You Say You Want a Revolution

Submitted by TimJFowler on Mon, 2009/02/09 - 4:13pm

Are you ready for a transition away from fossil fuels? Are you or your town ready to live sustainably? What do local resilience, powerdown, and permaculture mean? There is a revolution afoot and it is called the Transition Town movement. The Transition Town movement is helping villages, towns, and cities like Santa Fe prepare themselves for a future without fossil fuels.

Why are people moving away from fossil fuels? Fossil Fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) are finite resources (see Peak Oil) which are subject to speculation and price spikes and are major contributors to Global Warming. Modern western society has become thoroughly dependent on the steady supply of cheap fossil fuels. When those supplies aren't steady (1973 Oil Crisis) or cheap (2008 Oil Price spike) the price of everything from food and goods to electricity goes up, while their availability goes down.

So, a group of people in the small town of Totnes, U.K. decided it was time to step off the fossil fuel roller coaster. Instead of relying on volatile fuels with volatile prices and foods produced hundreds and thousands of miles away they decided to develop their local foods and fuels. The Transition Town model grew out of permaculture which is the applied philosophy of permanent culture combined with perennial agriculture. Rob Hopkins and the people of Totnes developed a framework to help their town and any other transition from fossil fuel dependence to self reliance.

Santa Fe is now among the hundreds of Transition Towns across the globe. I attended the first 'official' Transition Santa Fe meeting last week. People from Sustainable Santa Fe, The UNM Sustainability Studies Program, La Montanita Co-Op and diverse backgrounds came together to start building a plan to move Santa Fe towards sustainability. I met an interesting and diverse group of people who are highly motivated to transition their home town towards self reliance and fossil fuel independence.

So, how does Santa Fe become sustainable and what happens next? Come to the next Transition Town meeting and find out. You say you want a revolution. Well, you know, We all want to change the world.

Transition Santa Fe Events:

What: Public Workshop on Sustainable Santa Fe Plan Implementation

When: Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 4:30 to 7:30 pm

Where: Holiday Inn, 4048 Cerrillos Road

What: 'End of Suburbia' Screening

When: Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 6:30 pm

Where: The Commons, 2300 West Alameda at Camino Carlos Rael

What: Transition Town Santa Fe Meeting

When: Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 6 pm

Where: La Montanita Co-Op, 913 West Alameda St.

More Info:

Sustainable Santa Fe Plan and Commission