Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27652 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-05
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review

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

Review

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

Customer Reviews

The roadmap to a resilient, sustainable future
I read the Transition Handbook only a few weeks ago, so I was curious to see how this one differed. Apparently it was written with existing Transition initiatives in mind, particularly those working on `energy descent action plans' (EDAP).

The EDAP is the detailed masterplan for transitioning a community beyond peak oil and is the ultimate goal of any Transition project. It's a big task, and the hardest part is knowing what to include, and in what order?

The Transition Timeline answers these questions from the perspective of 2027, through a series of chapters on transport, energy, food and so on, each written from the future and showing how we got there. It incorporates local actions, cultural change, and international agreements on climate change and peak oil. Chamberlin also offers three alternative non-transition scenarios, ie the ones the government are pursuing at the moment, also viewed from 2027. Those timelines aren't so pretty.

The Transition Timeline answers a number of different and quite specific questions. While that makes it a useful source of inspiration to the Transition movement, it may seem a little unfocused to the uninitiated - along with the main timelines there are chapters that bring climate change and peak oil right up to date, ideas for group exercises, an introduction to systems thinking, and a section on climate change and peak oil in the UK context.

Most importantly though, this is part of the Transition movement's use of `back-casting' - deciding your destination, and then working backwards to see what you need to do to get there. The case for a local, resilient future is presented simply, and the consequences of choosing otherwise are obvious and undesirable:

"Our choice is between the different 2027s we have just considered", is Chamberlin's challenge. "We do, collectively, get to chose which of them come to pass."

Essential reading to survive the future
This book walks you systematically through a range of future scenarios and helps you to think about the kind of future that you want to be part of. Essential reading for anyone in Transition Towns - but also for anone who's interested in the kind of future their children are going to grow up in...excellent balance of details and big picture stuff

Brilliant and vital
The Transition Timeline is one I thoroughly recommend as it really is a beautifully written book and has something for everyone, combining a philosophical perspective with a realistic look at a frightening predicament. It has harmony in its structure as it flows from one topic to another. As an artist, it left me feeling enthused, inspired and energised about the sort of things we can do in facing future dilemmas, and towards creating my own work.