Focused on creating a more stable and resilient community, Northern Berkshire Transition considers local assets as the primary building blocks of sustainable community development. Building on the skills of local residents, the power of local associations, and the supportive functions of local institutions, Transition draws upon existing community strengths to build a stronger, more sustainable community for the future.

While many of the ideas of the Transition are not new, what is unique is that it unites people, working with a new understanding that social, environmental and economic issues do not exist in a vacuum; they are all interrelated and will most effectively be addressed together.

On this journey, we have adopted the following four assumptions:

• That life with dramatically lower energy consumption is inevitable, and that it’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
• That our settlements and communities presently lack the resilience to enable them to weather the severe energy shocks that will accompany peak oil.
• That we have to act collectively, and we have to act now.
• That by unleashing the collective genius of those around us to creatively and proactively design our energy descent, we can build ways of living that are more connected, more enriching and that recognize the biological limits of our planet.

A future with less oil can, if enough thinking and design is applied sufficiently in advance, be preferable to the present. There is no reason why a lower-energy, more resilient future needs to have a lower quality of life. Indeed, a future with a revitalized local economy would have many advantages, including a happier and less stressed population, an improved environment and increased stability.

Find out more about Transition here:

http://northernberkshiretransition.ning.com/profiles/blogs/about-transition