Woo-woo everywhere April 27, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Science and Rationaltiy , 17commentsHow can we expect people to understand peak oil and climate change, and formulate rational responses to the great issues of our day, when there is so much hostility expressed about “science and rationality” and when there is such a tolerance and even encouragement of unsubstantiated beliefs about the paranormal?
Bill Mollison, in his rambling but entertaining autobiography “Travels in Dreams” (Tagari 1996) writes on New Age beliefs and Permaculture thus:
“”As I have often been accused of lacking that set of credulity, mystification, modern myth and hogwash that passes today for New Age Spirituality, I cheerfully plead guilty. Unqualified belief, of any breed, dis-empowers any individuals by restricting their information.
Thus, permaculture is not biodynamics, nor does it deal in fairies, devas, elves, after-life, apparitions or phenomena not verifiable by every person from their own experience, or making their own experiments. we permaculture teachers seek to empower any person by practical model-making and applied work, or data based on verifiable investigations. This scepticism of mine extends to religious and political party ideologies”. (more…)
Overpopulation? The Biggest Issue of your lifetime April 23, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Food, Overshoot, Population , 1 comment so farBantry beekeeper Tim Rowe delivered his first public talk last Monday night in Bantry on a topic that has been preoccupying him for some time- the consequences of overpopulation.
This fascinating and enlightening talk took us through the issue facing the world as the human species runs riot and reaches more than 6.7 billion in numbers- each one needing energy, food, water and other resources.
Consciousness in Transition April 19, 2008
Posted by Graham in : consciousness , add a commentAt Convergence 13 I hosted two workshops: the first was an introduction to Permaculture, with a focus on Permaculture education and how to spread Permaculture courses through the mainstream education system; the second, with Dave Yaffey and Chris Chapman, had the title “Consciousness in Transition: Exploring Values for Changing Times”. The purpose was to explore the questions:
Why dont more people care about the environmental crisis? and
what values do we need to carry forward with us into this period of transition?
Dave, Chris and myself had not known each other previously but were brought together by Davie Philip for this workshop because of our common interest in Spiral Dynamics
The workshop attracted the largest numbers of participants for that session- the word “consciousness” strikes a cord for many people, but clearly means very different things for different folk.
Chris facilitated the discussion using the “fishbowl” technique. This was ideal as it allowed a focussed discussion to take place on complex issues with a large group.
The basic discussion seemed to split between those who saw consciousness as something that we can hope for some kind of evolutionary leap in which will lead humanity into a new dawn of co-operation and communality; and those including myself who saw it as something that will more likely regress to earlier and perhaps more savage forms as resources begin to run scarce- “Civilisation is only three meals deep”.
“If the rich world does not currently care about the poor world or the environment at a time will unparalleled wealth and resources, how on earth can we expect it to start caring after peak oil?” was one of the comments made to question the more romantic views of the subject.
In a short workshop there was only so much we could go into; I would have loved to have had the time to consider aspects of evolutionary psychology for example; but a good discussion took place nonetheless on a subject that I feel is much neglected by the environmental movement.
After the weekend Dave emailed me and had these reflections to share on the workshop and the general state of the planet:
“I’m feeling a little overwhelmed right now. I count the Convergence 13 event as a high quality success but I sense that we are all still tinkering around the edges of a problem that we need to believe we understand.
I hear today of food riots in 28 different countries while Gordon Brown promises he’ll do everything to restore the UK housing market and help 1st time buyers get on the property ladder. We are already in the first rounds of that ‘prisoners dilemma’ game, a grand charade in which tragedy of the commons will be played out with oil and bread alike. I am not impressed by human nature.
All my worst case scenarios seem to be happening years ahead of forecast. I’m not feeling well prepared or potent with understanding and foresight. I do feel an increasing sense of destiny though and believe that those like us will very soon be called to a major step up.
The Global Insight models that correlate UK economic growth rates with energy price ’shocks’ all point to 2.5% negative growth from about 2009. All this is just the economic impact of peak oil and climate change… And I suggest we will see the high water mark of Orange in 2008.
Can we contribute to some kind of message to friends and colleagues about this? I feel a need to warn people. The time for voluntary attendance at greeny workshops might be passed, perhaps we need to get stronger with our communication. It was after all, free will or the illusion of it, that got us into the current mess! I’m serious about this: people need to reconnect in the Joanna Macy sense, they need to understand that “If you haven’t done enough inner work then you cant be sure about where your outer work is coming from.” An attractive choice of workshops to choose from is a mirror of a major part of our human problem - the choice to believe what I will. The antidote is for the subjective to accept the objective - real learning!
I’m ready to try whatever is necessary to wake people up, key players preferably. Choosing to not see is fast becoming the problem that we need to solve. “
Thanks to Dave and Chris for their experience and insights.
Irish Transition Network April 17, 2008
Posted by Graham in : General , 2commentsLast Saturday at the Powerdown Symposium at Cultivate saw the inaugural meeting of people from around Ireland interested in starting a Transition process in their town.
More than 60 people attended the meeting with a dozen or more towns represented.
The main meeting was lead by Ben Bragwyn co-founder of the UK Transition Network who spoke about the origins of the concept and took us through the 12 Steps to Transition. Davie Philip will co-ordinate the network here through the Cultivate Centre.
A discussion took place as to what the criteria would be for joining and how “local” could the process be made in terms of specific process. Ben assured us that the key thing to remember for a Transition town - as opposed to, say, a purely Climate Change group - is building community resilience. This is a response that recognizes the wider implications of fossil fuel dependency and works to create sustainability rather than reduction of emissions.
