Ecovillages = Global Sustainability?
The increasing rate of natural resource consumption seems to be a "vital issue of the day" that is often ignored by the elite political leadership and therefore the mainstream media. The sustainability issue is still an unanswered question, and many would argue that it is the biggest challenge facing everyone on the planet today.
It is probably safe to assume that in the context of US "National Security Interests," that oil at least played into the equation of going to war with Iraq. It also probably safe to assume that access to water and oil are going to cause many future conflicts.
I figured that it was probably worth investigating some potential sustainability solutions by attending a unique afternoon conference on Ecovillages yesterday.
The consensus seemed to be that viable solutions to this problem are not going to be legislated by the government or discovered by the free market, but that it is going to have to come from the people.
I had a chance to meet some of the leaders from the global network of ecovillage communities. Daniel Greenberg of Living Routes, Philip Snyder of The Global Ecovillage Network, Roger Kelly from the UK’s Centre for Alternative Technology, and Father Jean Claude Atusameso from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Jatukik Providence Eco Village Living and Learning Center.
Their consensus was that there will have to be a massive change in the culture of consumerism and a return to small-scale ecovillage communities that provide more independence from both non-renewable energy consumption and the volatile corporate labor market. Maine’s Belfast community disproportionately relies upon MBNA employing telemarketers, and has no safety net if MBNA outsources those jobs overseas -- ecovillages provide security, community, sustainability and spirituality.
It was the consensus that our individualistic American culture is not yet ready for ecovillages. They usually proliferate after a country is devastated by war or some other catastrophe (i.e. potentially an economic collapse).
Ecovillages have to expand organically, and there needs to be a gradual cultural shift from individualism to collectivism in order for this sustainability solution to be implemented on a macro-scale.
I hope that The Echo Chamber documentary can provide a catalyst for cultural evolution by demonstrating why our society needs to start thinking about themselves as global citizens and not just American citizens.
