comments_image Comments  Think a New Economy Is Possible? Meet
the Man Already Making it Happen  Rob Hopkins helped start the
first Transition Town. Now it's a global network of thousands of
communities showing no signs of slowing down.  Standing in front
of a crowd of hundreds at Oakland, California’s Grand Lake
Theater, Rob Hopkins shows a picture of a butcher shop in a
small town in Northern Ireland. A row of hams hang in the
window, the door is cracked open, welcoming, a passerby walks
his dog. Just another example of a successful small town
business, vital for the local economy. Right? Except, Hopkins
explains what you can’t immediately see when you glance at the
image. The store is real, but the window display is a fake—it’s
simply photoshopped posters plastered over the glass. The local
business has gone under, the shop is gutted, but those
organizing the last G8 meeting of the world’s most powerful
countries that met in Northern Ireland don’t want to be reminded
of this and they sure don't want the me