Davie Phillip of Cultivate writes:
“The first step in getting the Irish network up and running is getting a few more communities recognised by the Transition Network in the UK. There are currently only two official Transition initiatives in Ireland, Kinsale and Hollywood. From the meeting it is clear that Newbridge, Monaghan, Cloughjordan, Kilkenny and Tralee could all be very close to fulfilling the steps to be recognised officially.”
Cultivate are also running a series of Transition Training events to give communities some of the tools they need to follow the process- the first one is already fully booked but check the Cultivate website for updates.
Convergence 13: Transition Strategies April 10, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Powerdown, Transition Towns, community , 4commentsLast weekend saw the Community Powerdown Symposium at the 13th Convergence Festival at the Cultivate Centre in Dublin.
Opened by John Gormley, Minister for Environment, Heritage and local Government, this landmark event was attended by about 100 people and saw the beginnings of a fledgling Irish Transition Network with a meeting of over 60 representatives from about 15 towns around the country interested in starting the transition Process.
Left: Minister John Gormley opens the Powerdwon Symposium; Right: Ben Bragwyn, Daniel Lerch, Megan Quinn, Jonathon Dawson (more…)
Kinsale Spring Fair March 31, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Transition Towns, community , 2commentsI was back down in Kinsale at the end of the Easter break on Saturday for the Transition Towns Spring Fair.
Organised by permaculture students and members of Transition Towns Kinsale with Kinsale Tidy Towns, it consisted of a market with stalls selling local produce in the town, with exhibits, talks, Transition TV and more stalls in the Temperence Hall.
In particular it was great to see the newly formed Kinsale Food Co-op with freshly baked cakes and wholefoods with a presence in the market.
(more…)
Of Tipis and Yurts March 24, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Yurts , 1 comment so farI have always been interested in the simple nomadic life- although I am now settled in Derryduff for nearly 7 years- and lived in a tipi in Shropshire for a year in 1989. During this time I made frequent visits to Tipi Valley in south Wales- a whole community of around 100 people living in tipis that has been there for nearly 30 years (if it is indeed still going).
Tipi Valley had fairly strict rules about the kind of structures that were permitted- in the lower part of the village tipis only were permitted. The lifestyle was harsh and dedicated- firewood collecting was a constant chore and in the absence of roads through the settlement most people were restricted to whatever dead wood they could carry back on their shoulder each morning, cut with a bow-saw. (more…)
Joe Polaischer R.I.P. March 3, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Permaculture , add a commentI only just noticed on David Holmgren’s website the sad passing on Feb 14th of Permaculture Elder Joe Polaischer.
Originally from Austria, Joe was founder, with his partner Trish Allen, of Rainbow Valley farm in New Zealand. I had the pleasure of meeting Joe at the International Permaculture Convergence in Croatia in 2005. I was struck by his charisma and breadth of knowledge which was infectious and inspiring.
Right: Joe and Trish (on right of picture) Ljubljana 2005
After the conference he traveled with some of us back to Ljubljana. He regaled us with tales of his very colorful life and expressed amazement at the extensively wooded countryside in Slovenia. The last time he had been in this part of the world was over 40 years earlier when he had run away from home at the age of 18 over the Alps into what was then Yugoslavia. Seemingly in those days there were many goats and few trees. The story goes that the then dictator, Tito, had ordered the removal of effectively all the goats from the countryside, allowing the impressive regeneration of the woods- a story I often recount to express the rapid ability of the trees to come back.
He also had stories from the war time in Austria when he was a young boy on his father’s farm. Previously wealthy people from the city would come begging for food. His father would let them stay for a day- but no longer. On one occasion he saw the visitors throw jewels onto the table offered as a fee to let them stay where there was food a while longer. the young Joe, not having seen such shiny things before reached out to take them but was told sharply by his father, “No! Don’t touch them! They are filthy!” The lesson was, anything that hadnt been earned by the sweat of the brow on the land was not to be trusted, a lesson that Joe embodied in his permaculture life.
You can read David Holmgren’s obituary here
Powerdown TV Show March 2, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Peak Oil, Powerdown , add a commentI have not been posting very regularly recently and part of the reason is that I have been very busy moving into the now (mainly) finished timber cabin. I am delighted to have moved into this cosy space. Warm, functional and full of light it promises to be a very comfortable and appropriately-sized living space.
Some of my first visitors were the crew from Cultivate who came down last week to interview me for the forthcoming TV show that will accompany the Skilling Up for Powerdown Course.
Right: Davie, Eoghain, Rob in the Cabin.
This innovative 10-week course is the brain child of Cultivate’s Education Officer Davie Philip who has been putting it together over the last year or so as a community learning resource. Davie has just started running it in Dublin for the third time, and it has also been trialled in Kinsale. When finished, it will be a groundbreaking resource for community self-learning on issues of community responses to peak oil and Climate change and will include a book and DVD-rom with a short film specially made to explore each chapter of the course. (more…)
The Transition Handbook March 1, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Peak Oil, Permaculture, Powerdown, community , 3commentsBook Review
The Transition Handbook From oil dependency to local resilience Rob Hopkins Green Books 2008 Pbck; 240pp The transition Handbook is available from www.transition culture.org
“The concept of energy descent, and of the Transition approach, is a simple one: that the future with less oil could be preferable to the present, but only if sufficient creativity and imagination are applied early enough in the design of this transition.”
-Rob Hopkins, The Transition handbook
The publication of the much anticipated Transition Handbook marks the latest landmark in what has become the fastest growing environmental movement since CND in the 1960s: the phenomenon that is sweeping the UK, the Transition Towns movement. (more…)
