The oil transition

Running on empty? Fears over oil supply move into the mainstream

On a rainy day last month, four drummers, three guitarists, a bagpiper, two didgeridoo players and 186 others assembled in the rural English town of Cirencester to discuss turning their neighbourhoods into low-impact communities built around farming, arts and crafts and herbal medicine.

After communal meditation and a few speeches, those present gathered in small groups to discuss everything from transport without oil to engaging local politicians in the ‘Transition Towns’ movement


For years, such meetings have been dismissed as eccentric. Most of the world