The Bulletin - April 2008



In this issue of the TTL Bulletin:

TTL News

Global news

Things to do, see and read

Get involved!

And, finally...

TTL News :

Richard Heinberg in Lewes
Professor Richard Heinberg, senior fellow of the Post Carbon Institute, was in Lewes last month to talk about food security and how it's linked to peak oil and climate change.

On Tuesday 25 March Transition Town Lewes hosted a lunch of locally produced food at which Richard Heinberg spoke to over 30 local landowners, farmers and other interested parties about: What will we eat as the oil runs out? the subject of his talk later that evening at All Saints, Lewes which attracted an audience of almost 200 people.
Read more about the lunch here and about the talk at the All Saints here.

Richard’s talk at the All Saints Centre was filmed and will soon be available on DVD. Watch this space.

If you’d like to see a film of Richard and his partner Janet Barocco putting permaculture into practice at their suburban home in Santa Rosa, California, then take a look at this video on Peak Moment TV.

Richard advocates the relocalisation of food production. For some inspiring stories about people producing their own food in both the UK and the US go here and here.
A good source of of articles on food security can be found here.

Richard is concerned about the the psychological as well as the practical aspects of working to counteract the problems caused by energy depletion and climate change. He has written a ‘pep talk’ in which he concludes that “that the healthiest response to dire knowledge is to do something practical and constructive in response, preferably in collaboration with others, both because the worst can probably still be avoided and because engaged action makes us feel better.”
You can read the whole of this article here


Local Government and Climate Change
On 27th March TTL met with Lewes District Council’s Lindsay Frost, Director of Planning and Environmental Services, and Peter Gardiner, Lead Councillor for Planning.

The meeting was hosted by the TTL Local Government and Policy Group and chaired by Oliver Dudok van Heel of the TTL Business Group. Lindsay Frost gave a presentation about Planning and Climate Change - including the latest PPS1 Planning and Climate policy and the Lewes District Framework Core Strategy.

Patrick Crawford of Transition Town Lewes then spoke about the TTL Energy Descent Action Plan.

The talks were followed a very interesting and productive session of chaired questions and discussion. Find out more here.

If you’d like to get involved in TTL local government initiatives contact Chloe Anthony.

Lindsay Frost (LDC’s Director of Planning and Environmental Services) also attended the second meeting of the Lewes Sustainability Forum where he went through the planning handbook that is given to new District Councillors. It was very helpful to get an overview of this complex subject and a few myths were exploded in a lively discussion. If you would like a copy of this handbook please contact Mark Mansbridge of Friends of the Earth on 07910411071.

The Lewes Sustainability Forum is a meeting of various local environmental groups. It meets every 3 months to serve as an information exchange and skills swap and organises talks, film screenings etc on issues of common interest.


Transition Network Conference
As this is being written the 2nd Annual Transition Network Conference is underway! (11th – 13th April).

The conference, designed for people involved in a transition initiative in their locale or who are "mulling over" whether to start one up and includes workshops, Open Spaces, World Cafes, presentations and discussions.

TTL is represented at the conference by Adrienne Campbell, who is co-running a workshop on Energy Descent Pathways with Rob Hopkins; Chris Rowland who will be speaking about ‘Enabling Local Energy with ESCOs’ and Ed Wade Martins who is exploring useful tools for engaging young people in transition.

Others involved in the conference include:
Daniel Lerch author of Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, the first major local government guidebook on peak oil and global warming (Read a review of Daniel's book and watch an interview with Daniel);
Caroline Lucas, Green MEP for the South East Region;
Patrick Whitefield, one of the leading permaculture teachers Europe;
Mark Thurstain Goodwin, Director of GeoFutures; and
Chris Vernon, an editor of Oil Drum Europe.

More on this inspiring conference in the next bulletin.


Car Club
During March and April 2008, members of Transition Town Lewes proposed, and were appointed to carry out, a car club feasibility study in partnership with Lewes District Council. This is part of their Think Air initiative that arose out of the Air Quality Action Plan to improve air quality in the centre of town.

Take our Car Club Survey! - a residents’ survey, which will close on 21 April 2008.
All entrants giving their contact details (data protection applies) will be entered for a prize draw for a £30 voucher for clothing from Gossypium, Lewes.

More information about air quality here, and about car clubs here.

Read an interesting article about car clubs here.


Reminder: Transition Handbook now available
The Transition Handbook:from oil dependency to local resilience by Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition movement, was published last month.
Copies are available from the TTL office at £10.00 or £7.00 to people actively involved in TTL (rrp is £12.95).
The Transition Handbook is a guide for communities beginning an energy descent journey.

