View
215
Download
1
Category
Tags:
Preview:
Citation preview
Karen Studders, JD
Former Commissioner, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Core Group Member, Saint Paul MN USA Mulling Group
July 26, 2011
Engaging Local Government in Transition Work
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise
• Learn how Citizens engaged in Transition Towns might partner with other groups & Government during these times of dramatic change.
• Learn how to increase Government awareness about the Transition Towns Movement.
Goals for Today
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise
• Decreased Funding / Revenue• Fewer Hands / Jobs• More Regulatory Pressures• Increased Energy Costs• Increased Environmental Stresses• Public Dissatisfaction
Challenges Our Communities Face
1. Dramatically lower energy consumption is inevitable.
2. Communities lack the resilience to recover from severe environmental, energy and economic shocks.
3. There is a need to act collectively & a need to act now.
4. The answer lies in our ability to harness the collective genius of those around us…in order to create a new plan…
Transition Towns Assumptions
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
INCREASING ENERGY COSTSINCREASING ENERGY COSTS
ENVIRONMENTALENVIRONMENTAL
STRESSESSTRESSESECONOMIC ECONOMIC INSTABILITYINSTABILITY
How will these affect us?
How do we prepare?
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
Government IssuesGovernment Issues Citizen IssuesCitizen Issues
EnergyAir/Water/Land/EcosystemsSafe Drinking WaterSewage / Disease PreventionCars / Buses / RailFood SafetyWaste Disposal / RecyclingCitizen Education
Electricity / Heat / ACClean EnvironmentDrinking Water SanitationMobility / TransportationFood/Gardening/Urban FarmsComposting / RecyclingEmployment / Reskilling
We Need Each Other
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
Transition Towns Engage Citizens In Another Way
We often think of two scales of response:
1. Citizens doing things in their own homes, -- OR --
2. Government acting on a regional or national scale.
The Transition Model explores the ground between these two and asks:
What could be achieved if we partner at a community level?
Transition Towns is Worldwide
(Proportionate – enlarged for presentation)
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
383 “Official” Groups Worldwide: 9 National Hubs: Canada, France, Ireland,
Italy, Germany, Norway, Portugal, UK, US Transition Towns is in 34 countries 422 Mulling Groups (registered)
94 “Official” Groups in the US: 29 States 140 Mulling Groups in the US (registered)
Emerging Groups
Transition Hubs, Initiatives & Muller Groups
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise
An international grassroots movement that builds community resilience in response to the challenges of increasing energy costs, environmental stresses, and economic instability.
See The Transition Handbook.
What is Transition?
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
Transition is Built on Systems Thinking
Key Elements of a Resilient Community
Food
Water
Energy
Transportation
Arts
Education
Heart & Soul
Health
Recreation Currency
Waste Water
Land Use
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
Road Map: Energy Descent Action Plan
1. Establish a baseline of current practices.
2. Obtain existing local community strategy plans.
3. Create an overall positive vision of the community 15-20 years in the future.
4. Create detailed visions in each work Group.
5. Backcast in detail.
6. Capture Transition Tales to tell the story through multiple creative sources.
7. Pull together the backcasts into an overall plan.
8. Create a first draft.
9. Finalize the Road Map.
10. Celebrate! Always a good thing to do.
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
Conventional
Environmentalism
Conventional
EnvironmentalismTransition Approach
Transition Approach
Individual BehaviorSingle IssueSustainable DevelopmentBlanket CampaigningMan in the street = problemPrescriptive – advocates
answers & responsesCarbon Footprinting
Group BehaviorSystems ApproachResilience/RelocalizationTargeted InterventionsMan in the street = solutionCatalyzes – no fixed
answersCarbon Footprinting plus
Resilience Indicators
The Transition Concept
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
Food & Production Food & Production Economics & TransportationEconomics & Transportation
Percentage of food grown locally
Proportion of compostable food "waste" that is actually composted
Percentage of essential goods (including medicine) manufactured within a given radius
Number of locally owned businesses
Proportion of community employed locally
Average commuting distances for workers in the town & for people living in the town but working outside it
Resilience Indicators Examples
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
As a Community Container / HostAs a Community Container / Host
Listen
Vision
Bridge
Honor
Coordinate
Celebrate
Where does Transition fit?
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
Operating Assumptions of Transition
Continuous growth within a finite system is impossible.
Reductions in availability of fossil fuel energy is inevitable.
Our society is unprepared for sudden shocks to these systems.
Citizens want to help their communities prepare & thrive -- become energy, environmentally & economically sustainable.
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
It is better to plan for sudden shocks
…..than to be taken by surprise
We need to act collectively – and we need to act NOW
If we wait for the government to react, it'll be too late.
If we act as individuals, it'll be too little.
If we act as communities - it might just be enough, just in time.
Thank You
Sharing information and resources is a principle of Transition. Many of these slides were produced by others in the Transition
Network, Transition US, Transition Northfield, and Transition Twin Cities.
** Many thanks to those who helped co-create materials for a Transition 101 presentation made to local units of government in
Minnesota.
Special Thanks to Patricia Danielson, for sharing her expertise in PowerPoint and the use of her computer.**
It’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
Contact information:
Working with Government in Times of Dramatic Change / Transition
Karen Studders Seasoned Change Agent & Leader, adept at
problem solving, advising, negotiating, mediating, and facilitating. Extensive knowledge of and experience in energy, environment, agriculture, and government.
Available to advise Transition Communities on how to successfully work with local, state & federal government.
Mail: PO Box 16395, Saint Paul, MN 55116 Email: KarenStudders@gmail.com Phone: 612-386-1021
Transition US www.transitionus.org
Recommended