In Transition, 1.0, part 1 of 6, by The Transition Network, (Rob Hopkins), Dec. 9, 2009

TheTransitionNetwork’s Channel on YouTube (parts 2-6)

Two Carbon Reduction Campaigns (from 2009)

updated: April 11, 2012

If you’re wondering what you can do to affect climate change and peak oil, there are campaigns online suggesting ways to cut your personal production of carbon as well as carbon footprint calculators (scroll down) that figure out how much carbon you produce.

Can you cut your fossil fuel use? How low can you go?

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/18/no-impact-week-webcasts_n_325176.html

1. The No Impact Week,  the one-week carbon cleanse, based on the “No Impact Man,” Colin Beavan, (See Beavan on the Colbert Report) who lived with his wife and 2 year-old in NY City for a whole year only buying fresh food, riding bikes,  not creating any waste and not using any paper products, including toilet paper! (See NY Times, The Year Without Toilet Paper) And that was on the 9th floor of an apartment building! His conclusion is that changing your habits will not only help the earth but will help you to save money, lose weight, have more time and live healthier and happier.

This campaign has been taken up by the Huffington Post.  See No Impact Week at HuffPo and download their No Impact Guide with suggestions for cutting carbon in different areas of your life, one type of change on each day for a week.

The topics for the week are-

Sunday: Consumption- stop buying things

Mon: Trash-stop making trash; reduce, reuse, recycle, [and repair.]

Tues: Transportation- no fossil-fuel-based form of travel. No planes,  taxis, cars, elevators. [Carpools, subways, buses and motorbikes might be considered a second tier to attempt to cut. Bicycles and walking is ok.]

Wed: Food-eat only local, seasonal, unpackaged food

Thurs: Energy-unplug, turn it off, power down, go off the grid.

Fri: Water- turn off the faucet, run water gently, soak the dishes, sponge-bathe, flush less, recycle shower water to garden, drink tap water,

Sat: Giving back-volunteer for an environmental organization

Sun: Eco-Sabbath-for one afternoon or one hour, take a break from everything! Don’t buy anything, use any machines, switch on anything electric, answer your phone…don’t use any resources!

2. There is also the UK 10-10 Caampaign begun by Franny Armstrong, the filmmaker who made the Age of Stupid. The Guardian newspaper has taken up the campaign and posts on their website all kinds of information on carbon production with plans for individuals, schools and businesses to cut 10% of their carbon… Check their 10/10  plan below for individuals and download the list for your frig (pdf). [This plan has checkboxes to be "ticked," or checked off, when the goal has been accomplished.]

Cut 10%

The simplest way to tackle your 10% cut is to use the 10:10, 10-point checklist:

1 Fly less, holiday more

Swap plane for train, holiday nearer to home and take fewer but longer trips – same tanning time, dramatically less climate change emissions. Never fly or only one return flight a year? Tick the box right now.

Swap plane for train:

Many journeys to UK and nearby European destinations have excellent rail links, and even long haul journeys can sometimes be made by other means. Remember we built a tunnel under the sea to get to Europe! Please visit LoCO₂ or the Man in Seat 61 for advice about how to make overseas trips without flying.

Holiday nearer to home:

‘Staycations’ – holidaying in Britain instead of going abroad – are all the rage, helping the British economy as well as the climate. This is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to avoid flying. For more information about holidays in the UK, see Visit Britain.

Take fewer but longer trips:

Weekend city breaks can crank up your annual carbon footprint by tonnes in a matter of hours, so try saving up your holiday and taking it in bigger chunks. That way you’ll slash your emissions and have richer, more satisfying holiday experiences when you do travel overseas. Going a thousand miles for a 36 hour whirlwind tour of an unfamiliar city isn’t just bad for your carbon footprint, it’s a very bad way to get to know the place you’re visiting too.

Flying for work purposes:

If you have to fly for work, there are two things you can to try to reduce this part of your carbon footprint. First, ask your employers if they can sign up to 10:10 as a business. Even if they can’t sign up to 10:10, they still might be able to take up WWF’s One in Five Challenge.

Offsetting:

10:10 is about reducing emissions here in the UK, so carbon offsetting does not count as a way to meet your 10:10 commitments.