Reviews of the Transition Handbook:

The Transition concept is one of the big ideas of our time. Peak oil and climate change can so often leave one feeling depressed and disempowered. What I love about the Transition approach is that it is inspirational, harnessing hope instead of guilt, and optimism instead of fear. The Transition Handbook will come to be seen as one of the seminal books which emerged at the end of the Oil Age and which offered a gentle helping hand in the transition to a more local, more human and ultimately more nourishing future.
Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association

This book by the visionary architect of the Transition movement is a must-read labelled, immediate . Growing numbers with their microscopes trained on peak oil are convinced that we have very little time to engineer resilience into our communities before the last energy crisis descends. This issue should be of urgent concern to every person who cares about their children, and all who hope there is a viable future for human civilisation post-petroleum.
Jeremy Leggett, founder of Solarcentury and SolarAid, and author of Half Gone

A more detailed review can be found here


News from the TTL Groups
EDAP
TTL's Pathway to a Positive Future (the Plan) is gaining momentum. Seven groups are now in the process of writing drafts of the Plan, considering their vision for how Lewes could look having made an effective transition to a lower energy future, and beginning to plan the steps necessary to get there. The focus is generally on strategies that will make Lewes resilient in the face of global changes and a more healthful and fulfilling place to live, work and play. The first public draft of the Plan will be launched to great fanfare in January 2009. We intend now to visit many local groups in Lewes, from the W.I to the Scouts and work with them to gain ideas and visions to contribute to the Plan.

If you would like to be involved in any way with the creation of the Pathway to a Positive Future for Lewes then get in touch.

Food
TTL Stall at Lewes Farmers' Market
The theme of the Farmers' Market on 5th April was gardening, so we went down with wheel barrows and some free seedlings to give away.
These helped us in engaging with market shoppers about growing their own produce and reducing food miles.
We had leaflets about the Garden Buddies scheme and information about the TTL Food Group and TTL in general. It was a busy market and we had fun chatting to loads of people though of course a lot of them were already growing stuff. Our main effort was in awareness raising but we also wanted to recruit some more active members for the Food Group. We have got several names and are following them up with some more info on TTL Food Group.
Good fun and a really successful morning for not much effort. \\ Julia, Kristina, Polly and Ruth

Energy and Housing
The Ouse Valley Energy Services Company (OVESCo) that came out of the TTL Energy Group and works on behalf of Lewes District Council to deliver Renewable Energy Grants (REGs) and focuses on assisting people with the installation of solar hot water systems, is optimistic that it will receive more grant money soon - hopefully enough to keep it going until the end of this year.

Those interested in self build and housing should consider e-mailing Charley, the contact for the Dream Life Group. The first two meetings of the group were very exciting with lots of ideas for sustainable housing/living for the future. It may be this group takes on the role of the Housing Group in the future.

Global news


Radical rethink needed:

Climate target is not radical enough – study

Follow the links below for a selection of news stories, articles and videos on oil depletion, climate change, food security and more:

Power Switch
Peak Moment TV
Oil Depletion Analysis Centre
Energy Bulletin
Peak Oil in the News
Peak Oil?
And here is another excellent resource from The Community Solution.

Things to do, see and read...

Talks
For those you of you missed Jeremy Leggett’s talk in Lewes last year, here’s another chance to see him - in Brighton.

Transition Brighton and Hove present two talks:
Jeremy Leggett: Why we must act ahead of peak oil production, and
Jim Watson: Generating our own energy: What are the options?.

Thursday 17th April 7pm for 7.30pm at Brighthelm Centre, North Road, Brighton Tickets: £3/£2 conc. from Dome Box Office (01273 709709/www.brightonticketshop.com) or on the door (if not sold out).

Jeremy Leggett is the author of the books The Carbon War and Half Gone and ceo of solarcentury, the UK’s largest independent solar electric company.

Jim Watson is Deputy Director of the Sussex Energy Group at SPRU - Science and Technology Policy Research, Sussex University and deputy leader of the Tyndall Centre's Climate Change and Energy Programme.


Workshops and other activities

Green Roof DIY Workshop
17 May 2008
Learn about green roofs and how to build one for your garden shed. Run in partnership between Brighton and Hove Building Green and Brighton Permaculture Trust. Full details and bookings details of other upcoming events and courses from Brighton Permaculture.
VOLUNTEERING WITH BRIGHTON PERMACULTURE TRUST
We carry out practical gardening and landscape work in our orchards and plot at Stanmer and also in school grounds. There are also volunteering opportunities helping run courses and helping with admin. If you are interested in volunteering for Brighton Permaculture Trust please contact us via the Brighton Permaculture website.


