Being in Transition - or not?

The invite to write for this blog said ‘write about what it feels like to be in Transition’ – well that’s a problem for me because the word ‘Transition’ implies a continuous process of change and I’m stuck at the same level that I got to 30 years ago. Certainly, cycling to work, growing my own food and heating my house with scrap wood were quite radical steps to take in the 70’s and it has taken a long time (and higher prices) for these ideas to become more mainstream. So does that mean that I’m doing all that I can to reduce my carbon footprint?

No, there is far more that I could do. So what’s stopping me? Well it’s not complacency – though I can reasonably claim to be more resource efficient than the vast majority. The problem is that to do more would impact the lives of those around me in a way that they are probably not yet prepared to accept. I need the wider society to embrace the vision that a Low Carbon Life is not a 21st century version of a medieval hermit in a cave but an opportunity to shape a better society.

I support TN because we need a lot of people to work together to turn around 60 years of a society built on the dream of ever increasing consumption. Only Maoist style governments can force whole populations to change their way of life - however things can change very quickly once a critical mass of people latch on to a new idea.

So maybe, on reflection, I am in Transition, it is just that the pace is not as fast as I would like it to be. What I need is a lot more people to catch up and provide the wave to ride to the next level! In the meantime I’ll do what I can to support those people brave enough to show real commitment to a Low Carbon Life.




I've added this picture of a cycle path, taken on holiday in Jersey a few weeks ago, because it shows such a nice way to get about and is the sort of path that I'm currently campaigning for ( http://www.little-melton.org.uk/news/CyclePath.htm )

and it was a really nice day!