Last week saw nearly 8000 delegates gather in Vienna, Austria, for the European Geosciences Union (EGU) meeting. But while the conference undoubtedly boosted knowledge and enabled researchers to forge new links, was its carbon footprint bigger than necessary? That was the topic of a well-attended debate held at the meeting.Full article
For the last six years I have lived on Dartmoor, in Devon, latterly in the orbit of a small but vibrant town called Totnes. An extraordinary process began in this little town a year or so ago, formally launched as 'Transition Town Totnes' (TTT) in September 2006. It has inspired other Transition Initiatives (villages, cities, post codes, islands..) around the country, over thirty in the last 8 months, and is being watched around the world. Why is this process 'going viral?Full article
To look at nearly any bicycle - from graceful racers with inch-thick tires to the clunky, rusted workhorses of food delivery fleets - is to behold a union of form and function that has existed for nearly two centuries. Bicycles, after all, have been transporting people at least since 1817, when Baron Karl von Drais invented a contraption in Germany that operated without pedals and required riders to push against the ground with their feet to propel themselves.Full article
There is, as the ads say, no Plan B. The age of cheap oil is drawing to a close, climate change already threatens, and politicians dither. But the people of Lampeter, a small community in the middle of rural Wales, gathered together earlier this week to mobilise for a new war effort. They decided to plan their "energy descent".Full article
After more than a year of debate and careful planning, the Mennonite Creation Care Network (MCCN) has decided against holding a creation summit in 2008. This followed a day-and-a-half of heavy working sessions at the Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College, last month. The network decided that holding a separate event on the environment when earth care could be discussed at other planned meetings would unjustifiably contribute to global warming.Full article
For most of the 150 delegates who travelled to Germany for a gathering of church leaders in historic Wittenberg, the trip was a matter of a few hours, thanks to one of the many low-cost airlines that now ply Europe's skies. But for Anglican Bishop Richard Chartres of London, who has pledged to refrain from air travel for a year, as a sign of his commitment to the environment, the journey earlier this month meant a 1000 kilometre train voyage with changes in Brussels and Berlin.Full article
It has been nine months now that I've been 4x4-free, though I can't say I exactly feel liberated. In the city, life without a vehicle has been relatively convenient, but here on the outskirts of Hope, British Columbia, I'm really feeling the dog's blisters.Full article
The point is not that my choice to remain earthbound is right, realistic or even noteworthy. Rather, the point was somewhere between Crestone, Colorado and Abiquiu, New Mexico where I pedaled into the realization that lifestyle change and spirited wanderlust are one. Full article
As a member of upper-middle class Americana Melissa Bixler drove her gas-powered '96 Chevy to high school, college and then to graduate school without much of a thought. But that was before I met Peter Dula. Now she says "there is no simpler gesture of Christ's peace than to stop purchasing from the gas station." Full article
Dear friends, we have a problem. We've convinced ourselves that life is not possible without heavy, noisy, smelly, destructive machines. We have to walk away from the beasts and back into the arms of the God of love. Full article
"The ride is notoriously and gloriously unpredictable, as are the passengers," says Tim Honan as he suggests an inspirational alternative to the luxury Christian cruise. His alternative still involves a motor, but the motor is shared by many and the trip is a soulful one. Full article