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The Transition Movement in Australia: an Analysis of the Progress, Challenges, and Future of Transition Initiatives The Transition Movement in Australia: An analysis of the progress, challenges, and future of Transition Initiatives Goldwasser, Mia Academic Director: Brennan, Peter Advisor: Wallace, Sonya Brandeis University Environmental Studies Sydney, NSW Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Australia: Sustainability and Environment, SIT Study Abroad, Spring 2009 Abstract The threats of climate change and peak oil have roots in our society’s dependence on the availability of cheap fossil fuels for its function and design. In order to both decrease greenhouse gas emissions and significantly lower the demand on fossil fuels, our settlements –built when oil was cheap and abundant- must ‘relocalize’, or develop the systems which will enable the local production of food, energy, materials, employment, and goods. The Transition Movement has developed as a grassroots, community-based response to these challenges, grounded in the belief that a higher quality of life has the opportunity to emerge from a collaborative, community- directed transition to a lower-energy and locally-rooted future. In this study, I seek to explore the manifestation of the Transition Movement in Australia, through the development of four initiatives- Transition Sunshine Coast, Transition Blue Mountains, Transition Sydney, and Transition Bellingen. Through formal interviews with the active leaders of these Transition groups, I will document how the initiatives formed, their progress to date, their relationships with local community groups and councils, and the challenges they face. Through analysis of this data, I aim to identify the initiatives’ progress as related to the purposes they have evolved to fill within communities, their common challenges, and factors that could contribute to the continued spread of the Transition Movement in Australia. I found that Transition groups have emerged as catalysts for community projects which are networked to the global movement, hubs for community environmental collaboration, and vehicles to mainstream environmental problems and solutions. The strength of Transition’s approach to environmental and social change comes in its comprehensive, positive, adaptable, and inclusive model. However, Transition groups face challenges due to their voluntary nature, and in determining how to effectively work with existing community groups. Ultimately, this project is an exploration into the current state of a living process- one which is dependent on commitment, experience, evolution, and adaptation to move it forward. These findings serve as documentation to what may eventually be seen as only its earliest phases. Topic codes: 537, 226, 534 Keywords: sustainability, Transition Movement, localization 2 Acknowledgements I have had an incredibly meaningful experience studying the Transition Movement and the work of the individual people dedicated to bringing the concept alive in their communities. My understanding of the ‘transition’ we need to make from where we are to where we are going, and the psychology, potential, and practicality of it has been pushed forward tremendously, and I can only sincerely thank the people I have met along this process for sharing their insights and stories. Thank you to Sonya Wallace, for providing invaluable guidance and resources throughout the process of putting together and carrying out my research project. Thank you to Peter Driscoll, Russ Grayson, Fiona Campbell, Clare Power, and Jed Walker for taking your time to meet with me, answer all of my questions, and passing along your commitment and passion for Transition. Thank you also to Janet Millington, Jen St Clair, Lisa Siegal, and Penny Pyett for sharing with me the success and challenges of your work within the Transition Movement. Thank you to Peter Brennan, for organizing such a successful and solid program that brought me to this project and to the understandings I gained from it. And finally, thank you to my parents and family, for supporting me the entire way throughout this long and exciting trip in Australia. 3 Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………...2 Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………3 List of Figures………………………………………………………………………….5 1.0 Introduction………………………………………………………………………..6 1.1 Energy Descent……………………………………………………………..6 1.1.1 Peak Oil…………………………………………………………...6 1.1.2 Climate Change…………………………………………………...8 1.1.3 The need for relocalization……………………………………….8 1.2 The Transition Movement………………………………………………….9 1.2.1 Principles of Transition………………………………………….10 1.2.2 Foundation of permaculture principles………………………….12 1.2.3 Steps to become a Transition Initiative………………………….12 1.3 Transition in Australia…………………………………………………….13 1.4 Justification of study………………………………………………………15 1.4.1 Aims of study……………………………………………………15 2.0 Methodology……………………………………………………………………...16 2.1 Data Collection……………………………………………………………17 2.1.1 Formal Interviews……………………………………………..17 2.1.2 Background Research and Additional Data Collection......