Colorado & Denver News

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) ― The recent economic downturn is giving a burst of life to a relatively new way of living. It's called The Transition Movement, or living "in transition."

The idea is to transition out of the way you're living today and in to a lifestyle that is more environmentally friendly, stimulates the local economy and lowers your dependence on fossil fuels. It's a community-oriented lifestyle based on the principal that all three are interconnected.

The Transition Movement started in Europe and is quickly growing roots in America, with Colorado leading the way.

CBS4's Molly Hughes spent the day with a woman who is the co-initiator of Transition Boulder. Her name is Stephanie Danyi and she is a trained facilitator of "transition."

Danyi sold her car 4 years ago. She rides her bike everywhere or takes the bus if the weather is bad. She made the commitment to only buy food and other products that are either grown or produced within 50 miles of her Boulder apartment.

During the warmer months she buys almost all her food at the farmer's market. She buys her meats at a local farm.

When the farmer's market shuts down during the winter months, she rounds out her meals with the fruits and vegetables she stockpiled and canned.

She says the only product she has not been able to find from a local producer is salt.

When the transition movement matures, it includes trading or bartering. In this case, Danyi says, "I may trade some jelly or jam for salt from someone in a community that has an excess of salt."

Through these lifestyle changes Danyi is lowering her carbon footprint on the earth, reducing her dependence on fossil fuels and stimulating the local economy. Living in transition is also saving her a lot of money.

"The average food product travels more than 1,500 miles to get to us," Danyi said.

Buying only local food is cheaper because there are no transportation and shipping costs added on. She has no car payment, no hefty bill at the gas station and no car insurance premium. But the biggest benefit is that she feels good about being a productive member of her community.

"Transition is about figuring out how to get what I need in my life while taking into consideration where things are coming from," she said.

Living in transition challenges people to ask themselves, "How much oil does it take for me to get what I need in my life?"

Danyi says these changes have been easy for her, but she is the first to admit most people will not be willing to make the commitment to the lifestyle changes she has. But that doesn't mean you're out of the game.

Danyi, who studied biology and has an Ecology degree from Earlham college in Indiana, says transition is a continuum.

"Transition meets you at the point at which you are today," she says. So, transition may look different for each person.

"The idea is that all these little steps add up to big change," Danyi said. A change for our community, our country and eventually the world.

The movement is growing. In addition to "Transition Boulder," the transition movement is forming communities in Denver, Longmont, Loveland, Westminster and Evergreen and there's also a Transition Colorado group.

Additional Resources

For more information about the Transition Movement in Colorado, visit transitioncolorado.ning.com.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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