Localise Ayrshire
Joanne McAlpine, Chief
Executive
joanne@localiseayrshire.org.uk
It is easier to
believe in something you can see than something you cannot. It is easier to impress upon others the
seriousness of a situation that already exists, than one that is yet unseen but
just beyond the horizon. When the Asian
tsunami hit land on Boxing Day back in 2004, it came like a thief in the
night. No-one knew what was coming
except one particular Thai seismologist whose warning was ignored. The long-term implications for those
communities which were swallowed up by the wave is
uncertain and by no means resolved.
Global Warming is
a perfect example; something quietly debated among scientists decades ago, is
now an experiential reality continually talked about throughout all areas of
society as governments begin to grapple with the issues. Yet it is too late to
stop climate change; the time when preventative action should have been taken
has been and gone. We cannot stop it,
however we can only attempt a re-adjustment of priorities in order to adapt
while the future, like the tsunami communities’ prospects, remains uncertain.
Unseen, yet not
unknown, is Peak Oil; it is like the massive earthquake under the sea that at
the point of the peak causes little harm, however the consequential by-product
is the birth of a monstrous wave that slowly rolls in toward land. A tsunami is not necessarily noticed out at
sea because it is absorbed amongst the heaving mass of water. Only after the wave has travelled to shallow
waters will it reach a damaging proportion that will eventually impact land and
those in its way.
When I first read
about Peak Oil I was ‘numb’ for about two weeks. By accident the subject appeared on my
computer while I was researching into the viability of setting up a
co-operative in renewable energy. The
challenging and extensively researched analysis was by an American Lawyer, Matthew
David Savinar, with the title Life after the Oil crash; this article questioned any idea
for a co-operative so I decided to do something different. Although at first I saw little hope, not
doing something seemed wrong because I realised that this was even bigger than
the Asian tsunami. I looked for other
websites with suggestions but ultimately it was the model of
pre-industrialisation that gave me the idea for Localise Ayrshire. I had just read a fascinating book The
Christian Watt Papers edited by David Fraser, which is the recollections of
a woman from a fishing community of North-East Scotland who lived through the
agricultural and industrial revolutions and the highland clearances. I found an irony in the juxtaposition between
the changes in her life at the beginning of an industrialised, fossil-fuel
driven age, and my life now, 150 years on, at the other side of that age. Back then before the industrialisation, their
simple lives were sustainable with resources available to them close by. Now, the vast populace have critically lost
the ability to maintain their lives without retail and oil-guzzling transportation. So what did I have close by?
My little corner
of the world is Ayrshire; a Scottish county with so much to offer
agriculturally and with great potential for producing energy through renewable
technology (substantial forestry for wood fuel and coastal winds for wind
generated turbines). Being on the west
coast there is enough rain which provides the right conditions for rearing
livestock whilst coastal farmland yields a variety of crops such as potatoes,
carrots and strawberries (which do not need herbicides as the salty air acts as
a natural herbicide). The farmers here
are enterprising with a substantial number of farm shops as well as the
Ayrshire Farmers Market cooperative and its shop at Auchencruive. Traditionally Ayrshire was a rural paradise
but now it has its share of unemployment due to the decline of coal mining and
the loss of manufacturing to the
It seemed logical
to take what was already positive and partner it with the potential, so in May
2006 I created Localise Ayrshire, a voluntary organisation that would not only
inform Ayrshire businesses and the public about oil depletion, but which would
provide a framework of information on all aspects of local produce, energy and
politics. As my husband Gary and I are
graphic designers, it was logical to start with a website. I visited every farm shop in Ayrshire, hand picked a small selection of energy advice
agencies and installers and suppliers of renewables, and contacted every
Ayrshire politician, among many other things.
The three sections to the website are Local Produce, Local Energy and
local Politics but it is still a work-in-progress. To localise an area, these three must be
addressed together; lifestyle changes in how and where we buy produce and
energy at a grassroots level have to be met by changes at a legislative level,
by initiating within the parliaments a full and comprehensible grasp of the
major issues that peak oil presents.
With the website
up and running in September 2006, the organisation attracted such attention
that a committee of four directors and one Chief Executive was eventually
formed the following March. All (at
present voluntary) share a common commitment to initiate and develop positive
change within Ayrshire using each person’s varying skills and knowledge. Funding is presently being sought primarily
to produce and distribute a free printed information directory to every
household and business within the whole of Ayrshire as not everyone has access
to the internet and the information on our website. We also direct businesses and land owners
toward sustainable localised solutions which we call ‘resource
management’. Further, consistent
lobbying of the Scottish Parliament, local MSPs and the Scottish Executive has
been an active part of Localise Ayrshire for the last year. This will continue until Scottish politicians
sit up and realise that each decision they make has a profound effect on
So what about the
future? It is hoped that the ‘localise’
brand will be picked up and developed throughout the country, e.g. Localise
Perthshire, Localise Aberdeenshire, etc.
With the work that Transition Towns have embarked on within the