Shaun Chamberlin is one of those rare people who combines a deep and
detailed knowledge of his subject, a strong passion for it and the
ability to write about it in a readable and accessible style… This is
the state of the art report on the two big challenges facing us, with
their awesome complexity cut down to crystal clarity. I would urge
everyone who cares about the future of the planet to read it.
– Patrick Whitefield, Permaculture Magazine, Summer 2009
While definitely focused on empowering the community rather than the
policy makers, this book is much more than a folksy agenda for comfort
in the crisis. It is a serious plan to reconstruct society in the light
of ecological and energetic realities, informed by the best evidence
about the vortex of forces influencing the global crisis.
– David Holmgren, co-originator of the Permaculture concept
There is obviously no single, magic bullet solution to climate change.
But if I was forced to choose one – our best hope of averting the
crisis – it would definitely be Transition Towns.
– Franny Armstrong, director of the film The Age of Stupid
Review
So here it is: the map and timeline of how to save our world and
ourselves. Whether we WILL take up these suggestions as scheduled is a
question for the cynics and dreamers to debate. For us realists, the
only relevant questions are: Where do we start?, and, Will you join us?
– Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute, and
author of eight books, including The Party’s Over and Peak Everything
Review
The Transition Timeline is a hugely valuable manual for anyone
committed to turning dreams into reality. Don’t just read this book –
use it to change your world.
– Caroline Lucas MP, Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
Book Description
While definitely focused on empowering the community rather than the policy makers, this book is much more than a folksy agenda for comfort in the crisis. It is a serious plan to reconstruct society in the light of ecological and energetic realities, informed by the best evidence about the vortex of forces influencing the global crisis.
From the Author
Doing the research for The Transition Timeline has made it ever clearer to me that our choice now is between taking perhaps our last chance to enjoy a far happier, more satisfying world, or experiencing a vastly less desirable one – more of the same simply isn’t an option. Here I am put in mind of Paul Wellstone’s words, “If we don’t fight hard enough for the things we stand for, at some point we have to recognise that we don’t really stand for them”.
This book was written primarily for those communities who have already taken the brave decision to work for the future we all hope to live in, and I very much hope that it fills its intended role as a key tool supporting them – I feel privileged to have been entrusted with it.
From the Back Cover
An exploration of the history of the next twenty years, The Transition Timeline lightens the fear of our uncertain future, providing a map of what we are facing and the different pathways available to us. It describes four possible scenarios for the UK and world over the next twenty years, ranging from Denial, in which we reap the consequences of failing to acknowledge and respond to our environmental challenges, to the Transition Vision, in which we shift our cultural assumptions to fit our circumstances and move into a more fulfilling, lower-energy world.
The practical, realistic details of this Transition Vision are examined in depth, covering key areas such as food, energy, demographics, transport and healthcare, and they provide a sense of context for communities working towards a thriving future. The book also provides a detailed and accessible update on climate change and peak oil and the interactions between them, including their impacts in the UK, present and future.
Use it. Choose your path, and then make that future real with your actions, individually and with your community. As Rob Hopkins outlines in the chapter he has contributed, there is a rapidly spreading movement addressing these challenges, and it needs you.
About the Author
Shaun Chamberlin has been involved with the Transition Network since its inception and is a core member of Transition Town Kingston. Founding darkOptimism in 2007, he has been a regular speaker at Transition communities as well as delivering presentations for the likes of the UK and Scottish Parliaments, the European Commission and the London School of Economics. Specialising in the neglected interactions between climate change and peak oil, his articles have found homes ranging from online think tank The Oil Drum to Resurgence magazine, while he has also co-authored an All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil report, edited booklets on carbon rationing and nuclear power, and acted as both an advisor to the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change and an academic peer reviewer for the Climate Policy journal.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
On the next two pages you will find an outline summary of the latest evidence on climate change and peak oil. Cross-references are provided for those who immediately want the full detail, but this quick primer provides the key points to allow the reader to get straight into the Timeline information.
The first half of the book explores how the UK could develop against this backdrop, and is divided into three parts:
Part One considers four possible visions of our near future, and the thinking that could lead us down each path.
Part Two looks more closely at what may be considered the most desirable of these outcomes – The Transition Vision – and examines it in depth, exploring some of the key areas of concern.
Part Three, by Rob Hopkins, discusses how Transition initiatives can best use this book to support their Energy Descent Planning process.
The second half of the book may prove the most important and stimulating for some readers, contributing a number of new insights into the energy and climate challenges facing the UK and the world in the 21st century:
Part Four provides a detailed yet readable exploration of the latest evidence on climate change and peak oil, and of the critical interactions between the two.
Part Five goes on to examine their impacts in the UK, both present and future.
This book is intended as a `living document’, and is not attempting to be the final word on any of these issues. As history unfolds, new ideas, new stories and new events will surely emerge, and I hope this book will form the basis for an ongoing conversation about the future we want to create, within the Transition movement and beyond.
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