What’ll we do when the oil stops flowing? Well, if you’re old enough to remember the 1970s oil embargo, you’d remember gas rationing, blocks’ long lines to get gas, and alternate days when you were allowed to even get the gas. This may be part of the reason Transition Towns got started, a movement sweeping the world, the country and Media, one of two towns in Pennsylvania taking part in this relocalization, revitalization, re-energizing and resilient initiative, and the only town doing so in the tri-state area. “In my view,” says George Owen, one of the founders of Transition Town Media, “the genius of the Transition movement is that it has a positive vision of a better future without oil, it uses an open and transparent process in which everyone participates, and it taps into the power of community and the creativity of ordinary people to engage in real change.”

Transition US is a nonprofit organization and became official in February 2009, and in little over a year 200+ towns and cities in the US are currently considering becoming official Transition Towns, along with the 60 others that have already taken that step. Nationally, Media was #38 to join up, Pittsburgh #58. There are nearly 300 Transition Towns outside the US as well.

The Transition Town model is basically an environmental plan for self-reliance based on very basic premises: That our dependence on oil, gas and coal is excessive, production will diminish in a couple decades, and it’s better to get ahead of the game now; the cost of such energy is a contributing factor to the current economic crisis; and that climate change from excessive oil/gas/coal usage is inevitable. In the Transition Towns model, individuals have to act together and act now, negotiate down from the high levels of oil/gas usage using everyone’s skill, ingenuity and intelligence, and, using all the creativity and cooperation, unleash the collective genius within our local communities that’ll lead to a more abundant, connected and healthier future for all.

“The Transition Town movement inspires communities to transition from oil-dependency to localized resiliency,” Owen said, “which enables them to withstand external shocks from peak oil, climate change, economic instability, and population overshoot. The goal is to localize such things as food, jobs, healthcare, business, transportation, and emergency services, with the goal of using much less oil in their production and gain the accountability and responsiveness of being closer to home. In addition to raising awareness of the need to change the way we use energy and the opportunities to build a better lifestyle, we network with other groups to collaborate and support their efforts in building a stronger and more resilient local economy. Then as volunteers emerge, we form working groups to focus on specific issues.” Delaware County Council is in tune with the Transition Towns concept. As part of its own countywide environmental efforts, County Chairman Jack Whelan noted, “The entire county courthouse complex is being retrofitted to increase energy efficiency, putting in reduced-energy lightbulbs as well as new boilers and chillers that have more acceptable energy ratings, with a guaranteed contract that the savings will pay for the $15 million project.”

A British permaculture (an ecological design system for sustainability in all aspects of human endeavor) educator started the Transition Towns movement in Ireland. Rob Hopkins and his students at the Kinsale Further Education College created the Kinsale Energy Descent Action Plan in early 2005, which was later adopted as policy by the Town Council. Considered to be the first strategic community planning document of its kind, it went beyond the issues of energy supply to look at across-the-board creative adaptations in the realms of food, farming, education, economy, health, and much more. He later moved back to the United Kingdom, and Totnes, England became the first official Transition Town in 2006.

It has spread like wildfire since, with groups forming communities around the world. Locally, Transition Town Media has grown from the original core of 6 initiators, to a steering group of 12, active membership of about 60 and an interested email list of 160. It has several different working groups, including energy, food, book club and other activities. The monthly steering committee meetings welcome all. Several other groups and activities are available, with more being planned, including healthcare, economy, and emergency services. April 25th will feature Energy Conservation & the Conscious Consumer.

Visit their website at www. TransitionMedia.memberlodge.com for the various group contacts, email TransitionMedia@yahoo.com, or stop by a meeting. As the Transition Town site states, the groups are “people who are actively engaged in transition in a community. People who are learning by doing, and learning all the time. People who understand that we can't sit back and wait for someone else to do the work. People like you.”