Towns prepare for ‘peak oil’ point

Some forecasters say we’ll hit peak oil in 20 years, some people say we already have. What is a certainty is that we face a future where oil will become increasingly scarce.

Which is where the concept of transition towns comes in.
Transition towns are communities which have accepted that peak oil will happen and have started to take steps to ensure that when it does start to impact, they’re ready for it.

They’re not wild-eyed survivalists, they’re just ordinary men and women with an eye to a potentially difficult future.

They believe in relocalisation, growing their food locally – even if that means digging up the local playpark and planting fruit trees or vegetables.

Slightly tongue in cheek, Totnes in Devon wants to become the Nut Tree Capital of the UK.

It’s a PR stunt but one with serious intent, designed to focus people’s attention on where their future food supply will come from.

They believe in re-skilling, of teaching people how to feed themselves, to use local resources, to build with what they have to hand.

BBC