Guiding our communities from oil dependency to local resilience
 
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TLA CORE TEAM

We are the "steering group" that is helping to bring the Transition Movement alive throughout the greater Los Angeles basin.

The items below are mostly of interest to our core team members.

NEW!  Business cards for the core team are now available!  Agnes made beautiful cards with the TLA logo on it which you can all carry and distribute around town.
 
QUICK AND FREE WEB PRESENCE

Get your local pod online quickly and for free. We've used these with success:

mailing list (email): Google Groups - we like this one for mailing lists because you can add email addresses to it after you collect them at an event, rather than having to use an "invite" feature

discussion loop (email): Yahoo Groups - we like it because lots of people (even those less-adept at the web) use email

website (blog): Blogspot - we like it because it's free, easy to set up, and a great entry point to make a tidy web presence before you're ready for full-fledged web programming

calendar: Google Calendar - we like it because it can be shared, and you can also combine calendars of different entities.  If it wasn't for this calendar-combining feature, our TLA pod concept calendar display wouldn't be possible!  Once your pod has a Google Calendar, let us know so that we can add it to the full TLA calendar.

email:  GMail - we like it because it's free.  Set up an account that is rather generic, that is independent from your personal accounts and profiles.  You might consider using the name of your pod in the address (example:  TransitionCulverCity@gmail ... ).  If you keep it separate from you, the initiator, it can become transferrable as the local steering group evolves.

photos:  Flickr - it is easy to use and many other sites support it as far as scrolling photo images.  With your Google mail you can use Picasa (and Picasa links to Blogspot) but that program seems to be more cumbersome in manipulating your images.  Hint:  start saving images of your pod's activities NOW, and save the HiRes versions so you don't have to dig for them later!!!

 
 
CORE TEAM RESOURCES

PDF downloads:

Events:

Also online:

Transition Tools :

Press kit (under development):

Organizational issues:

Resources from past meetings
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
  If you are stumbling upon this page and want to know more about our organization, please jump to our Transition Los Angeles home page here  

 

  
     
  CALENDAR
  
 

Calendar of TLA core team meetings (area-wide steering group) and area-wide special events:

Calendars of local events (awareness-raising, reskilling, physical projects, etc.) are located at the full Transition Los Angeles calendar

 
     
     
  OUR MISSION  
 

still in draft form ... core team members, send comments in, or bring comments to the leadership meetings ...

The Aims of TLA are:

  1. To raise awareness of the issues associated with the twin challenges of Peak Oil and Climate Change and the consequent need to develop a low carbon, resilient future;
  2. To nurture, cultivate, and support groups that are making the Transition to a lower carbon, more resilient, ethical future;
  3. To facilitate communication and sharing of resources between these local groups;
  4. To promote, encourage and support the development of community action to achieve greater resilience in Los Angeles;
  5. To hold the vision of a peaceful and well-planned energy descent in the greater Los Angeles basin.

OUR COMMON GOAL is growing local community resilience and self-sufficiency throughout the Los Angeles basin. We realize that we cannot succeed alone; our individual security during energy descent within this massive LA basin is entirely dependent upon the degree to which we have prepared the whole area.

  
     
     
  PUBLICIZE YOUR EVENTS!  
 

Getting the word out well in advance of each event you hold is so important to getting a good crowd, getting the word out about Transition, and having great energy in your event. 

Places to publicize include:

  • paper fliers at your previous event. 
    • At each event, always tell the crowd about the next gathering; never break the chain of gatherings!
  • your own local email list.
    • yes, you need to maintain one.  Recall all Hopkins' reminders to "harvest email addresses" at meetings.  This is the very best way to get the word out to repeat attendees.
    • How do you maintain an email list?  Try GoogleGroups or YahooGroups - see our recommendations above.
  • your own local website.
    • yes, you should have one of these too, as soon as your group is big enough to handle it.  Within the vast LA area, it will be individual communities (i.e. local pods) that people identify with.  You need to build your identity.  Include your website address on all fliers and emails you send out.
    • note that if you use a blog format, you'll get to participate in the blog feed for "Transition news around the area" on the TLA City Hub page
    • How do you create a quick and free web presence?  see our recommendations above.
  • paper fliers at local libraries, coffee houses, faith communities, and other local gatherings.
  • local community newspapers. 
    • In the Ballona Creek area, these include the Argonaut, the HomeTown News, and others.  In the South Bay, it's the Daily Breeze, Beach Cities, and the Easy Reader. 
    • Know their press deadlines and honor them!
  • local community email loops.
    • neighborhood councils, neighborhood watch, etc.
  • GoogleCalendar.
    • if your local pod is holding ongoing meetings, you should maintain a GoogleCalendar of events.  We'll link that into the main TLA area-wide calendar on the TLA calendar page.
    • Your local pod is in charge of updating your GoogleCalendar, not city hub folks.  You'll show up blank if you don't do it ...
  • Transition California ning
  • our TTLA YahooGroup discussion loop, which includes a different cross-section of people.