Transitioning

I have been slow on sharing information on all things related to sustainability that I have been experiencing of late in Sweden. Maybe this is due to writing a Master's thesis? However, now that the thesis is being finalized, I can catch you up on some things very inspirational- The Transition Town Movement happening consciously and even unconsciously in communities around the world.

Germany
Aero Island, Denmark
Fredrickshavn, Denmark

Southern Denmark

Well, first, to catch up- I and two other colleagues traveled to Denmark & Germany via Southern Sweden to learn from many communities working with decentralized community-supported renewable energy. Communities in these countries are total role models for other communities and great teachers in lending first-hand experience in how to successfully establish community-supported RE. Through interviewing people across Denmark and Northern Germany we gathered a great amount of 'keys to success' that helped us formulate and design the Sustainable Community REnewable Energy Tool (SCRE Tool), which I'll be posting soon in all of its glory. For now, you can visit our blog- Renewable Communities reporting on our work with SCRE.

Here you can see a visual relating SCRE as the ideal vision for communities to 'backcast' from and work towards, where the first stepping stones for many communities is transitioning from insufficient and unsustainable centralized non-renewable energy towards renewable energy development, and then ideally incorporating as much community involvement and participation as possible making the RE production distributed and localized- this is community renewable energy (CRE).

Please visit Renewable Communities to contribute to this SCRE Tool with feedback, if you are a community member working with renewable energy.

The Plastic Challenge

The Plastiki Challenge

Why is there a team of young adventures out in the middle of the Pacific sailing a boat made of recycled materials? Why Plastiki?

Because:

• It is estimated that almost all of the marine pollution in the world is comprised of plastic materials. The average proportion varied between 60% and 80% of total marine pollution.
• In many regions in the northern and southern Gyres, plastic materials constitute as much as 90 to 95% of the total amount of marine debris (see The Great Garbage Patch)
• Scientists estimate that every year at least 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die when they entangle themselves in plastic pollution or ingest it.
• According to Project Aware, 15 billion pounds of plastic are produces in the U.S. every year, and only 1 billion pounds are recycled. It is estimated that in excess of 38 billion plastic bottles and 25 million Styrofoam cups end up in landfill and although plastic bottles are 100% recyclable, on average only 20% are actually recycled.

"It’s about recognizing that waste is fundamentally a design flaw (it does not appear in nature) It’s about re-thinking waste as a resource. It’s about cyclical ‘cradle-to-cradle’ philosophies rather than linear thinking when it comes to how we design our world. It’s about a better understanding of the lifecycle’s and materials used in our everyday lives."

"It’s about encouraging the world to reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink more of the planets natural resources. It’s about delivering a spectacular global “Message in a Bottle.”

Want to learn more about what you can do for The Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the reality of plastic waste... visit The Garbage Patch

"The Danish Way"

I recently went on a tour of Denmark in search of community powered renewable energy and found great projects, testimonies and great success stories from all across the country for my Masters thesis research that I and two Master's of Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability grad students are currently working on.

We started our tour by visiting The Nordic Folk Center, which stands out as an international beacon for renewable energy technologies and education. We were lucky enough to interview Preben Maegaard, a legendary Danish renewable energy activist and expert, on the success of Danish renewable energy and gain first-hand insight into the "The Danish Way" of choosing a clean and renewable energy path as a nation and through collective grassroots initiatives.

Denmark provides great case studies for other communities around the world learn how to successfully establish renewable energy.

The Art of Hosting

image taken from The Learning Host

" The Art of Hosting and harvesting conversations that matter is a new practice of democracy that we really need in the world now "

Just how powerful is the art of dialogue? Just how powerful is asking the right questions? What else is as powerful as making meaninful conversation and connecting to another through words, senses and openness? Do we pay enough attention to the words we construct and let speak for who we are and what we yearn to find in and collect from one another?

