James Young
Last January I wrote about the possible effects of Peak Oil and Climate Change on landscaping. The effects will extend well beyond landscaping, of course. However, what better place to start doing something about these problems than the landscape just outside our door?
There’s a name for these efforts to adapt to this new world of diminishing energy and unpredictable climate. It’s called “Transition
The Transition Movement
Illustration by the one of the primary originators of the Transition Movement, Rob Hopkins. Learn more at Transition Culture.org.
Transition started in Great Britain but has spread around the world. It’s an approach to handling the coming challenges we all face using a philosophy that leads us in a positive and empowering direction. The hallmarks of the process are self-determination combined with local action teams and a worldwide network.
Transition is not centered on trying to change other’s behavior. The idea is not to dictate to an unreceptive audience how we must respond to these coming problems. Nor does it seek direct political sway in the halls of power.
Transition asks each of us who are willing, to envision how to live our lives better, period. Given our personal desires and the background of constant change that engulfs us, our answers won’t all be the same but they will be channeled in the same direction. The needs and constraints of our time will necessarily lead us in the right direction. And when good ideas arise, they will spread through the network and beyond.
Transition is a set of guidelines that allow us to envision a better future based on resilient ways of living and by finding roots in our local culture. Transition teaches us that resilience is the goal we should shoot for, not dependency on ways of living that will essentially disappear in the near future. The need for resilience is the backdrop that will tend to channel us all in the same direction.
Resilience is a much under appreciated characteristic. We usually only need it during times of great change. However, who can predict when sudden change will come upon us? Those who question the status quo are generally ignored until radical change comes upon so forcefully that it is undeniable. For example, the housing crisis was predicted by a handful of people, like Dean Baker. They were all ignored and the lack of resilience in our financial system was revealed to the world.
Another example of resilience (or lack thereof): Hurricane Sandy came ashore and over 8 million people lost power. A city the size of New York just about came to a standstill. Take away the easy energy and the modern city falls apart. This is not a city of resilience; this is a city utterly dependent on an increasingly scarce and clearly limited resource; fossil fuels. Lucky for New Yorkers there is still plenty of easy energy left to rebuild. How long will that last? And what about the next time it happens?
Transition gives individuals and small groups a way to affect their own futures, without dependence on government or big business to do it for them or get in the way. It asks the question: What can we do today to bring a better vision of the future into our immediate reality? Let’s look to where we need to go instead of focusing with dread on the oh-so-many negative things coming our way. And we certainly have a plethora of negativity to distract us these days.
With each of us dreaming a new world and forming small local groups dedicated to shared visions of resilience and sustainability that we want to live in, in roles that we want to play, we can finally move forward with enthusiasm.
My description of Transition does not do it justice. Follow the links here to get to the source:
http://www.transitionnetwork.org/
http://transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins
In the spirit of Transition then, I have been envisioning my response and my dreams for the future of my particular family unit.
For a start, I decided to plant an orchard. I’ve always wanted to be better at orcharding. What better place than just outside my door, right? And I love a garden that you can eat. It’s not lost on me that our supermarket food supply will begin to stress and strain from the impacts of Peak Oil and Climate Change in the coming years. This orchard will develop resilience against that. Regardless of the added resilience provided by a hyper-local food supply, it’s the fun of it all that draws me in.
The next article, “An Orchard in the Front Yard,” will follow shortly.
– By James Young
James Young is the owner of Blue Wheelbarrow Landscaping in Edmonds.
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