Movies
New and upcoming cinema releases:

The 11th Hour
UK release date: 21st March 2008
To be screened by Lewes Cinema at the All Saints Centre, Lewes - date and time tba.

Documentary on ecology and the environment, with new footage and archive material shot around the world, and eloquent talking-heads contributions from more than 50 witnesses ranging from Stephen Hawking to former CIA chief James Woolsey and including Richard Heinberg.

Written and directed by the sisters Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners, The 11th Hour attempts to stave off helplessness, and the nihilism that often follows it, mostly by appealing to our reason.

From Leonardo DiCaprio's website:
"The mission of our community is to inspire action at every level: from individual action, up through our communities, to the state, national and international level. The actions are all shifting our civilization to a sustainable future. Let's work and take action together. The time is now. The hope is you. Let's begin."

Watch a trailer here.


Garbage Warrior
UK release date: 23rd May 2008

Shot over three years in the USA, England, India and New Mexico, Garbage Warrior is a feature-length documentary film telling the epic story of maverick architect Michael Reynolds, his crew of renegade house builders from New Mexico, and their fight to introduce radically different ways of living. A snapshot of contemporary geo-politics and an inspirational tale of triumph over buereaucracy, Garbage Warrior is above all an intimate portrait of an extraordinary individual and his dream of changing the world! A truly inspiring movie.

Watch a trailer here.

Brighton-based Oliver Hodge (Executive Producer/ Director/ Camera) met Michael Reynolds when he and his crew were invited to the area here by a group of British eco-builders in summer 2003, to kick-start the building of the first English Earthship in Stanmer Park.
“After watching him work” says Reynolds “I was inspired immediately by his high energy and hands-on approach. The inventor of the building was working alongside his crew in the trenches. How many architects do you see swinging a sledge hammer or pick-axing out a sewage ditch?”


The Age of Stupid
Those at the Transition Network Conference were able to get a sneak preview of this documentary film, due to be premiered at Cannes Film Fest in May 2008.

This ambitious drama-documentary-animation hybrid stars Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite as an old man living in the devastated world of 2055, watching 'archive' footage from 2007 and asking: Why didn't we stop climate change while we had the chance?
More info here.


New DVD releases:

A Crude Awakening
UK release date: 24 March 2008

A Crude Awakening, produced and directed by award-winning European journalists and filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack, tells the story of how our civilization’s addiction to oil puts it on a collision course with geology.
Compelling, intelligent, and highly entertaining, the film visits with the world’s top experts and comes to a startling, but logical conclusion – our industrial society, built on cheap and readily available oil, must be completely re-imagined and overhauled.

Watch a trailer here.


Luz, girl of the knowing
Read this wonderful cartoon strip by Claudia Dávila online.

Luz is a 12-year-old girl who finds herself reflecting on life in light of seeing news about petroleum reserves, and noticing changes in the local climate. Her curiosity and caring for others leads her to explore options for her community to gather vital knowledge and build collective skills to cope with energy uncertainty.

Get involved!


Get dynamic!
Join the new TTL Communications Group, a strategic thinking and doing group that aims to excite and enthuse people about TTL.

The group will facilitate the development of a shared TTL strategy by:

  • making decisions about how to communicate in dynamic ways.
  • implementing considered approaches to growing public awareness of and active involvement in TTL.

This is a great opportunity to contribute to the success of TTL and give something back to the community. All are welcome – you may be a communications expert, or a complete novice wishing to extend your skills. Also a chance to make contact with new people, share ideas and learn more about the local area.

FIRST MEETING OF THE NEW COMMUNICATIONS GROUP
Monday 21st April 8PM @ 66 High Street, Lewes
Contact: Kate


Dream Life – help make it a reality
Interested in sustainable housing and living? Ever considered self-build? Come and talk to us at the
DREAM LIFE GROUP MEETING
THURS 8th MAY 7.30 @ OVESCO OFFICE 2 Station Street Lewes
where we will be RESEARCHING THE NEXT STEPS...

Anyone with experience of sustainable or communal living or who has tried to start a project would be most welcome for their views and advice! Contact: Charley

And, finally...

How to talk to a climate skeptic (sic)
Some possibly useful hints on the subject of: 'How to talk to a climate skeptic' here.

Get involved: contact hello [at] TransitionTownLewes.org.uk