> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://news.transitionnetwork.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # April 2011 Network Newsletter - URL: https://news.transitionnetwork.org/april-2011-network-newsletter/ - Published: 2011-03-31T23:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2021-04-07T12:22:51.000Z - Author: Transition Network international - Tags: #News, #Import 2026-03-17 **April 2011 Transition Network Newsletter** https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/news/2011-04-01/april-2011-network-newsletter **CONTENTS** \~ Transition Network 2011 UK conference: \~ March News Round Up \~ Transition Network Diversity and Inclusion Newsletter March 2011 \~ Somerset Council Transition Reversal Raises Questions Over Localism Agenda \~ Otesha Project UK: young people’s cycle tour **TALKS & VIDEOS** \~ A New World View – Naomi Klein in Totnes \~ The End Of Growth – Richard Heinberg in Totnes \~ Confronting Change \~ Beyond the Brink \~ Film Review: The Economics of Happiness **ENERGY** \~ UK First Community Owned Solar Power Station \~ Ten reasons why new nuclear was a mistake – even before Fukushima \~ Nuclear: We get the power but future generations get the waste \~ Nuclear power’s last ditch effort **RESOURCES** **EVENTS** **And Finally….** --- **Transition Network 2011 UK conference:** 8th – 11th July, Liverpool, UK The Network conference this year will be at Hope University in Liverpool on the Hope Park campus. Most accommodation is onsite, with self catering an option. No onsite camping – we asked and cajoled, but they wouldn’t budge. Provisional timings are registration opens on Friday evening with the main conference programme starts Saturday morning and finishes Monday lunchtime. Planning has started for a full programme of workshops, themes and events. More details will be announced soon starting with full accessibility info next week. [https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/news/2011-03-23/transition-network-2011-uk-conference-8-11-july-liverpool](https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/news/2011-03-23/transition-network-2011-uk-conference-8-11-july-liverpool?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) **March News Round Up** This month there is a report from Colombia where they recently held their first Transition Trainings; in Japan there was an all-Japan Transition Town meeting plus they’ve started a bilingual wiki site called ‘Transition Town in Asia’. Meanwhile down in Australia Riddell launched with a local food fare. Projects around the UK include refurbished bikes in Grangemouth, a ‘Big Green Day’ in Abbots Langley, South Ribble clothes swapping party, and a light bulb amnesty in Andover. In North America, there was a 2-day Economic Summit in Putney and a conference on localised food systems in Colorado. Transition Guelph held a Resilience Festival combined with their Great Unleashing. Details on these and many more: https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/news/2011-04-01/march-round-whats-happening-transition **Transition Network Diversity and Inclusion Newsletter March 2011** This month’s newsletter includes an in-depth resource on ‘Islam and Environment’, a report from the recent ‘Interfaith Seminar on Environment and Sustainability’ and listening to the community in Lockerbie. https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/news/2011-03-28/transition-network-diversity-newsletter-march-2011 **Somerset Council Transition Reversal Raises Questions Over Localism Agenda** In July 2008, Somerset County Council passed a resolution supporting its local Transition initiatives. Since then it has become clear that what started so boldly and with such great promise has since fallen away. In the spirit of learning from such reversals, this piece explores what we can learn from recent developments in Somerset, and also what we might draw from them in relation to the government’s current ‘localism’ agenda. https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/news/2011-03-11/somerset-transition-reversal-raises-questions-over-localism-agenda **Otesha Project UK: young people’s cycle tour** Two groups of 18-28 year-olds will be cycling across the UK this summer, living as a sustainable, consensus-based community, delivering workshops and performing a play in schools and youth clubs. Check out their route in case they are coming near you plus there are a few spaces left to join them. https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/news/2011-03-29/otesha-project-uk-young-peoples-cycle-tour-workshops-and-plays --- **TALKS & VIDEOS** **A New World View – Naomi Klein in Totnes** Author of ‘No Logo’ and ‘The Shock Doctrine and activist Naomi Klein recently visited Totnes to find out more about the Transition movement. She gave a talk looking at the various crises going on around the world, the challenges ahead and the opportunities that you can see online here: [http://transitionculture.org/2011/03/25/naomi-klein-in-totnes-the-movie/](http://transitionculture.org/2011/03/25/naomi-klein-in-totnes-the-movie/?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) At the end of Klein’s visit Rob Hopkins interviewed her. [In part one](https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2011-03-23/interview-naomi-klein-part-one-world-view-killing-us-and-needs-be-repla?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) she says that our “… world view is killing us and needs to be replaced with another world view…” while in [part two](http://transitionculture.org/2011/03/24/an-interview-with-naomi-klein-part-two-%E2%80%9Cwe-must-address-inequality-if-we%E2%80%99re-going-to-deal-with-climate-change%E2%80%9D/?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) she emphasised that “we must address inequality if we’re going to deal with climate change”: \[1\] [http://bit.ly/fFhxL0](http://bit.ly/fFhxL0?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) \[2\] [http://bit.ly/gAavHt](http://bit.ly/gAavHt?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) **The End Of Growth – Richard Heinberg in Totnes** Author of “The Party’s Over” and leading peak oil educator, Richard Heinberg recently gave talk in Totnes about the future of our ‘growth’ society. The talk can be viewed online: [http://transitionculture.org/2011/03/11/something-for-the-weekend-richard-heinberg-in-totnes/](http://transitionculture.org/2011/03/11/something-for-the-weekend-richard-heinberg-in-totnes/?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) During his visit, Heinberg was interviewed jointly by Rob Hopkins, Ben Brangwyn of Transition Network and Frances Northrop of Transition Town Totnes. “I think 2011 is going to be an interesting year… in the Chinese sense…” he said. Interview part one: [http://bit.ly/heinberg-part1](http://bit.ly/heinberg-part1?