Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Read Beyond Oil NYC's: Rob Hopkins Introduces New Yorkers to the Transition Movement

Hello there.  I have been so busy working on new green building and renovation projects north of NYC in the Hudson Valley that I have scaled back posting.  I will be reporting on some of our projects at some point in the near future, including the renovation of a house in Woodstock, NY that we are project managing.  It will have an 8 kw Sun Power solar PV array and a solar thermal heating system installed under a stone patio that will heat a spectacular pool to, well, live (not die) for. (The solar thermal heating system will offset a propane fueled pool heater.)

But, in lieu of eco-musings or news on my end, my good friend Dan Miner from Beyond Oil NYC just sent me a must-read blog post explaining how  "The Transition movement blends climate change response and local economic development". He wrote this excellent article after meeting Transition Town Man Rob Hopkins in NYC.

                 Dan Miner, Rob Hopkins and John Bell, NYC

I previously wrote a well-received piece about Transition Towns called Grow Your Own Community  in Chronogram magazine.  I also SKYPED with Rob Hopkins a few years back for an interview, but unfortunately I could not  make it to meet him face-to-face in NYC during his recent visit.  So, thank you Dan Miner for being my tele-presence and summing up so eloquently and thoughtfully all that Transition is.

As an aside, I wanted to mention that I first met Dan five or so years ago at the North East Sustainable Energy Association event that takes place every year in Boston.  We both attended a fantastic talk on resiliency by Alex Wilson.  Among other things, Alex is founder of BuildingGreen, Inc and the Resilient Design Institute.   I had the pleasure of hosting a SPARK event in Manhattan entitled “Resilient Design: The New Imperative” with Alex last year just after Super Storm Sandy with my wondeful collaborators, the inspirational Green Drinks NYC and The Moderns.  Shout out to Alex, Green Drinks NYC, The Moderns and Dan Miner.

Check out Beyond Oil NYC's : Rob Hopkins Introduces New Yorkers to the Transition Movement