…...18 2.2 Recording and Analysis…………………………………………………...19 3.0 Results…………………………………………………………………………….19 3.1 Transition Sunshine Coast………………………………………………...19 3.1.1 Formation of group……………………………………………19 3.1.2 Progress to date………………………………………………..20 3.1.2.1 Energy Descent Action Plan…………………………..21 3.1.3 Goals…………………………………………………………..21 3.1.4 Relationship with local council………………………………..22 3.1.5 Challenges……………………………………………………..22 3.2 Transition Blue Mountains………………………………………………..23 3.2.1 Formation of group……………………………………………23 3.2.2 Progress to date………………………………………………..23 3.2.3 Goals…………………………………………………………..24 3.2.4 Relationship with local community groups and council………25 3.2.5 Challenges……………………………………………………..25 3.3 Transition Sydney…………………………………………………………26 3.3.1 Formation of group……………………………………………26 3.3.2 Goals…………………………………………………………..27 3.3.3 Relationship with community groups…………………………27 3.3.3.1 Permaculture North……………………………………28 3.3.4 Relationship with local council………………………………..29 3.3.5 Challenges……………………………………………………..29 3.4 Transition Bellingen………………………………………………………30 3.4.1 Formation of group……………………………………………30 3.4.2 Progress to date………………………………………………..31 3.4.3 Goals…………………………………………………………..31 3.4.4 Relationship with local community groups and council………32 3.4.5 Challenges……………………………………………………..32 4 4.0 Discussion………………………………………………………………………...33 4.1 Evolved purposes of the Transition Movement…………………………...34 4.1.1 Catalyst for change……………………………………………34 4.1.2 Power of a positive vision……………………………………..34 4.1.3 Community action hub………………………………………...35 4.1.4 Mainstreaming of concepts……………………………………35 4.2 Strengths of the Transition model…………………………………………36 4.2.1 Adaptability…………………………………………………...36 4.2.2 Inclusivity……………………………………………………..37 4.3 Challenges faced…………………………………………………………..38 4.3.1 Community group relations…………………………………...38 4.4 Towards the spread of Transition in Australia…………………………….39 5.0 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..41 5.1 Recommendations for further study…………………………………..43 References………………………………………………………………………….…44 Appendices……………………………………………………………………………46 List of Figures Figure 1: Hubbert curve…..………………………………………………………..7 Appendices Appendix A: List of dates of formal interviews…………………………………..46 Appendix B: Sample interview questions…………………………………………47 Appendix C: Envisioning the resilient community………………………………..48 Appendix D: ‘12 Key Steps to embarking on your Transition journey’…..……...49 5 1.0 Introduction The Transition Movement was developed in England by permaculturalist and educator Rob Hopkins in 2006 (Hopkins & Lipman 2009, p.15). The Transition concept is based on the assumptions that life with dramatically lower energy consumptions is inevitable, and that the present design of our communities and settlements do not provide us with a level of resilience capable of withstanding the energy shocks that will accompany peak oil and climate change (O’Rourke 2008, p.11). Fundamental change to a society dependent on the existence and expansion of oil supplies is therefore inevitable, as will be the development and strengthening of local networks such as food production and energy creation (Hopkins 2008a, p.17). The Transition Movement provides a global network and resources, tools, literature, and support for communities seeking to develop a comprehensive ‘Energy Descent Action Pathway’ to begin the process of decreasing their locality’s dependence on fossil fuels (Boehnhert 2008, p.2). 1.1 Energy Descent 1.1.1 Peak Oil At the center of the Transition concept is the reality of our society’s dependence on oil, and the challenges presented by a socially and economically vulnerable future as we reach and surpass global peak oil supplies (Boehnhert 2008, p.5). Peak oil is defined as “the point when further expansion of oil production becomes impossible because new production flows are fully offset by production declines” (Hopkins 2008a, p. 21). Though half of the oil available for extraction is still in the ground when peak oil is reached, this ‘midway point’ signifies when oil supply begins to direct demand, as the remaining oil is more expensive to extract, of lesser quality, and heading towards eventual depletion (Hopkins 2008a, p.22). 6 The rise, peak, and decline pattern of oil production was first modeled mathematically by geologist M. King Hubbert in 1956 (Hopkins 2008a, p.22). Hubbert designed a graph, known as the ‘Hubbert curve’ (see Figure 1) which showed that oil production follows a bell curve, and at its peak, half of the resources have been extracted (Hubbert Peak of Oil Production
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