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) Interview part two: [http://bit.ly/heinberg-part2](http://bit.ly/heinberg-part2?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) **Confronting Change** An inspirational event last December on the South Bank with Polly Higgins, Michael Meacher MP and Rob Hopkins has now been released on film and [written up on Rob’s blog here](https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2010-12-17/confronting-change-london-s-south-bank-centre?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org): [http://bit.ly/ConfrontingChange-blog](http://bit.ly/ConfrontingChange-blog?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) and videos of the talks can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/ConfrontingChange-videos **Film: Beyond the Brink** 18-year-old Ross Harrison spent a year chasing up experts, studying the news and filming to create a short documentary that answers the ever-pressing questions: are we really causing climate change, and who cares? The result is a 40 minute film available to download about the knowns and the unknowns of the science, about the risks, and about being hopeful for the future too. www.beyondthebrink.org **Film Review: The Economics of Happiness** The film covers eight arguments against globalisation and explores some of the less tangible benefits of localisation. Rob ponders on whether it is the film we need to raise the issue to the next level of the debate. [https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2011-03-28/film-review-economics-happiness](https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2011-03-28/film-review-economics-happiness?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) --- **ENERGY** **UK First Community Owned Solar Power Station** Transition Town Lewes’s energy company, Ovesco, is planning to build Britain’s first community-owned solar power station this summer. It’s launching a share issue at Lewes Town Hall on 19 April to raise £306,000 from investors to pay for 544 solar panels on the warehouse roof of the town’s favourite brewery, Harveys. They need raise at least £250,000 by 9 May in order to get the scheme installed and registered for the full FITs by 1st August. Your chance to invest in renewable energy. https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/news/2011-04-01/uk-first-community-owned-solar-power-station **Three views on nuclear power:** **Ten reasons why new nuclear was a mistake – even before Fukushima** It’s hardly a surprise that building nuclear power stations on seismic fault lines, as Japan has done, turns out to be a foolish thing. In the pause for reflection about the safety of nuclear power that the Fukushima disaster is bound to create, here are ten reasons why it’s a mistake to build a new round of nuclear power stations in the UK. [https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2011-03-15/ten-reasons-why-new-nuclear-was-mistake-even-fukushima-guest-post-alexi](https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2011-03-15/ten-reasons-why-new-nuclear-was-mistake-even-fukushima-guest-post-alexi?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) **Nuclear: We get the power but future generations get the waste** We should always act to avoid harming all living beings, not only those living now but especially those who will live in the future, who will be far greater in number. Nuclear energy is a uniquely risky enterprise precisely because its consequences are so long-lasting and so difficult to deal with if catastrophe ever strikes nuclear power plants. http://transitionvoice.com/2011/03/we-get-the-power-but-future-generations-get-the-waste/ **Nuclear power’s last ditch effort** The industry began generating electricity as a side business to its main political role of creating the material for nuclear weapons. Neither the public nor the markets were involved. In communications terms the nuclear industry has to do two things: make sure that the public does not get to decide AND create the impression that renewables don’t work. https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/transition-voice/2011-03-24/nuclear-power-s-last-ditch-effort --- **RESOURCES** **Community Energy Group Tools** The Cente for Sustainable Energy has developed a series of tools and guidance for community groups thinking about installing their own community owned renewable energy systems. This includes a fairly extensive set of films which are available free online https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/resources/community-energy-group-tools **Resources added recently** to the website include: \~ Hythe thermal imaging \~ Ealing Transition Initiative Local Food Distribution Project \~ People of Tottenham Street [https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/resources](https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/resources?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) **Recent Forum discussions** include: \~ Chesterfield Libary looking for recommendations of transition-relevant books; \~ What strategies are working in big cities? [https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/forum/recent](https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/forum/recent?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) --- **EVENTS** \~ Quaker and Transition Conference \~ 9th International Peak Oil Conference of ASPO – Brussels \~ EarthHeart Weekend (The Work That Reconnects) with Chris Johnstone These and more details here [https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/events](https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/events?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) --- **And Finally….** **Gort and Klaatu’s blog** Our poor specimen earthling continues his adventures into possible futures. https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/gort-and-klaatu **QUOTE OF THE MONTH** “*The crisis of human ecology is much greater than either the nuclear or carbon issue.*“ Paul Mobbs (responding to George Monbiot’s nuclear conversion) http://www.fraw.org.uk/f.html?monbiotcritique --- Follow Transition Network on Twitter [http://twitter.com/#!/transitiontowns](http://twitter.com/?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org#!/transitiontowns) Find previous editions of the newsletter here [https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/tags/transition-network-newsletter](https://archive25.transitionnetwork.org/tags/transition-network-newsletter?ref=news.transitionnetwork.org) This newsletter is published on the first Friday of each month. Newsletter Editor: Mike Grenville, from Transition Forest Row Contact: transitionnetworknews@googlemail.com +44 (0)7974 924289