The Trinity Centre was packed on the evening of May 1 for a hugely inspiring talk by Rob Hopkins. Rob grew up in Bristol, and his last visit tothe Trinity Centre was for a Portishead gig eleven years ago. In his mild, unassuming and humorous way he treated us to the crash course in Peak Oil and Energy Descent, with a wry look at the Government’s future plansfor fuel supplies (import it from somewhere or other) and food security (who needs it). Then he inspired us with accounts of his work in Kinsale and Totnes. The message? Climate change means we ought to do things differently, peak oil means we have to do things differently. So as of now everything we do, and plan to do, needs to be compatible with both the reality of peak oil and the need to be stewards of the planet’s resources, including its life-sustaining climate. And if we start now thenlife beyond oil couldbe richer in many ways than the life we have now. A podcast of Rob’s talk should be on the Transition City Bristol site in a week or so.