Transition Town Westcliff in partnership with Scarlett Fireplaces

*WOOD ENERGY FOR A LOW CARBON FUTURE*

17th July 2008

7.30 onwards
at
Scarlett Fireplaces
164 London Road
Southend on Sea

*ABOUT THIS EVENING*

A presentation and discussion led by Jason Scarlett exploring how we can
ensure future fuel resilience for Westcliff on Sea.

Current energy and environmental issues are on all our minds. With gas
and oil prices rising and stocks depleting the mention of renewable
energy is no longer just the concern of the green ones among us. One
answer lies wood fuel derived from the sustainable management
(coppicing) and replanting of our local indigenous woodlands.
Wood burning can be eased into modern lifestyles as part of a real and
necessary carbon neutral alternative to fossil fuels. Heating your home
with logs can mean that your energy bill incurs no standing charge and
is paid directly to the local forest industry that manage our woodland,
street and garden trees. In turn, local councils, farmers and land
owners see tree planting more favourably.

Free admission, however due to limited space booking is essential,
please email info@... or ring 01702 335054 to ensure
your place!

Download a PDF poster for display
http://www.spiralseed.co.uk/transition/ttwwoodenergyposter.pdf

*ABOUT TRANSITION TOWN WESTCLIFF*

*Transition Town Westcliff* is an exploration of how the people of
Westcliff on Sea and the surrounding area can prepare for a carbon
constrained, energy lean world. TTW is a community-led initiative which
is working towards the creation of an Energy Descent Action Plan
<http://transitiontowns.org/Totnes/Main/WhatIsAnEnergyDescentPlan?> for
the town. The thinking behind TTW is simply that a town using much less
energy and resources than we presently consume could, if properly
planned for and designed, be more resilient, more abundant and more
pleasurable than the present.

SOME BACKGROUND - PEAK OIL AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Cheap oil has made possible much of what we take for granted. However
many experts now agree that world oil production is reaching its peak
and that the age of cheap oil is drawing to a close, a phenomenon known
as ‘peak oil’. Oil and Gas Journal reports that;

* For every 6 barrels of oil we consume, we are only discovering one
new one.
* Nearly all the world’s large oilfields are in decline
* World oil production reached its all time high in 2004, and has
declined since
* It takes 10 calories of oil to put 1 calorie of food on our table

From scientists to economists, activists to businessmen, politicians to
campaigners, there is now universal consensus that Climate Change is
perhaps the single greatest environmental challenge in our history.

* Our world is hotter than it has been in two thousand years. All ten
of the hottest years on record have occurred since 1990
* Already 150,000 people die each year as a result of climate change
and the problem is getting worse. Floods in Mozambique, forest
fires in
Indonesia, hurricanes in Florida, storms in the UK – these are all
exacerbated by climate change

LIFE BEYOND OIL - THREAT OR OPPORTUNITY

Climate Change and Peak Oil can cause us to feel confronted by something
overwhelmingly huge that we cannot do anything about. The central
message of the Transition Movement is that this state of mind is not the
place to start from if we want to achieve something, do something or
create something. Indeed, by shifting our mind-set we can actually
recognise the coming post-cheap oil era as an opportunity rather than a
threat, and design the future low carbon age to be thriving, resilient
and abundant – somewhere much better to live than our current alienated
consumer culture based on greed, war and the myth of perpetual growth.

SOME QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

* What would a low energy society look like?
* How would Westcliff house and power itself?
* How will we meet our food and health needs?
* What will our transport look like?
* Where will business and economics fit in?
* What about education, arts and culture?

If these issues concern you and you would like to find out more about
how communities can respond and plan proactively and positively for the
future, please come along to our forthcoming meetings, events and
presentations.

Website; www.transitionwestcliff.org.uk

Blog; http://westclifftransition.wordpress.com/

CONTACT TRANSITION TOWN WESTCLIFF

Kamil kamilpac@... <mailto:kamilpac@...>

Tel 07707 676308

Graham graham@... <mailto:graham@...>

Steve stephen.jordan2007@...
<mailto:stephen.jordan2007@...>

--
Graham Burnett

Integrated Design for Local Environmental Resources

www.spiralseed.co.uk

www.grahamburnett.net

Transition Town Westcliff www.transitionwestcliff.org.uk