In the lead up to climate change talks in Paris, Rob Hopkins launched his book 21 Stories of Transition: how a movement of communities is coming together to re-imagine and rebuild our world.
Transition Streets in Australia was one of the 21 stories, submitted by Graeme Stuart of Transition Newcastle.
The book tells the stories of ordinary people who are out there helping to create the change we need to see in the world.
There are stories like the Million Miles Project that aimed (successfully) to cut car travel by one million miles in Black Isle Scotland, cooperatives being formed in Luxembourg, a repair cafe in Pasadena, a free store in Pennsylvania and a commune in France.
In the introduction to the stories, Rob suggests there are 10 threads that run through the 21 stories:
- Reclaiming the economy
- Starting Local
- Sparking entrepreneurship
- Re-imagining work
- Stepping up
- Crowd-sourcing solutions
- Supporting each other
- Re-skilling
- Nurturing a caring culture
- Telling sticky stories
These threads help create an inspiring book (well worth reading). You can buy the book or download a pdf version from the Transition Network webpage here
In preparing the story, Graeme was asked to include a message to COP21. Here’s his message:
It’s time. We cannot keep leaving our children to respond to the challenges of climate change. It’s time to stop worrying about short-term interests and to start focusing on long-term impacts. It’s time to show real leadership in the transition to a low carbon, more sustainable future.
See Graeme’s blog https://sustainingcommunity.wordpress.com/2015/11/15/21-stories-of-transition/ to view the short video in which Rob introduces the book.
Edited from Graeme Stuart’s blog, posted 15 Nov 2016, leading up to the Paris climate talks COP21