GREEN THING VIDEO:

Instead of jetting your way around the world, Stay Grounded.

2 Save 10% on heating

Turn down your thermostat, turn off radiators in hallways and more jumpers all round. Then apply for a grant to insulate your loft & walls. Use your bill to see whether you cut 10% in 2010 and tick if you succeeded. Don’t use gas or oil? Tick the box.

For more advice:

The Energy Saving Trust is a non-profit organisation that provides free impartial advice to help you save money and fight climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions from your home. Freephone your local Energy Saving Trust advice centre on 0800 512 012 or visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk.

Bills:

Some of the major energy suppliers have agreed to provide additional information to their customers so they can see how much energy they are using in 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. This should help you keep track of your progress towards a 10% cut. Go here for a list.

GREEN THING VIDEO:

Turn down the central heating and turn up the Human Heat.

3 Save 10% on electricity

Save big cash by changing lightbulbs, replacing old fridges & freezers and always turning stuff off. Use your bill to compare 2009 usage to 2010. Produce your own electricity from solar or wind? Tick box.

Saving energy in the home:

The Energy Saving Trust is a non-profit organisation that provides free impartial advice to help you save money and fight climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions from your home. Freephone your local Energy Saving Trust advice centre on 0800 512 012 or visit http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk.

DIY renewable energy:

For advice on generating your own renewable electricity, ask The Centre for Alternative Technology. CAT are the UK’s foremost providers of free expert advice on renewable energy. Call them on 01654 705989 or visit their website for more information.

Energy monitors:

10:10 is in talks to provide the first 500,000 households to sign up with free real-time energy monitors. These show you exactly how much electricity every appliance in your home consumes, and help you to find the easiest and most effective ways to reduce this consumption. We’ll be in touch with all 10:10 signatories in December to find out if you’d like to receive a free energy monitor.

GREEN THING VIDEO:

Don’t leave it on or even put it on, Plug Out.

4 Drive less

Leave your car at home one day a week. Walk, cycle or take public transport. Join a car-club rather than owning your own and share your ride to work with a colleague or two. No car? Tick the box.

Walk:

Using your feet to get to work is not just the cheapest, lowest carbon option: it’s the healthiest option too. If you live close enough to your workplace, why not build a little extra time into your day once a week to try walking in. It’s a great way to start your day too. See Walking Works for more information and WalkIt for city walking routes.

GREEN THING VIDEO:

You get from A to B without any C when you Walk The Walk.

Cycle:

The open road, the wind in your hair, a smug sensation as you whizz past the morning traffic jams: all this could be yours if you try cycling to work once a week instead of taking your car. There are lots of schemes around to help you get started as a two-wheeled commuter. If you don’t own a bike yet, ask if your employer is part of the government’s Cycle to Work scheme – you could get a flash tax-free bike like this. And if you live and work in London, why not take part in Cycle Fridays each week? They’re a fun new way to take the edge off riding through London traffic in the morning.

Public transport:

Check out your options for getting to work by public transport at Travel Line.

Car share:

If you can’t cycle or walk to work, could you share a commute with a colleague who lives nearby? Two cars driven solo use twice the fuel of one car carrying two people. If you don’t live near any colleagues and feel adventurous enough to try sharing a ride with someone you’ve never met once a week, you could register for one of the national car-sharing schemes and get to know someone new on your way in to work: National Car Share or Lift Share.

5 Eat better

Local, in-season fruit & veg produce the least emissions – and the less processed the better. Have one meat-free day per week – but don’t replace with just-as-bad cheese. Don’t eat meat or dairy? Tick away.

Meat and dairy

Food made from animal products tends to cause a lot of emissions, especially red meat and cheese. Eating too many of these foods isn’t always particularly healthy either. Why not try having one meat-free day per week with Meat Free Mondays.

GREEN THING VIDEO:

It’s delicious but it causes more CO₂ than cars so go easy on the meat (see Eazy On Da Meat and Ninjin – The Way Of The Vegetable Assassin).

