Green Calgary

The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience

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Reviewed by Heather Hendrie of Green Calgary.

“The concept of energy descent, and of the Transition approach, is a simple one: that the future with less oil could be preferable to the present, but only if sufficient creativity and imagination are applied early enough in the design of this transition.”-Rob Hopkins, The Transition Handbook

We may well be perfectly positioned for another British Invasion. The Transition phenomenon, as led by Rob Hopkins, has been topping the charts as it shifts communities across the pond one by one into new ways of being.  Since its inception just five years ago, the movement has grown like the Beatles’ fan base and has recently begun to gain momentum in North America. There are now nearly 243 official Transition Initiatives across the globe, six of which are right here in Canada and many more are in formative stages.

Put simply, the Transition concept is that the twin challenges of peak oil and climate change mean that we will be living lives that are less energy intense and much more localized in the near future. Transition insists upon the refreshingly positive vision that if we approach this challenge creatively and as communities, that rather than impoverishing us, this change will lead to increased well-being and more fulfilled lives. 

The Transition Handbook is optimistic in both tone and content and entertainingly illustrated- including some original line drawings by the author. Through insights and direct experience, Hopkins and his fellow Transition band members share a set of tools, perspectives and processes to inspire and guide communities to a new sustainable future with less dependency on fossil fuels.

In reading the handbook, I felt that the things we all want to see in our communities- the bicycle lanes, the school gardens, the green spaces and the solar panels- really are attainable. To get there will take a tremendous collective effort, but Transition Towns thus far have proven able to engage people in action at the neighbourhood level and in new ways of thinking.

I recommend that you ready your reading glasses, and pick up a copy of this engaging Handbook. At most it will help you to imagine resilient new communities less reliant on fossil fuels and at least it will keep you from being left behind as the Invasion amps up.

What others have to say about The Transition Handbook

“This is much more than just a book. It is a manual for a movement. And not just any movement, but one which- in avoiding the civilisational collapse threatened by the twin crises of peak oil and climate change- could prove to be the most important social force humanity has ever seen.” 
~Mark Lyans, author of Six Degrees

“The newly published Transition Handbook is so important that I am tempted just to confine this review to five simple words, ‘You must read this book!’.” ~Richard Barnett,  Ethical Pulse

The Transition Handbook is available to purchase at The Green Calgary EcoStore, located cheerfully on the corner of 7th St and 4th Ave at 809 4th Ave SW.