On bank holiday Monday we held our first transition event from ‘the Heart’ section of our program – a Halloween gathering in Mullins Mill. It was a great success with over 50 people of all ages attending.

Pumpkin carving, bob apple, flour dunking, murals, face painting and willow making were just some of the activities on offer. Best of all was the wonderful selection of home cooked food that people brought along to share with each other.

The event ran from 6 to 8 and people remarked how wonderful it was to be at something for all the family that didn’t cost the earth, provided a wholesome experience for children and generated a sense of community.

I never thought that we would be running Halloween events like this to tackle peak oil and climate change! But perhaps, in years to come, we will look back at this process of rebuilding our ‘social glue’ as the key activity that enabled us to work through and prosper from the challenges we face.

Congratulations to those who organised the event and many thanks to all who attended.

There are many ways to get involved in the transition process here in Kilkenny. Below, we have put together under different themes some of the work that needs doing over the next few months. Please feel free to get involved, make suggestions or contribute in anyway you can.

Contact paul[at]futureproofkilkenny.org if you are interested or drop in at the next meeting or event.

Organisation

* Postering around town
* Summarizing events
* Taking money at the door
* Suggest a venue for regular meetings
* Treasurer
* Facilitate meetings and discussions
* Help out at the Green Screen before/after events
* Searching for funding

Events

* designing next years program
* Posting on the Blog
* Be involved in planning next year’s Future of Food seminar
* Help out at the Mill Kells before/after events
* Make suggestions for events “for the heart”
* Make suggestions for events “for the head”
* Make suggestions for events “for the hands”

Creative

* WEBSITE design / contribution
* Organise a social event for next year
* Setting up a “powerdown” book club
* Writing a book review
* Contribute a Short Film to the Transition Movie project
* Be involved in running/choosing films for next year’s Green Screen
* Set up a transition stories group in a local school

Promotion

* Help promote Cultivate’s community powerdown course in Kilkenny
* Writing press releases
* Show the “power of community” in your local community
* Put your name down for a transition training course

Community

* Go on Malcolm’s Allotment reconnoiter to Dublin
* Putting together a directory of local environmental/social groups
* Setting up a “Transition Food” group
* Investigating complementary currency
* Work on a skill sharing program

On 29th October the Irish Times ran an article in the Business section summarising the findings of a leaked report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). A longtime skeptic of peak oil, the IEA has over the last year conducted a review of the world’s oil producing fields for it’s upcoming World Energy Outlook 2008 report due to be published in November. Putting it mildly, the contents are alarming. Below the fold is how the Irish Times ran the story: Continue Reading »

Frustrated by the UK governments denial and lack of response to the Peak Oil issue, a UK Industry task force on Peak Oil & Energy Security has been established by a group of independent companies including Arup, FirstGroup, Virgin Group, SolarCentury, Yahoo! and others. You can read the full report here. Within the executive summary the group outline the severity of the challenges ahead. Continue Reading »

“The greatest challenges facing us now are climate change and fossil fuel depletion. The abundance of cheap oil has contributed to a huge shift in the way we live. A scarcity of oil will have devastating effects on our world as we rely so heavily on it for transport, food, manufacturing, health and of course energy. The Transition Towns initiative was established to inspire, support and develop networks within communities as we prepare to ‘power down’. I commend Future Proof Kilkenny on their work in implementing it here.”

We are extremely grateful to Mary White TD for her continued support and encouragement.