Author(s): HOPKINS ROB

Nature

We live in an oil-dependent world, and have got to this level of dependency in a very short space of time, using vast reserves of oil in the process without planning for when the supply is not so plentiful. Most people don’t want to think about what happens when the oil runs out (or becomes prohibitively expensive), but The Transition Handbook shows how the inevitable and profound changes ahead can have a positive effect. They can lead to the rebirth of local communities, which will generate their own fuel, food, and housing. They can encourage the development of local currencies, to keep money in the local area, and they can unleash a local “skilling-up,” so that people have more control over their lives. The Transition Handbook is the manual that will guide communities to begin this “energy descent” journey. The argument that “small is inevitable” is upbeat and positive, as well as utterly convincing.