The Art of Hosting is..."is a pattern and a practice that allows us to meet our humanity in ourselves and in each other - as opposed to trying to be machines meeting"

Soul Recovery Service

Felicity Fenton's Soul Recovery Service offers to collect your 'emotionally hindering' objects that keep you from fulfilling your days, wasting your precious time through or withholding emotional freedom.
What are the things in your life that hamper your creativity, energy, and free spirit? Even if you do not have anything bringing you down, but still want to be inspired visit Felicity's website for some funky inspiration.

I would send Felicity my computer if I didn't need it so much for school...

New Year's Sustainability Resolution

My 2010 New Year's Resolution list... of course to grow & evolve

1. EAT as LOCAL as possible
2. limit 'take-out' containers... 'to go' coffees and over-packaging from the market
3. Walk, BiKe and bus more than any other mode of transportation
4. limit use of dryer- hang dry clothes and limit consumption of water- try taking shorter showers
5. Support stores that sell ethical, organic and fair trade goods and buy second-hand more often than new
6. be healthy & happy in my daily life and try to spread it around
7. Encourage and Engage others in meaningful conversation and laughter
8. talk with more strangers, play with children and get to know more elders and people from different nationalities and talk about sustainability without using the word 'sustainability'
9. make my actions meaningful, embodying and living 'simple'
10. GARDEN and help others grow food to foster local food production & sovereignty

Transition Town Totnes, UK

I recently visited Totnes, UK and fell in love with the little town. I only walked down Fore St and High St, yet saw so many great things happening. To a visitor, one cannot tell what 'transitions' are happening except to get a little taste of the base-level social transformation happening in this little town. After trying to visit the Totnes Transition Town office and finding them closed I followed others in and out of locally owned and operated shops, feeling a nice vibe from the community. I am not sure what type of economy Totnes has, whether it is tourist-based, but somehow the town supports a great vibrant market economy. Small local bookshops, natural food stores & markets, shops spilling with organic furnishings, clothes and bath & body, bakeries, craftsman and art shops, galleries and second-hand stores to name a little line the streets. I wondered, "what is happening here, to support these people and these livlihoods?" Is this a basic tourist town or a town that has something special happening?

There's a lot of small acts happening in Totnes to make it feel special, like "Sacks," a traditional small "mom & pops" wholefood shop which has kept a beat since 1976, now nestled between swanky hipster art shops.
Love Local Food is something I didn't see, because it is a mobile shop- but can see how it fits right into Totnes. Love Local Food is a social enterprise and not-for-profit business supporting small farmers and Totnes local food systems. It's a great idea to spread in other towns!
Totnes has the Totnes Pound Project ongoing to help reinforce and support a localised economy. And over the next 12-24 months, Totnes aims to create an Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP), where the community wants to transition from fossil fuel dependence to 100% renewable energy technologies.
Totnes Mission- A Mission for Every Town
To explore and then follow pathways of practical actions that will reduce our carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels.
To build the town's resilience, that is, its ability to withstand shocks from the outside, through being more self reliant in areas such as food, energy, health care, jobs and economics.

If you're still interested visit Transition Town Totnes or Reconnect UK online

Some Good Ideas

The Eden Project

While on holiday in Cornwall, UK my partner and I are checking out The Eden Project. The Eden Project is an educational charity and the largest greenhouse in the world, specializing in diverse biomes and plants from around the globe. The domes maintain tropical, Mediteranian, and temperate environment biomes.

Beyond experiential learning...

Global Gardening




If you want to replicate what you see on a 'backyard' small-scale, The Eden Project sells do-it-yourself "Allotment Plot" garden sets, complete chicken houses, raised-bed gardening sets and many other great and easy set-ups.

"100 Images" at COP15

Survival Academy

COP15- Copenhagen Climate Conference is just around the corner. Are you going? Do you know what it is? Hopefully yes to both of those questions.
I'm getting pumped to participate in the Survival Academy's workshops and get linked-in to yet another buzzing hub, network and think-tank of innovators, creators, students, and professionals all fixin on co-creation, co-learning and mobilization.

