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Sustainabl e Communities Public Policy Forum

Sustainabl e Communities Public Policy Forum. Chippewa Valley Regional Roundtable March 3, 2010. Overview. Why are we here today? Background on roundtables and forum Why are we talking about sustainability? Sustainability basics

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Sustainabl e Communities Public Policy Forum

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  1. Sustainable CommunitiesPublic Policy Forum Chippewa Valley Regional Roundtable March 3, 2010

  2. Overview • Why are we here today? • Background on roundtables and forum • Why are we talking about sustainability? • Sustainability basics • How are sustainability questions being approached and responded to at the community level? • The Natural Step and Transition Towns • Community engagement

  3. Only a crisis—actual or perceived—produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. That, I believe, is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes politically inevitable. Milton Friedman

  4. Overview of Forum and Roundtables • Wisconsin Idea Public Policy Forums • UW Colleges and UW-Extension sponsoring a forum on Sustainable Communities • Six regional roundtables • Statewide public policy forum • Documenting ideas, suggestions, and policy recommendations from around the state • Identifying assets and building partnerships

  5. Why are we talking about sustainability?

  6. Sustainability Basics • Time (and change) • Relationships • Resilience

  7. Ehrlich-Holdren “IPAT” Equation • I = P * A * T • I = environmental impact of the economy • P = population •  growing • A = average material standard of living •  growing rapidly (consumption) • T = throughput (resource consumption, • pollution, and ecosystem impacts) per unit of • output •  technology term to compensate for P and A • Original Source: Ehrlich, P., and Holdren, J. 1971. “Impact of Population Growth.” Science 171: 1212-19.

  8. World Population, 10,000 BC to Present

  9. World Population Projections World population from 1800 to 2100, based on UN 2004 projections and US Census Bureau historical estimates.

  10. Societal Pressure on Earth Systems Source: International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, 2004

  11. Societal Pressure on Earth Systems Source: International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, 2004

  12. Finite Global Ecosystem Empty World SolarEnergy Energy Energy SinkFunctions Growing Economic Subsystem SourceFunctions Resources Resources RecycledMatter Economic services Human Welfare Ecosystem services Natural Capital (Ecosystem) Manmade Capital (Economy) Source: Daly, Herman. Ecological Economics. Island Press, 2004 Waste Heat

  13. Provisioning • Food • Freshwater • Wood and fibre • Fuel • Regulating • Climate regulation • Flood regulation • Disease regulation • Water purification • Cultural • Aesthetics • Spiritual • Educational • Recreational Categories of Ecosystem Services • Supporting • Nutrient cycling • Soil formation • Primary production Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Washington, DC: Island Press.

  14. Finite Global Ecosystem Full World SolarEnergy Energy Energy GrowingEconomicSubsystem SourceFunctions SinkFunctions Resources Resources Economic services RecycledMatter Human Welfare Ecosystem services Natural Capital (Ecosystem) Manmade Capital (Economy) Source: Daly, Herman. Ecological Economics. Island Press, 2004 Waste Heat

  15. Empty World Full World Finite Global Ecosystem Natural Capital (Ecosystem) Source: Daly, Herman. Ecological Economics. Island Press, 2004 Manmade Capital (Economy)

  16. Three Basic Policy Goals • Sustainable scale • Just distribution • Efficient allocation Source: Daly, Herman. Ecological Economics. Island Press, 2004.

  17. Defining Sustainable Development “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Intergenerational equity Source: World Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common Future. The Brundtland Report. Oxford University Press, 1987, p. 43.

  18. Defining Sustainable Development “It contains two key concepts: the concept of “needs,” in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.” Intragenerational equity Environmental limits Source: World Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common Future. The Brundtland Report. Oxford University Press, 1987, p. 43.

  19. How are sustainability questions being approached and responded to at the community level?

  20. Community Development • a group of people in a locality • initiating a social action process (i.e., planned intervention) • to change their economic, social, cultural, and/or environmental situation

  21. Community Emphasis • Grassroots energy and action • Place-based • Where our individual/household and business/institutional lives meet • “All politics is local” • Quality of life and quality of place • Comprehensive and holistic • The list goes on

  22. Evolving Views of the Community Economy Environment Economy Environment Society Society Environment Society Economy Unconnected or silos view Interconnected or linkages view Interdependent, nested, or systems view

  23. Drivers Sustainable development and systems thinking Goal Sustainability Emerging Strategies Green collar jobs Alternative and renewable energy sources Local food systems Sustainable (eco) tourism Triple bottom line business Industrial ecology Valuing ecosystem services Precautionary principle Eco-municipality movement (The Natural Step) Transition Towns Sustainable Community DevelopmentSustainability Revolution and Paradigm ChangeEarly 1980s and still evolving

  24. Wisconsin Eco-municipalities Town of La Pointe City of Washburn City of Ashland City of Madison City of Bayfield Town of Bayfield Douglas County Village of Johnson Creek City of Marshfield City of Manitowoc City of Neenah City of Menasha Town of Menasha City of Eau Claire Town of Cottage Grove City of La Crosse La Crosse County City of Stevens Point City of Wausau City of Beloit City of Baraboo City of Sheboygan Dunn County Village of Spring Green Village of Colfax Town of Greenville Village of Shorewood

  25. The Natural Step Framework • A shared science- and systems-based definition for sustainability • A decision-making framework and process to help organizations and communities plan for sustainability • A compass to help us know if we’re moving in the right direction Source material from TNS Canada

  26. Resource Funnel Resource Availability and Ecosystem Ability to Provide Vital Services Raw materials, ecosystem services, declining integrity and capacity of natural systems Margin forAction Sustainability Societal Demand for Resources Growth in population, resource requirements as affluence increases, increased demands as technology spreads Source: Nattrass, Brian, and Altomare, Mary. The Natural Step for Business. New Society Publishers, 1999.

  27. Four Sustainability Principles In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing... ...concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth’s crust, ...concentrations of substances produced by society, ...degradation by physical means, and, in that society... ...people are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their needs.

  28. A Growing Movement Community stories

  29. Transition Model “ . . . a positive, solutions-focused way of gathering those around you together to start exploring community-scale responses to peak oil and climate change.” Rob Hopkins. The Transition Handbook, 2008.

  30. Transition Town Initiatives • Life with lower energy consumption is inevitable, and it’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise. • Our communities presently lack the resilience to enable them to weather the coming changes. • We have to act collectively, we have to act locally, and we have to act now. • By unleashing the skills and ideas of the community we can creatively design our energy transition and build ways of living that are connected, enriching and sustainable.

  31. Where are we going? Techno-Fantasy Climax Green-Tech Stability Energy & Resource Use Population Pollution Industrial Ascent (Modernism) Creative Descent (Permaculture) Earth stewardship Pre-industrial sustainable culture Mad Max Historical Time Future Time Baby Boom Agriculture 10.000yrs BP Industrial Revolution Great Grand Children

  32. How much is 2 trillion barrels of oil anyway? How many trillion barrels of water are there in the Great Lakes system? Source: Midwest Permacultureand the Energy Information Centerhttp://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/reserves.html

  33. We will replace oil with other forms of energy…!!! Source:The Oil Drum .com

  34. Where do we — the communities of Wisconsin — go from here? How do we shape our future?

  35. Community Engagement • Modeling sustainability physical design • Cultivating community connections  social capital • Localizing economic production  relocalization • Mobilizing community funds  finance • Mobilizing society  broader sustainability efforts

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