Local and in season

It’s nice to have exotic foods from far away places once in a while, but if you don’t want your diet to cause big problems for the planet then it’s important to make sure the majority of your food is from sustainable sources. The easiest and simplest way to do that is to buy foods that are locally produced and in season. For simple advice on how to fill your shopping basket with the right things, check out the new Eat Seasonably campaign (where you can also find advice on growing your own food, which is even better).

Processed versus ingredients

As a rule, food causes more emissions if it’s highly processed – partly because it then needs to be refrigerated in the factory, truck, store and home. Hence as a rule it’s greener to buy ingredients and cook for yourself, though the less you cook vegetables the less energy it will take and the healthier they will be.

6 Buy good stuff

Less stuff made = less emissions = less climate damage. So buy high-quality things that last, repair broken stuff rather than chucking, buy & sell second-hand and borrow your neighbour’s mower. Never buy new? Really?

Buy and sell second-hand

We all have things lying around that we don’t want or use. Selling these (for example on eBay) helps avoid the need for new items to be produced – and it could make you some money too. Equally, buying secondhand makes sense both for the planet and your wallet. For even bigger savings, check on your local Freecycle site to see whether the thing you need is already being given away by someone near you.

Don’t buy disposable

Any ‘disposable’ product is a problem for the environment, whether it’s a plastic fork, a razor or a baby’s nappy. Try to stop using these types of products wherever possible.

Only buy energy efficient stuff

Many types of home appliance now have to be clearly labelled with an energy-efficiency rating. Look for the Energy Saving Trust’s ‘Energy Saving Recommended’ before buying any home appliances, or visit their website to compare products online.

Repair broken stuff

Not everything can be repaired but a surprising number of items can. If you have a broken appliance try phoning the manufacturer to see if they can send you a replacement part. For damaged clothes and shoes, try your local cobbler, tailor or dry cleaner. You’ll avoid the hassle and expense of buying replacements and get to feel good about bringing something back to life.

GREEN THING VIDEO:

Resist the urge to buy the latest and Stick With What You Got.

7 Dump less

Avoid excess packaging and buying pointless stuff that goes straight in the bin, recycle everything possible and compost your food waste. No garden or scared of worms? Let you off the composting.

Recycling and recycled products

Recycling everything you can helps avoid new items being produced from virgin materials – which usually takes far more energy and causes other environmental problems, too. Virgin aluminium can be twenty times more carbon intensive than recycled, so it’s important that we all recycle everything that we can – and favour recycled products, too.

Packaging

Even greener than recycling, of course, is creating less rubbish in the first place. Avoiding overly packaged food and goods is one sensible approach.

Giving away instead of throwing away

The smart thing to do with furniture, appliances or any other item that still works but is no longer wanted is to join the growing ‘freecycling’ movement. Freecycle is an online grassroots network of people who are giving and getting free stuff in their local area. It’s free and simple to use, and is already helping people save huge amounts of emissions, landfill and cash: www.uk.freecycle.org

Compost your food scraps

Food scraps that get sent to landfill can turn into methane – a powerful greenhouse gas. So make sure your scraps end up on in the compost bin or in your kitchen waste box.

GREEN THING VIDEO:

The art of wasting nothing and using up everything: All-Consuming.

8 Don’t waste food…

The average British family throws away £50 worth of food every month. So don’t buy or cook more than you need and eat up those tasty leftovers. With a smile on your face. Never ever waste a drop or morsel? Tick away.

Over-buying food

It’s easy to reduce your food waste with a little thought. The first step is to plan your shopping to make sure you only buy what you’re actually going to consume – however good the supermarket 2-for-1 offers might look! The second step is to plan your cooking: make use of leftovers whenever possible and use the freezer to extend the life of food that you suspect you might not get eaten fresh.

Best Before & Sell By vs Use By

The expiry dates printed on food and drinks packaging can be misleading: the only date that’s important is the Use By date. Food can become dangerous after this time so you do need to check this before eating. However, Best Before dates do not mean deadlines by which food must be eaten, they are only intended to provide information about the best circumstances under which to eat the food – a bit like instructions to ‘serve chilled’ or ‘for best results cook in a conventional oven’. If your food item is past its Best Before date then that just means you need to hurry up and eat it! Sell By dates mean just that, and are there for retailers, not for customers to use.

