----- Original Message -----

From: Dave Ewoldt

To: Coordinator HUB

Sent: Monday, April 07, 2008 3:30 PM

Subject: CoordinatorHUB Community and bioregion inventory mapping

On 7 Apr 2008 at 11:32, Sarah Edwards wrote:

Steve, do I get you right? Are you saying it's past time to map an inventory
> of our communities and bioregions? I wouldn't agree with this. We don't know
> how late is too late and any progress made will most liking be better than
> none when

I'd have to agree with Steve. It's long past time to begin the mapping process,
especially if we want to prioritize transition steps to a sustainable future.

What we're doing without a complete environmental, social, and economic
inventory of our communities and bioregions is pretending to plan while
remaining in the dark and too fearful to reach for the light switch. One of the
primary reasons inventory mapping hasn't been done in any holistic way is that
it would be near impossible for any local planning department to continue the
business as usual approach of approving any development plan presented that
simply includes the appropriate permit fees. Especially of their local councils
and mayors have signed on to any of the initiatives for sustainable development
such as the Earth Charter, or Council of Mayors agreement on global warming.

Our planet is well into the overshoot range. The core mandate of any government
that purports to be democratic is to protect the commons. State Supreme Courts
have ruled that human health and safety trumps vested development rights. These
scientific, political, and legal facts provide a basis to work from. A
comprehensive sustainability inventory (also known as a growth threshold
standard) would give local planning departments the legal documents they need to
deny building permits, as well as provide local governments with a framework for
deciding what's necessary for beginning the relocalization process and what they
have to work with.

As you know, Sarah, we've developed a process (the Community Assessment and
Sustainability Inventory) for doing this. What we're trying to find is a
community whose leaders have the foresight and courage to implement it. It's not
a cookie cutter approach, as each bioregion (and watersheds within bioregions)
is unique, but carrying capacity requirements can be calculated to the degree
necessary to start the process. Since it's a dynamic framework and not a recipe,
it also allows the process to be fine-tuned as feedbacks emerge and can be fed
back into the system.

For the Earth...
_dave_(this entire message is composed of recycled electrons)
Natural Systems Solutions
http://www.attractionretreat.org/NSS
http://naturalsystems.blogspot.com
Sustainable lifestyles, organizations, and communities