“earthos conversation” series
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“Further research is needed to better understand the linkages across food, water, and energy systems; our response to the resource conundrum must be long-term and integrated across sectors to address systemic risks and root causes.”
                                    -Global Resource Security Experts Workshop 2009

The Resource Conundrum and
Earthos Conversation Series

Why? According to the Global Footprint Network, we are currently using resources at a rate 1.5 times greater than the rate at which the earth can produce them. If the twentieth century was about how to maximize the use of nonrenewable resources in an effort to stabilize, modernize, and develop nations, then the twenty first century is about how communities and regions must find better ways to live within the limitations of ecosystems. Our current challenge is not only to live within ecosystems limits, but to do so in humane, just, and even beautiful ways. For this to be possible, we must be address the resource conundrum together as a society, across sectors, scales and political and social boundaries. What knowledge (versus information) do we need? What integrated, long term actions do we need to undertake? Who needs to be involved? The purpose of the Earthos Conversations is to think about how we can incrementally move towards understanding of these questions.

Inquiry: What do we need to KNOW and DO to create resilient, self-sustaining regional resource systems, that support local efforts and lead to global sustainability?

The Bioregional Urbanist Frame: This frame aims to: 1) increase understanding of the relationships between cities and their supporting regional systems of water, energy, food, biodiversity, land and waste-as-resource and 2) intentionally connect the science (data) of what these regional ecosystems can sustainably supply to decision making in policy, design, business and community 3) encourage the innovation of ways to live well on what ecosystems can renewably produce for us. How do we interface with ecosystems in such a way as to increase the optimization for human well-being and decrease the chance of overusing the ecosystems they can no longer support us? Our main challenges are 1) how to work with systems rather than in linear silloed norms that accompanied modernization, 2) how to work across scales from the hyper-local to the hyper-global, and 3) how to set goals/budgets for resource use that are just and sustainable. This frame  constructively use science in such a way to move forward to strengthen well-being and lifestyles for the long term.  ❖ ❖ ❖