GREEN THING VIDEO:

The art of wasting nothing and using up everything: All-Consuming.

9 … or water

Your tap water uses lots of energy – and then heating it in your home uses loads more – so take showers rather than baths, be careful when watering plants and only run full dishwashers & washing machines. Don’t use water? What, you’re an alien?

Hot water versus cold water

All water is worth saving but it’s the hot water that matters the most. So it makes sense to focus first and foremost on washing and washing up. Could you swap some relaxing baths for invigorating showers? And do you ever leave the hot water running when doing the dishes? If you have a dishwasher, don’t start a cycle unless it is full.

Toilet flush

Most toilets waste around three litres of water every time they flush, but there’s a very simple way to overcome this design flaw — get a ‘hippo’. They’re very cheap (check with your local water provider as many give them away free to customers), will take you less than 5 minutes to install and will work fine in most cisterns. Order Hippos here.

Garden

Hoses and sprinklers throw out vast quantities of water, so if you’re a keen gardener investigate ways to reduce the amount of mains water you consume. The RHS offer gardeners a range of good, clear advice on this topic.

10 Feel happier

…You’re healthier for walking & cycling, you’ve made new friends from swapping stuff & car-pooling, you’ve saved a big chunk of cash… and you know that you’re part of the global effort to prevent castastrophic climate change… Tick the box?

Carbon Footprint Calculators

Here are some carbon footprint calculators for you to determine your own production of carbon in our one and only world:

Footprint calculator-how many planets does it take to support your lifestyle? (create an avatar then watch your world, and your emissions,  build)

CO2 emissions calculator -how much you generate and how many trees needed to offset it.

Ecological footprint -area of land and ocean required to support your footprint.

The Nature Conservancy Carbon Footprint Calculator

Other calculators:

Carbon footprint calculator -UK- house, car, flying, bus, lifestyle.

US Dept. of Energy -ways to save energy with vehicles, buildings, homes, industry

Electrical Energy cost calculator -cost to use lights, appliances, laundry.

Hello.
Welcome to Transition West Marin, a network of individuals and organizations working towards building local resilience and reducing carbon emissions.

We are working to make our community self-sufficient.

What is a transition town? According to Rob Hopkins, the founder of the Transition Movement, it is a community that has begun to think about this question:

“…for all those aspects of life that this community needs in order to sustain itself and thrive, how do we significantly increase resilience (to mitigate the effects of peak oil) and drastically reduce carbon emissions (to mitigate the effects of climate change)?”

Since 2005, when the first Transition Town, Totnes, UK, was begun, Transition Towns has become a worldwide movement, having currently produced 159 official Transition Towns in 14 countries (more each day), all springing from a “…few motivated individuals who began to think about the challenges and opportunities of peak oil and climate change.”

If you want to learn more about the Transition Movement there are many websites you can visit. Transition Towns’ main website is Transitiontowns.org.

The Transition Towns’ Primer online  gives a great overview of the whole transition process.

Transition Towns also has a group, the Transition Network, whose purpose is to coordinate all the towns that are in the process of transitioning. Transition Network  has a newsletter which is now online. If you subscribe, they will email you when a new issue comes out.

Another part of Transitiontowns.org is their Forum where discussion groups talk about their progress or problems. Groups such as: events, arts and crafts, business and economics, cities, education and universities, energy, food, health, housing, initiating and awareness raising, inner world and heart and soul, international, local government, transport, and mission, principles, structure and strategy. Even though largely UK-based, these can be a source of ideas for our working groups here in the US.

Other links of interest:
1. Rob Hopkins’ blog, Transition Culture, is http://transitionculture.org/.
2. Transition US, located in Sebastopol, CA is the group formed to network and inspire Transition groups forming in the US. Sign up and get their newsletter.

3. Also, Transition Facebook group has over 2000 members. The group is listed as global.

And, if you haven’t seen the NY Times Magazine article, from 19 April 2009, that told the story of one of the first transition towns,  “The End is Near (Yay!)”, here it is. It follows the progression of Sand Point, Idaho becoming a transition town.

Best wishes,

Transition West Marin
A network of individuals and organizations working towards building local resilience and reducing carbon emissions