The Transition Timeline

The Transition Timeline for a local resilient future by Shaun Chamberlin published by Green Books

This is the second book to emerge from the Transition Network, the first being, Rob Hopkin’s essential read the Transition Handbook. For people unfamiliar with the Transition Network it is basically a grass roots movement in which local communities prepare themselves for a future without oil in a changing climate.

Transition Timeline follows on from the Handbook.

The book is divided into five parts.

Part 1 deals with visions for the future and cultural stories. 4 visions are presented: Denial which is the business as usual model; Hitting the Wall which is business as usual but at least you know there is a problem; the Impossible Dream – fighting climate change but forgetting that oil is running out and finally the Transition Vision which accepts and responds to the challenges of climate change and peak oil.

Part 2 of the book looks in more detail at the Transition Vision by examining issues such as population and demographics; food and water; electricity and energy; travel and transport and finally health and medicine. This is radical stuff but unlike so many ‘environmental’ books it paints change as a positive and achievable goal.

Part 3 is written by Rob Hopkins and examines how to use and create Timelines. In a nutshell communities are encouraged to paint a positive vision of how their world might be in a post peak oil world and a world where mitigation against climate change is in full flow. The Timeline is then a backcast of the series of detailed actions that need to be taken over a 20 year period to achieve the vision.

Part 4 is a detailed summary of the science and politics of climate change and oil depletion. This is very up to date and readable – a very good introduction.

Part 5 concludes the book by putting the issues discussed in part 4 into a UK context. The peak oil and the UK section is pretty frightening and would motivate most to take action if they knew about it!

A great book and one you should read. Get it from here.