Sometimes the challenges we are up against express themselves subtly, and other times they are as in your face as historic droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events increasing in frequency. Or as in your face as the earliest 100 degree high in Houston history, or even the water bills I’ve been receiving to keep my plants alive.
And sometimes I might be tempted to despair at the magnitude of the challenges, and my insignificance in scale. Such despair would be warranted, except that it isn’t any one of us alone against climate change or peak oil or economic instability. It is all of us together, a community of the smartest, most creative, and hardest-working people that I have ever been privileged to work with.
Better yet, it also isn’t just Transition Houston and our Transition Neighborhoods alone, but also us partnering with the many other organizations that are already here and on the ground working to raise awareness, create walkable and bikeable communities, relocalize our food and economy, weatherize our homes, and build distributed energy systems.
I’ve often said that one of the things that attracted me to Transition was the humility of the Cheerful Disclaimer:
Just in case you were under the impression that Transition is a process defined by people who have all the answers, you need to be aware of a key fact.
We truly don’t know if this will work. Transition is a social experiment on a massive scale.
What we are convinced of is this:
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If we wait for the governments, it’ll be too little, too late
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If we act as individuals, it’ll be too little
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But if we act as communities, it might just be enough, just in time.
Please join us for these upcoming events, to act as a community and do the work that needs to be done. We especially hope to see you at the Transition Houston Hub meeting next Tuesday to hear about the very interesting and creative work that David Reed is doing in natural building and DIY energy.
People Powered Parade for Complete Streets, Saturday, June 4, 9:00am to 11:00am
The People Powered Parade for Complete Streets is for Houstonians seeking balanced transportation policies to ensure our roads and communities are safer, more livable, and welcoming for all, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, walker or wheelchair user, bus rider or shopkeeper.
We will gather at Tranquility Park starting at 9am and head off on the parade at 10am, with the last of the parade reaching Taft and Allen Parkway around 11am, at the main entrance to Free Press Summerfest.
Teams are encouraged, including banners and shirts, and all modes of transportation that are directly human powered are welcome.
Petition for Complete Streets for the Houston Region: http://petition.houstontomorrow.org/
More on Complete Streets in general: http://www.completestreets.org/
More on Ciclovías: http://www.streetfilms.org/ciclovia-express-version/
For information or anything, please contact Jay Blazek Crossley at 713-523-5757 or jay.crossley@houstontomorrow.org.
People Powered Parade for Complete Streets
Saturday, June 4
9:00am to 11:00am
Tranquility Park
400 Rusk St., Houston, TX 77002
Information and RSVP: Facebook or Website
Transition Houston Hub Meeting, Tuesday, June 7, 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Transition Houston meets on the first Tuesday of each month, at Christ the King Lutheran Church at the corner of Greenbriar and Rice Blvd. (near Rice Village).
Our featured speaker for this month’s meeting is David Reed from Texas Natural Builders. He will be providing an overview of alternative building methods including Strawbale and Cob (as for instance in cob ovens), and also DIY solar heating, hot water, and cooking. Thank you to the Energy Action Group for arranging to have David speak to our group!
As is our tradition, the business program will end at 8:30 and the time for refreshments, conversation, and community will begin.
Parking: If the Church lot is full, parking is available in the parking lot of the Rice Village Animal Hospital just across Rice Blvd. on the northwest corner of Rice and Greenbriar. Another option is the Rice University parking lot across Greenbriar from the Church ($1).
Transition Houston Hub Meeting
Tuesday, June 7
7:00pm to 9:00pm
Christ The King Lutheran Church
2353 Rice Blvd., Houston, TX 77005
Information and RSVP: Ning or Facebook
Transition Houston 