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"Transition Essex" conference

The event on 24th October 2007 at Essex Record Office raised awareness of the two toughest challenges facing humankind at the start of this 21st century: Climate Change and Peak Oil. The former is well documented and very visible in the media. Peak Oil, however, has been kept under the radar for most people. Yet Peak Oil, heralding the era of ever-declining fossil fuel availability, may well prevent the economic and social stability that is essential if we are to mitigate the threats posed by Climate Change.

Rob Hopkins, Founder of the Transition Network and coordinator of Transition Town Totnes, made an excellent presentation about the decreasing supply and increasing demand for fossil fuels and outlined the different scenarios for our future. The information in Rob's morning presentation painted a rather grim picture. The delegate next to me remarked "I didn't realise the oil situation could have such an impact, this is very scary". Some will remember 24th October as their 'peak oil moment' when they recognised the inevitability of the challenge we face and the need to act now.

But it was not all gloom and doom. The aim of the conference was to show how communities can respond positively to the challenges of climate change and peak oil and prepare themselves for the transition to a low energy future. There was a presentation from Dan Gascoyne outlining what Essex County Council is doing to improve Quality of Life. There followed breakout sessions on junk swaps, involving young people, local food production, carbon foot-printing, wildlife conservation, energy audits and renewable energy sources. Various organisations in Essex showed how they could support community groups in setting up new projects to mitigate the impact of climate change and peak oil.

In the afternoon, Rob explained how such projects could be incorporated into a Transition Initiative and he outlined the 12 steps to becoming a Transition town or village. At present there are no officially designated Transition Towns in Essex, but there are a number of 'mullers' (i.e. those expressing an interest). We hope that as a result of this conference and our ongoing work at RCCE to promote Best Green Villages, many of our Essex communities will join the Transition Movement.

The event proved very successful and provoked much thought. Several delegates pledged to initiate actions and projects as a result of the conference. RCCE would like to thank Essex County Council for sponsoring the event and the Essex Rural Partnership for their support. The event could not have gone ahead without the generous input of those facilitating the breakout sessions :

 - Jane Croskry and Helena Byles of Chelmsford Environment Partnership
 - Marianne Brooker of The Yarn
 - Oli King of Jono and Oli Save the World
 - Mike Hall of Writtle College
 - Sue Sheppard of RCCE
 - Richard Devanney of Renewables East
 - Darren Tansley of Essex Wildlife Trust


Note
This article contains quotes and information from the Transition Initiatives Primer - the 12 step guide to setting up a Transition Initiative.

Further Information
The latest Transition Network Newsletter includes a link to a hi-def video of Rob's presentation recorded in August (see 'New Content on Transition Network Website' section)