So what the heck is “transition,†anyway? Well, this guy from the UK, Rob Hopkins, found that his “design†work with permaculture consistently showed our current energy use in the modern world to be unsustainable. One of the primary reasons is that we’re addicted to oil.
With oil as the energy component of most processes in our culture, it makes the design unstable and unsustainable, because oil is an inexpensive yet powerful form of energy. As demand for oil increases and supply stays the same, or decreases, the cost will go up. When the cost of oil goes up, everything will begin to change.
So Rob decided to make a plan to go from “oil dependency to local resilience.†He fashioned it after other dependency programs, with 12 steps to recovery.
Our steering committee is planning “The Great Unleashing†on May 15 at the Century Center. The idea is to bring the community together to create a specific “Plan B†for the future, which minimizes the use of oil. We see Transition Carrboro/Chapel Hill as an umbrella organization for the many local organizations already preparing for a positive future. We will have speakers, discussions and an all-day open-space networking session.
Please check out our website, transitioncch.org, and join us for “The Great Unleashing.â€
TIM PECK
Transition Carrboro/Chapel Hill Steering Committee