The Southern Star (Ireland), 12 January 2006

KINSALE could be to the fore as Ireland’s first energy-independent town when, as predicted, oil becomes more scarce and a lot more expensive, said Mr. Fred Treacy at the monthly meeting of the town council.

The local authority unanimously adopted his motion to support the efforts of the not-for-profit company Transition Design in its initiative to act as process leader in Kinsale’s transition to a lowe- energy future and in developing the concept of a ‘transition town’, that is, a town making the transition from fossil fuel dependency to a state of energy independence.

Mr. Treacy said his motion was based on the many exciting and attainable objectives contained in the document ‘Kinsale 2021: An Energy Descent Action Plan’ which was compiled by students of the Practical Sustainability course in Kinsale Further Education College between September 2004 and June 2005, was financially supported by the town council and acclaimed at the international conference ‘Peak Oil: Fuelling the Future’ hosted by Kinsale FEC last summer and addressed by a panel of world experts.

“The availability of cheap oil is the foundation of our economy and lifestyles but its non availability is the cause of a lot of turmoil in the world. With oil prices continuing to rise, we have all experienced the additional cost of running our cars and with demand exceeding supply, this will have a detrimental effect on our economy and lives if plans for the future to reduce our reliance of fossil fuels are not put into place,