Walking the Line

I recently realized that I am on my computer way too often.
I have prided myself ion not owning a TV for the last 10 years, yet now realize my computer has taken its place. Though I am a Master's student at the moment does not justify the immense reliance on this baby. I have started a user-responsibility declaration with myself. If I am beating myself over the head on sustainability, asking other people "Why are 'we' not more sustainable in our daily lives?" Well, then duh- that refers to me too. If I really want to pursue facilitating and promoting sustainability, then I better figure out how to walk the talk... and not just talk.

If you are wondering how to make small improvements in your daily energy use there are many online (of coarse) sources that help measure killowatts and carbon footprinting, as well as cost cutting advice on energy use.
Visit Michael Bluejay's site where you can calculate any appliance's kilowatt usage.

Simple personal goals and cost-cutting measures...

1. Try not to use the dryer- air dry my clothing
2. Aim to not use take away coffee- bring a cup with me
3. Always use my own shopping bag at the markets
4. Think about food- prepare my own food and chose wisely where I am buying food and who I am supporting
5. Unplug appliances when not in use
6. Regulate my 'need' and use of computer and electronic appliances... this should help me to pick up a book more
7. Use more candles at night and make more fires in the fireplace... it's more cozy and nice in winter anyway
8. Shop second hand more than retail when I 'need' something... there's more uniqueness in this anyway
9. Think about upcoming travel options. It's ok to fly on planes, but maybe it's better to take the train
10. Talk to as many people as I know about weighing options, choices and decisions on consumerism, climate change and sustainability

350!

Here's Karlskrona's human graph to represent where the world currently is with carbon at 389 ppm and where we want to go- to the level of 350 ppm.
Students at Blekigne Institute of Technology and people from the Karlskrona community came together to form this human graph at the same time people all over the world were coming together to raise voices and concern and most of all, generate momentum for the Copenhagen Climate Change Negotiations in December.

Art + Nature

Find yourself outside

Rivers and Tides
Uploaded by vodeo. - Discover more animation and arts videos.

A New Allotment System

A Model for Society




The Allotment Plot project is a great little model for any one or community to replicate.

Play on Potholes

You gotta love those potholes. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

The Humming of Hubs!

The Hub
'Hubs' and 'incubators,' collectively shared spaces for progressive design and community development, are popping up all over the world. Before I left Durango, Colorado, our city council was announcing the beginning of a city Incubator downtown. At the time, I had never heard of this, now studying with classmates from all over the world, I am hearing more and more- the humming of hubs in different parts of the world.
What is a Hub? Incubator?
According to Argetina.ar hubs are where "companies, universities and official entities are increasingly gathering to build productive networks aimed at promoting economic development and the interaction among ventures."
The Hub, "is a global community of people from every profession, background and culture working at 'new frontiers' to tackle the world's most pressing social, cultural and environmental challenges."
Hubs foster the development of community participation, cross-cultural collaboration and co-creation through utilizing the diversity of people's experiences, ideas and professional backgrounds.
Not hearing the humming of hubs yet in your neck of the woods? Then start the humming by bringing people together around dinner tables, at city hall meetings, potlucks and parties. What are shared ideas in your communities that need to be put into action?
Check out The Hub Halifax for some more ideas as well

Creativity- A Driving Force

Creativity A Driving Force for Sustainability... a fabric of life
Thank you Sabrina for inspiring work

Stitching together with common threads
patchwork multitude
the world tied, laid out
as a quilt
I lay upon

"Transition Towns"

You may already be living in a transition town or dreaming about how to move your community towards something more sustainable, or maybe sustainability has not occurred to you... yet? There is a movement building in little clusters throughout the world and the country you live in. The movement is simple, micro, intrinsic and organic. The process may be part of something overarching- greater than the individual or maybe it just stirs from some innate animalistic place within us for adaptation and evolution? Who knows? Yet, there is a quiet revolution happening... do you hear or see the stirring?
Tonight I went to a Green Drinks talk on Transition Towns. If you haven't heard of these things, maybe check them out. There seems to be a great deal of small stirrings happening in Sweden. Vaxjo, is the greenest city in Europe to the North of Kalrkrona, where I am living and Karlskrona's municipality wants to become the 'garden city' of Sweden. There are community level movements happening all over. How about where you live?