It's a BIG world; Go Get It !

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Canada's Wilderness Conservation

Paradigm Shift ? Nahhh, Turn it on its Head and Put Conservation First 


In a conversation with Ron Thiessen of CPAWS Manitoba earlier this week, the constant struggle for conservationists came up again because, frankly, it never goes away.

In talking about the need for a paradigm shift, my thinking moves towards standing it on its head. We, as an ever-expanding, urban environment-loving society, apply all of our thinking towards - Develop first, Conserve later. You can see this in how we plan; buildings first, then trees to surround them: houses first, then how many trees can we maintain or add later: Communities first, then adding in surrounding greenspace. Seriously ?!?  Are you kidding me? We rip it out, then put it back. Now, that's excellent planning (not).

When conservationists go into 'talks' with government, industry and local groups, there is always this come from behind sort of circumstance.  The environment seems to be the last thing talked about, the last thing considered or if it becomes the topic of conversation, it's because it's getting in the way of something else. Yes, big, visual areas tend to do that considering we put our emphasis on something much smaller, like a building or a mine or even a farm. A farm is part of the environment, like everything else but it's not wilderness, so we need to distinguish between an environment that is constructed and one that is left intact - and there aren't many of those anymore either.

When we look out onto the wilderness, somewhere outside of our cities and towns, we see something big; but you can't always trust your eyes. What we see is trees, grasses, shrubs; What we miss is animal herds, migrating birds, replenishing watersheds. Mostly, we miss ourselves in this and think there's something wrong with that but that's not the case. The wilderness needs to be left to the 'wild'. It is what defines it and makes it part of what can sustain human life. On its own, it provides oxygen, minerals, water and those are things that humans need. In small amounts, it can provide us with recreation, vegetation and rest. But don't confuse what we think we can do with it and what it really should be doing. Humans are here as part of something and this is what we always forget. Because we can think and we can make and we can plan, we believe we should re-do this planet to our liking. Folly? You tell me. Seen the weather lately?

To hear some conversations on Canada's wilderness and conservation efforts, go online to So Fine Canada  this Sunday Sept 4th @ 10 am pacific and 1 pm est. Or take a look at the Archives where you'll find a lot of interesting people talking about changing the world in entirely new ways.


Thursday, September 1, 2011

An economy not dependent on growth



An economy not dependent on growth - 
Is there such a thing?
According to the dictionary, economy doesn't mean growth, it's defined as 1. the wealth and resources of a country or region, esp. in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services. 2.  careful  management of available resources.  The word originated in the 15th century. So when did everything become defined as 'growth', as in good economy (lots of growth) or bad economy (no growth)?
Having not been trained in economics, I can't answer from an historical perspective but present times indicate that economy is at least evaluated according to growth and it looks like we're heading into 'zero growth', ( See frozen in the north in the National Post), so what will that mean for Canada's economy and can social finance, as an alternative economy, present a positive option even though it too relies on growth?
There is a factor in all this that few discuss but it is the determinant in my opinion - with the largest population of consumers,  'boomers' aging out, how in the world can we continue to rely on growth? If your biggest pot shrinks to less, what would be the point of producing more? This was predicted in Boom, Bust and Echo by David K. Foot and Daniel Stoffman back in 1996. 
"Older people tend to have lower incomes, their consumption tends to be lower and in that sense, consumer- spending growth would be weaker as well," said Moody’s Faucher. "There will be fewer people in prime car-buying years," and "recreational goods and services are a young-adult thing."
If you take into account the emphasis on the environment, you can guarantee zero growth for cars (almost true) and who can afford a cottage or a boat or even a sea-doo anymore? It's 15 years later and yet, we're still thinking growth.
How can social finance work if growth is not the determinant, not the thing we measure and not the goal?
I think it will be in our relationships: Our relationship to the environment with reduce, re-use, re-cycle. There are many social enterprises picking up speed in these areas but the actual measurable growth, on a population basis, is negligible and they want it that way. Our relationship to investment, with the socially responsible investment organizations adjusting and reducing people's expectations around financial growth in exchange for societal benefits like good governance, good working conditions, good outcomes for the environment. Our relationships to commerce such as Fair Trade Associations improving farmers' lives and healthier crops leading to healthier consumers. They don't 'grow' their crop or their land beyond what can be managed, so the end result will be zero growth and yet, the outcome will be better.
Don't think for a second that the word 'growth' will be wiped from the lexicon of social finance; it certainly won't, but there may be a hidden gem here in what we already do. If we reduce our 'need' for growth and rely instead on what makes sense with our present and future populations, we will already be answering a truer definition of economy; back to 'the wealth and resources of a country'. The messaging won't change but our measurement of a 'good' economy will and this is how we already talk in the world of social finance: a better environment, a better society, a better world. See? Things are already looking up.


NOTE: Diagram By Kieyo (blog)

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