Synopsis
This work is about physical, ecological and political designs for sharing the global resources and services of the planet to meet the needs of all living beings and their community patterns. It uses ecological design to create a simple method to implement and manage the sharing. First, we assess what the planet needs to develop in a stable flow, then we set aside a satisfactory area of the planet to ensure the continuing operation of evolution in wild systems. Next, we measure the ranges of productivities of wild ecosystems as well as agricultural and urban systems, and use those results to determine optimum human populations for local places, regions and the planet. Finally, within human systems, every culture would claim a share of local resources and global services not set aside for wild regeneration. The equal apportionment of resources to all cooperating participants in the global commons is supported by the practice of recognizing and honoring the ‘legacy’ of the entire planet that hosts its legatees as tenants, and is supported by the ‘rule’ of all beings, although in the human legal system, humans represent the interests of all other beings, much as we are starting to do now. This reapportionment is enhanced by the wisdom of harmony and by the drawing and making of ecological zones, which emphasize ranges of separation of wild and artificial areas. This reapportionment of ‘resources’ that human communities have already claimed, as well as of resources that have been badly distributed as a result of theft or violence, may cause some degree of discomfort or suffering for wealthier people, but that is minimal compared to the suffering and death under the current industrial system, which encourages overconsumption and large, immoral differences in the distribution of wealth. Ecological design would work on local and regional scales, as well as on the global scale. Like metaphysics, ecological design has a vision that exceeds its bounds and a reach that exceeds its grasp. And, we have to use it to explore possibilities of local and global harmony, without having complete knowledge or experience. Ecological design requires participation and cooperation to accomplish its ambitious goals. It has to be flexible and adapt to changing environments. This means understanding challenges and problems, as well as natural and artificial ecosystems, histories and cycles, before using a variety of physical and conceptual tools to create ecological designs on local scales, but considering the regional and global implications. This means trying to design places, ecosystems and landscapes, as well as cycles and processes. It means redesigning flows of minerals and gases, wetlands and streams, domestic and wild forests, and animal paths and reserves. It means redesigning human patterns, from transportation corridors to traditional and modern cultures. It means redesigning agriculture, cities—traditional cities and proposed arcologies—buildings, neighborhoods, vehicles, industries, and medicine. It means trying to redesign social traps, cultural adaptations, corporate goals and responsibilities, formal commons, styles of conflict, economic frameworks, political forms and sizes, religious applications, and even advertising. And, the purpose of all this is to restore harmony to systems that support and encourage health and development, under emergency conditions.
About the Author
Michael Barnes is the principal at Cascadia Forest Goods. He was Co-Director of the Ecoforestry Institute from 1993 to 1997. John B. Cobb, Jr. is Professor Emeritus at Claremont College, where he was the Head of the Center for Process Studies. An author of books on religion, ecology, economics, and politics, he is still contributing to many projects. Alan Drengson is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Adjunct Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria in Canada, where he was the former Director of Environmental Studies and also taught philosophy. He practices meditation disciplines related to harmony with Nature, such as Aikido. He loves wild dancing, skiing, wilderness journeying and mountaineering. He has published many articles and books. He is the founding editor of The Trumpeter: Journal of Ecosophy and Ecoforestry. Dr. Michael W. Fox is a veterinarian with doctoral degrees in ethology/animal behavior and medicine from the University of London, England. Spending most of his professional life in the US as an advocate for animal health, welfare and rights, he has published over 40 books and writes the syndicated newspaper column Animal Doctor. Please visit his web site (doctormwfox.org). R. Buckminster Fuller was a system scientist known for his world game efforts, designs, and synergic thinking. He gave many lectures and courses around the planet. Twila Jacobsen taught Ecological Economics at Oregon colleges. She practices it with the Mountain Grove Community, the Ecoforestry Institute (where she was Co-Director from 1993 to 1997) and Cascadia Forest Goods. Arne Naess was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oslo and an enthusiastic mountaineer, who tried to “think like a mountain.” His thinking led him to form his own ecological philosophy, ecosophy, which inspired the movement of Deep Ecology—the belief that our concern is for all of nature equally, including humanity. He was always appreciated for his exuberant playfulness. Paolo Soleri is the visionary architect of new, intense human spaces that fit in ecological systems. He is the founder of the first arcology, Arcosanti, and of the Cosanti Foundation. He designs Windbells and lectures around the planet. Alan Wittbecker is an ecologist with SynGeo ArchiGraph, LLC in Florida, where he works on a variety of wildlife and communication projects.
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