Eric Doherty's Page

Eric,

It is great to have you on board!

With nearly 700 on-line members here and another 2300 on our listserv, we are beginning to gain critical mass. This is a relatively unpoliticised group, as are most Transition movements, but that doesn't mean they don't have strong opinions, especially on topics of special interest to you.

We have not yet had the organizational capacity or leadership internally to develop our Transportation Policy, but we have a core mission to develop an Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP). Transportation of course connects what we see as the three key threats to humanity and society today: climate change, peak oil, and economic instability (including food security).

Our proposition is this: we have people, you have ideas. We already have 17 members committed to working on the Transportation Policy side of our EDAP in our Transportation Working Group, and another 30 or more who have expressed an interest in transportation issues. The problem is that we need direction and a focus on specific actions we can take to start turning the tide.

I am going to look to you to think of ways VV members can contribute meaningfully and with the muscle of numbers to your work. We are already developing an ecological footprint survey of members and introducing a program to drive down our members' footprints as an example of what people can do to reduce the demand for unsustainable travel and transport.

We also have members in Surrey, Maple Ridge, and Coquitlam already, and some are organizing their own Transition groups. This will be another source of soldiers to champion your ideas and campaigns.

Right now please join our Transportation Group, and an invitation to do so is heading out to you. This group has been relatively inactive thus far, and we can fire it with a little leadership.

Randy