I’ve been watching with a great deal of interest the build-up to the upcoming Dark Mountain Project festival Uncivilisation in Llangollen over the May bank holiday weekend.

When I first read it their project’s description it really made me sit up as I’ve not seen such a level of pragmatism, or do I mean realism, voiced in such a clear and focussed way about the subjects that have been troubling me for some time now. For example I’ve been particularly uneasy about this blog’s title and the implications of it. I’ve come to the conclusion that Self Sufficiency in itself is a myth and whilst I’ll continue to learn how to grow food, rear animals and build or mend things it’s still about a million miles away from some idealistic ideal of being able to provide for all of one’s own needs.

I found their manifesto to be particularly interesting although I’ll admit that it totally loses me in the third section when the power of writing and art is invoked. I’ve read about the power of stories in this context previously and I don’t really get it, but then I’m not an artist, writer or, musician.

I’m still not sure whether I can make it to the main event yet due to a huge clash on the same weekend. To make matters worse the week leading up to it I’m on my own at the office which is when the Dark Mountain Camp is planned to be on which sounds much more up my street with its practical focus. If the planets align and I can arrange for things to be relatively quiet at the office then the plan is to just shut up shop and head up the road with some tools and firewood to see what’s occurring.

Regardless, it’s extremely heartening to see a well organised and focussed group of people discussing things in a realistic manner rather than either denying there’s a problem, or alternatively, only talking about the future with an almost religious positivity.

Yet another fabulous book chomped through last week. The author is the same woman who writes a very inspirational blog aimed at normal family folk like me and you but focused on the annoying fact that we in the rich west must change our naughty power hungry ways.

Sharon Astyk’s book ‘Depletion and Abundance: Life on the New Home Front‘ (or ‘One Woman’s Solutions to Finding Abundance for your Family While Coming to Terms with Peak Oil, Climate Change and Hard Times’) is a great read, an easy read and a truely life-changing read as it enables one to work out a personal transition plan (to a low energy future) with happiness and without hardship.

She’s a great author and I really like her slightly witty style. She’s made a name for herself simply by virtue of the fact that she is one of the only female contributors to the world of Peak Oil writings.

If nothing else please click though to her superb list: “100 Things You Can Do to Get Ready for Peak Oil”

Her blog is great too and despite having a time-depleted lifestyle with the all the low-energy choices she’s now making (growing food, burning wood, not driving too much) and four young children to look after she still writes great posts which as a fellow peak oil worried bloggin’ mama provides huge amounts of inspiration, tips and food for thought.

I’m already looking forward to reading her new book “A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil”

A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil, written with Aaron Newton, will be forthcoming in March of 2009. Our present agricultural system depends on heavy inputs of increasingly expensive and scarce fossil fuels, and is exacerbating our current world food crisis.  It warms the planet and depletes soil and water and contributes to every major problem we face.  Meanwhile, 100 million people have joined the starving and one in every 10 Americans requires food stamps to sustain them. But that doesn’t have to be the case – agriculture could help us regenerate our society.  We explore the possibility – and urgent necessity of creating a truly sustainable food system.  There is a short excerpt here: http://henandharvest.com/?p=166.  The book will be available for preorder shortly.

Photo by Mr Sardonicus

Ed Miliband makes no mention of peak oil in his review of his recent experience of being a ‘keynote listener’ at Transition Towns conference. In his review he talks of ‘climate change’ and ‘low carbon’ but to me it feels like a big important memo has gone round parliament telling politicians they are not under any circumstances allowed to worry the public by bringing attention to the small matter of fossil fuel dependency and how little time we have to prepare for a future without such an incredible resource.

I’ve been wondering for a while (since I first watched the very brilliant BBC 2 documentary ‘A Farm for the Future‘ made by Rebecca Hoskins – do please watch it if you haven’t already, it is absolutely brilliant and very thought provoking) WHY DO WE NOT HEAR ABOUT THIS IN THE MEDIA?

Surely surely surely if little old me can work out what’s likely to happen to millions of innocent UK citizens if adequate awareness programs and preparation programs are not started as soon as possible (errr I’m so sorry folks but we, you and our/your children are likely to starve, be very cold, go short on medicines and be without access to lovely clean drinking water) then SURELY the clever people elected to govern our country have also been tipped off on this trifling matter?

According to the Rob Hopkin’s Transition Culture website, his accompanying book ‘The Transition Handbook‘ was one of the top 5 books taken on holiday by *all* MPs last summer. I’ve got this book and there is little doubt that the subject matter is all about the very terrifying prospect that the one substance the whole of our society requires for most of things we do is not going to come out of the ground easily or cheaply anymore. The book aims to help towns across the country (or the world) to make themselves become ‘resilient’ to supply deficiencies which are inevitable as oil and its derivatives become less and less plentiful (and owned by Arab countries who may not want to sell their precious commodity to us nasty westerners).

So, this terrible fact is known to our lovely leaders. Yes it is. But, for some mysterious reason, ‘They’ are hell bent on keeping this knowledge to themselves. They seem to be going to really really great lengths to not have communities begin to prepare for life without global food distribution networks, without loads of nonsense high-tech jobs, without affordable heating, without affordable transport. Yes it would be of huge concern to all the electorate if the message started coming out but at least the electorate would have the opportunity to Do Something (like the electorate did in the war years when people grew food at home, adopted a ‘make do and mend’ culture and generally pulled together for the common good). For those of us who have figured out for ourselves what is likely to happen we all went through a period of shock, horror, denial, anger and worry but are also able to begin to take steps to mitigate disaster wherever possible.

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This week Ed Milliband launched the UK government’s Low Carbon Transition Plan and on balance I think it could have been a lot worse.

At 228 pages it’s a weighty tome but thankfully you don’t have to trawl though it all as Transition’s own Rob Hopkins has done that for you in his excellent summary of the plan.

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@edmittance tweeted a link to a trailer of the upcoming Transition movie last night.

Unsuprisingly the trailer conveys a positive message and uses words like local, hope, resiliance & solutions. The movie premieres on Friday 22nd May as a live web broadcast which is, incidentally, the same day that we’re hoping to be in Bristol attending @robeam‘s The Age Of Stupid screening at a pub in Totterdown.

The book initially provides a brief and accessible introduction to the dual concepts of peak-oil (or energy decent if you prefer the euphemism) and man made climate change. The rest of the book is then spent describing Rob Hoskin’s solution to the problem that I can summarise in a two words: local resilience. 

It goes into some depth about how Totnes in Devon, the first transition town, is doing and apart from making you want to move to Totnes it does also give you plenty of material that you can use to emulate that in your home town.

If you buy and read this book it will almost certainly change your life, for good. 

A detailed review of the book by Patrick Whitefield can be found over on the transition culture blog.

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