you to spread the word: there ist a remedy against oil spills ! Look at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM7c0yOHqnU&feature=channel
Thank you for your attention. I wish you a lot of success.

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Permalink Reply by Galen on July 17, 2010 at 7:33am

Hi Les!

The Transition Movement literally inspired the creation of the Well Fed Neighbor Alliance here in SW Missouri.
Our motto: "Your best defense against hard times is a well-fed neighbor" [wellfedneighbor.com]

While utterly true, the Transition's focus on peak oil and climate change is not as effective as it could be.
Peak Oil, as a front-burner issue, is simply beyond the sustained attention span of 98% of the American population. At least it is around here.

War with Iran, and the consequent destruction of Saudi Oil fields, appears immanent. We are talking weeks or months. 70% of Europes' oil, and our globalized food distribution system is in peril. Here in Springfield, some 2.5 million pounds of food are shipped in daily from Not Here. We have only 3 days supply of food in the delivery pipeline, and in all probablity, so do you.

The consequences of cutting the just-in-time food supply go way beyond buying a few veggies at the Farmers' Market.

The Transition task, as I see it, must go beyond education, beyond organizational hierarchy. Only a self-replicating and viral awakening can mobilize a far larger audience- quickly!

But how? The cerebral, political and green arguments of the Transition Movement have failed to instigate rapid and systemic cultural change. Facts are facts. Required is a visceral and pyschological approach that is compelling, undeniable, and transpersonal.

One answer: People vote with their forks three times a day- and every day the WFNA reminds them that civilization is "three meals deep." We get the public's attention and hold it. Food security goes around their programmed defenses. Our numbers are growing rapidly.

We are making the upcoming political season a sounding board (one of many). We push local politicians and wannabees for their vision, roadmap and timetable for a sustainable future. Issues centered on Big Government, Big Oil, and Big Pharma will, in time, be debated in the public forum- BUT ONLY AFTER YOU HAVE GOTTEN the attention of the mainstream media on a recurring basis. Our "food and jobs security" approach has been successful, so far.

I hope what I've written is useful. Much more could be said. The following questions, (submitted to the 8 candidates running for the congressional 7th district at an upcoming, televised forum) is one example:


"He who controls the food on your plate decides your fate."

Background:

Only a tiny fraction of the food in our supermarkets is locally grown- and most of that is processed out-of-state. The processing, packaging, milling, canning, and distribution infrastructure- the backbone of Missouri's once vibrant economy- is gone. Now, we can not feed ourselves. In this post 9-11 World, we are as dependent on foreign food as foreign oil.

Q: What is your definition of "food security"?

Q: What is your plan, and your timetable, to restore a regional food supply system, along with the energy sovereignty this requires, for a Food-Secure Future for the 7th District?

Galen Chadwick
regional coordinator
Well Fed Neighbor Alliance

4139 S. Delaware Ave.
Springfield Missouri 65804

(417) 353-7758

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Permalink Reply by Kyla Cox on July 17, 2010 at 8:01am

1. The money to attend Permaculture training this fall. I feel like that would be really helpful in visioning and enhancing my ability to "see" new possibilities.
2. More time. I want to devote more time to our group and activities.
3. To find more meaningful work that is near my home. Or be able to work at home! Oh, yes.

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Permalink Reply by Kyla Cox on October 8, 2010 at 10:12am

Wish #2 came true! I am now laid off from my job, so I have more time! I AM devoting more time to Transition Des Moines, and I love it. Now for that Permaculture course...

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Permalink Reply by Gregg Marchese on July 17, 2010 at 9:35am

Worker-owned Forestry/Natural Building Cooperative.
Employing youth, elders, and everyone in between with skills, tools, enthuiasm, knowledge and perseverance, we would work to thin the overgrown, fire-suppressed forests of southern oregon, then convert the thinnings into various products: firewood, mulch, rustic furniture, roundwood timberframes of every scale from gateways and arbors, to whole house frames.
Everyone would be an owner of the business, and everyone would receive ongoing training is all aspects, especially cooperative decision-making and risk & profit sharing, communication, group process, and of course all the skills that go into such a venture, from ecology, tool use, maintenance and safety, shop skills, marketing, administration, product development...
Local resources providing local products and services, all while improving the forest ecology.

I know Lomakatsi already does something like this. But this venture would focus most on Utilization, turning the thinnings of various kinds into beautiful, functional artistic items like furniture, fences and gates, and timberframes. It's a missing link in the chain of use, and vast resources are being underused or wasted. This venture would value-add and circulate natural resources, workers, capital and joy within the community.

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Permalink Reply by Luellen on July 17, 2010 at 12:03pm

My three wishes would be:

a job closer to home so I could get rid of my truck and walk or bike instead

a food co-op for Jackson, Michigan

a raw food restaurant in Jackson Michigan

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Permalink Reply by Joel Welty on July 17, 2010 at 1:35pm

Luellen:
If you are interested in organizing a food co-op, I can help you. I'm Executive Director of the Michigan Alliance of Cooperatives. I can assist in the legal paperwork of setting up the co-op, finding supporters and preparing the business plan. From the start, we would incorporate Transition values in the business model of the food co-op under consideration.
Joel Welty

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Permalink Reply by Charles Alban on July 17, 2010 at 5:47pm

My wish would be to see a spiritual renewal that would take us away from selfish materialism. For the last 200 years we have completely lost the plot of what it means to be a human being and what is our purpose on this planet. We have become enthralled by scientific materialism, and we think everything was put here for our pleasure and indulgence, like a giant candy store.

This is precisely not our purpose. Since in many ways the Transition movement is a return to the ideals of the 70s, and we are all dusting off our copies of the Whole Earth Catalog, one of the things from that period that should be dusted off and revisited is the Hare Krishna movement. I stumbled into a Hare Krishna temple in Laguna Beach two years ago and I've never left. I suddenly discovered a treasure trove of overlooked wisdom that had all the answers all along.

The Hare Krishnas have been operating self-sufficient farming communities running on Vedic principles continuously since the mid 60s, something of which I had no idea. There is really no need to reinvent the wheel. They have a 5,000 year-old-philosophy that has been honed over the millenia into something that really works if it is diligently applied. These communities do not strive for material gain; they strive for "devotional service" that satisfies all needs, both material and spiritual. They use animal power, minimal electricity, they know how to grow, harvest and process crops, and they understand human psychology such that a community can remain coherent and cohesive.

If everybody lived in these types of communities, all our problems would be solved. I am coming to the conclusion that the Transition movement is in fact a transition from materialism to spiritualism, even though this may not be clearly understood at this stage. And in fact it has to be, since materialism has no place as a philosophy on this planet and is an aberration that must and will be eliminated.

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