Bountiful Bristol Bulletin

Transition Town Totnes are setting up a Transition Network conference for 31st May 2007 in Nailsworth, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, at Ruskin Mill. The purpose of the event is to add momentum to existing Transition Towns and Cities like Bristol and increase the connections between them. We’re also hoping to be able to encourage others to embark on their own voyage of self-determined energy descent.

Because Richard Heinberg will be attending, Peak Oil will feature more heavily than Climate Change. (FYI, Heinberg is also presenting to Transition Stroud the day before at the Subscription Rooms, 7:30pm to 9:30pm, tickets at £5/£3, available from the box office or 01453 760900)

Here’s what we’re planning for the 31-May conference: (more…)

andykisaragi

After the success of their Mulambo night last December, James and Clare are doing it again on the 15th of June. It’s on a bit more of a psychedelic theme this time and has expanded into the second room at the trinity for a chillout / chai shop / multimedia space.

eat static and banco de gaia should need no introduction… fromem ory is a rising star of fullon psytrance making his first visit to bristol and andykisaragi is of course me, and i rock. It’s a great line up and should make for a great night, and rest assured the chillout lineup, still being finalised, will be just as special.

Also, it’s all for charity! So no excuses, get yourself to Bristol Ticket Shop now…

andykisaragi

Sorry for the glib title. Just having a little break from writing an essay about nuclear power… I’ve never really been sure where I stood on this, and the more I look into it, the less clear it gets… anyway. I actually wanted to mention this article I saw on AlterNet, Urban Farming: Coming to a City Near You. It’s about GROFUN-esque schemes in America, from groovy west coast cities like Oakland to Houston in the heart of Texas. It’s all deeply encouraging, especially the Houston project. The president’s Texan roots kind of make one expect it to be the global centre of denial, but as the director of Houston’s Urban Harvest says, “With Houston being the oil capital, people here are more aware than most that oil prices are going to rise faster than inflation… As the cheap fuels dry up, metro areas are at huge risk.”
It feels a little like we’re approaching a tipping point. We’re seeing more and more of these little schemes popping up all over the place, more transition town projects are starting up around the country… This is that self organising stuff I’m always banging on about in action. Governments continue to hopelessly flap around trying to reconcile continuous economic growth with climate change and peak oil, but the real action is going to be from the bottom up, initially at least. We have a great opportunity in Bristol as the UK’s first Transition City to show urban dwellers that not only does something need to be done, but something can be done. As grassroots initiatives spread and public opinion reaches that tipping point, Governments will be able to start doing something useful - indeed, they will increasingly have little choice.

andykisaragi

Good headline eh?

Democracy Now! reported last Thursday on a train crash in Minot, North Dakota back in 2002. A 112-car train was derailed and an explosion leaked hazardous chemicals - 240,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia - into the atmosphere, leaving a plume of vapour drifting through the town. Anhydrous ammonia burns eyes, skin and lungs on a brief exposure - prolonged exposure can shut down the respiratory system entirely. Hundreds in the town were hospitalised; one was killed.

So far, so horrible. But what’s this got to do with the media?

Well, all six of the town’s local radio stations were owned by media giant Clearchannel. When the train derailed and the town started to fill with noxious gases, panic ensued. Residents who called 911 were told to listen to KCJB, the town’s designated local emergency broadcaster, for instructions. When they tuned in they were surprised to hear nothing but the usual smooth talking djs and Britney classics. Tune to the other local stations. Smooth talking. Britney classics.
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We would like to invite you to the opening of 27 kilos at the Hotbath
Gallery 24th January 5 - 8pm.

‘27 Kilos’ visualizes the amount of CO2 an average person in the UK
emits each day.

27 columns formed from blankets are placed in the gallery space. Each
column represents the volume of 1 kg CO2, the gas responsible for
global warming. 20% of each column is in a slightly darker colour. This
area represents the sustainable level of CO2 emissions averaged out
worldwide. The disparity between current emissions and the sustainable
level reinforces the urgency to reduce individual emissions.

www.27kilos.com

Exhibition open from
Monday - Friday: 10am - 4pm
January 22nd - February 21st 2007

www.hotbathgallery.co.uk

2-4 Hotbath Street
Bath
BA1 1UP
Phone: 01225 328673

andykisaragi
I was having a look at the Guardian site the other day at work and came across this article about the decline of local biodiversity in the UK. To be honest I try not to take the Guardian’s brand of armchair activism too seriously (and find it laughable that it is actually considered to be the country’s leading ‘liberal’ or ‘loony left’ paper) but the article makes some interesting points, one of which is about the BBC’s Planet Earth. (more…)

…winter solstice doth approach…and to mark this traditional festival you are invited to our
*winter solstice celebration*
thurs 21st dec evening until fri 22nd The Mill End of Radford Mill Farm BA2 0QF
all musicians and performers welcome for an acoustic jam and singsong
…medieval and time traveller fancy dress…
children and adults welcome…
please bring food to share…wood, drink, music, warm things, chestnuts, decorations
hope to see you all round the fire…
contact phoenix 07769 791387
or flipflop 07878 071596 if you have any queries…
luv n peas xx
your farm

directions here