Rob Hopkins is the co-founder of Transition Town Totnes and of the Transition Network. He has many years' experience in education, teaching permaculture and natural building, and set up the first two-year full-time permaculture course in the world, at Kinsale Further Education College in Ireland, as well as coordinating the first eco-village development in Ireland to be granted planning permission. He is author of The Transition Handbook: from oil dependence to local resilience and The Transition Companion: making your community more resilient in uncertain times, and co-author of Local Food: how to make it happen in your community (all published by Green Books / Transition Books); also Transition in Action: Totnes and District 2030: an Energy Descent Plan (co-author), Woodlands for West Cork! and Energy Descent Pathways. The Transition Handbook has been published in seven other languages to date, and was voted the fifth most popular book taken on holiday by MPs during the summer of 2008. Rob publishes www.transitionculture.org, which has been voted 'the fourth best green blog in the UK'. He is the winner of the 2008 Schumacher Award, is an Ashoka Fellow and a Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute, served as a Soil Association Trustee for three years, and was named by the Independent as one of the UK's top 100 environmentalists. He is the winner of the 2009 Observer Ethical Award in the Grassroots Campaigner category, and in December 2009 was voted the Energy Saving Trust / Guardian's 'Green Community Hero'. He lectures and writes widely on peak oil and Transition, and has recently completed a PhD on Transition and Resilience at Plymouth University. Central to The Transition Handbook and The Transition Companion is the concept of 'resilience', which refers to the ability of a community to withstand external shocks and stresses. Rob argues that just cutting carbon emissions is insufficient: we need to rebuild the ability of our communities to provide for their core needs, and doing so will create huge opportunities for local economic regeneration. His books are about hope and optimism, and their untapped potential for engaging people in repairing their communities, their towns and cities, and, ultimately, their planet. The Transition Companion expands on the ideas in the Handbook, combining practical advice on starting and maintaining a Transition initiative with inspiring stories about groups across the world who are putting these ideas into practice. Rob regularly features as a keynote speaker, and has participated at the following events: Community Land Trust Conference; WWF (talk to the various teams); Sustainable Consumption and Production Conference; Dorset Schools Eco-Summit; Eco-Build Summit; Prince's Foundation Annual Conference at St James's Palace; Skype presentation to the Nova Scotia Planning Directors Association (NSPDA) Conference; Skype presentation for the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) conference. He lives in Devon with his wife and four children. He has particular passions for cob building and walnut trees, and is staggered by the rate at which the Transition concept has spread.

Introduction CHAPTER ONE WHY WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING Why we need a new Big Idea The New Normal The 'New Energy Normal' The 'New Climate Normal' The 'New Economic Normal' Local and resilient: the new Big Idea The Market of Hope What is resilience? We are the cavalry The Big Idea in Practice: The Totnes & District Local Economic Blueprint So how does all that leave you feeling? Might this actually already be happening? CHAPTER TWO OPENING THE DOOR TO NEW POSSIBILITIES Broadening our focus The Transition approach A taste of Transition in practice [Story: Sustaining Dunbar] [Story: The Bristol Pound] [Story: Transition Streets] [Story - The Malvern Gasketeers] Transition as an economic approach The power of possibilities: redefining resilience CHAPTER THREE THE POWER OF JUST GETTING ON WITH IT An invitation Getting the ball rolling Transition in action in ... Crystal Palace, London Scale and focus Transition in action in ... Sydney, Australia Having a vision of where you're going Transition in action in ... Tor on to, Canada Engaging your allies Transition in action in ... Portalegre, Portugal Inspiring others to join you Transition in action in ... Coin, Malaga, Spain Making things happen The Ouse Valley Energy Services Company Transition Lancaster's 'Fruity Corners', UK Portalegre em Transicao's vegetable garden, Portugal Transition Chesterfield's annual 'Potato Day', UK Sustainable NE Seattle's Tool Library, United States Portillo en Transicion's 'Dinner by the light of the pedals' Transition Town Tooting's 'Tooting Transition Shop', UK El Bolson en Transicion's grain mill, Argentina Melbourne Area Transition's Church Roof Solar PV Scheme, UK Transition in action in ... Fujino, Japan CHAPTER FOUR DARING TO DREAM: WHERE WE COULD END UP The emerging new economy Transition in Action in ... Brasilandia, Brazil [Story - Green Valley Grocer, UK] [Story - Bath and West Community Energy, UK] [Story - DE4 Food, Derbyshire] [Story - Brixton Energy, London.] A few closing thoughts Next steps Food Energy Local currencies Working with your local council Some key books for illuminating our predicament, and why business-as-usual is over Some suggested DVDs Other places where you can find inspiring stories Places where you could acquire some new skills Acknowledgements