[All] Susan K's column today: Doughnut Economics Action Lab

[Susan Koswan]

Hi GRENers,

I cut and pasted my column and the Doughnut graphic today because I 
think the Doughnut Economy template is a model everyone can wrap their 
head around that addresses both  social and environmental issues in one 
package. I'm feeling somewhat evangelical about this and I would love to 
see community wide collaboration around this model.

Best,

Susan K


https://www.therecord.com/opinion/2020/10/14/the-real-deal-doughnut-economics-action-lab.html


  The Real DEAL: Doughnut Economics Action Lab

The DEAL: Doughnut Economics Action Lab is building connections with 
pioneering changemakers around the world for an ‘economic transformation 
that promotes human flourishing for all on a thriving planet,’ writes 
Susan Koswan.

SK
By Susan KoswanSpecial to Waterloo Region Record
Wed., Oct. 14, 2020/timer/3 min. read

Economist Kate Raworth is my new superhero. So is University of Waterloo 
PhD candidate Sophie Sanniti, who introduced me to Raworth’s Doughnut 
Economics <https://www.kateraworth.com/doughnut/>. I mean, how many 
people have the audacity to challenge The Economy and come up with a 
better model?

We have to face the fact that we humans have made a bloody mess of this 
fine planet and are jeopardizing our future. Doughnut Economics just 
might be our way forward. Like the Theory of Everything, hotly pursued 
by physicists the world over, Doughnut Economics proposes a new 
inclusive social and economic model that aspires to “meet the needs of 
all within the means of the planet.” Raworth subtitles her book: “7 Ways 
to Think Like a 21st Century Economist.”

Our current economic model of unfettered capitalism — The Economy with a 
capital E — is killing us. The sweet spot must be found that puts 
everyone between the outer boundaries of the Earth’s capacity to 
provide, and the inner boundaries that proscribe the essential physical 
and social requirements: the classic doughnut shape.

At the end of September, Raworth’s team launched DEAL: Doughnut 
Economics Action Lab <https://doughnuteconomics.org/> based out of the 
United Kingdom. The work-in-progress is organized around five themes: 
communities and art; cities and places; education and research; business 
and enterprise; and government and policy. DEAL is building connections 
with pioneering changemakers around the world for an “economic 
transformation that promotes human flourishing for all on a thriving 
planet.”

We have to shift from Gross Domestic Product to embedding the economy 
into our social systems as a tool, and not the guiding light. We are 
social beings, not potential customers. The economy is not simply supply 
and demand, but a dynamic, complex system of exchanging goods and 
services. We can no longer extract, produce and throw away, but have to 
rethink all processes — industrial and natural — to repurpose and 
regenerate without producing waste. We have to finally say this is 
enough; we can survive and thrive without having to continually grow. As 
the C40 Cities say, “We need to invest in a thriving society, rather 
than return to an unsustainable race to devour our natural resources.”

What does that look like? What role do our cities play?

Raworth has partnered with C40 Cities <https://www.c40.org/> — a network 
of cities committed to addressing climate change — to produce a working 
model for city-based actions that keep us all in the doughnut. The C40 
mayors have produced an agenda 
<https://c40.my.salesforce.com/sfc/p/#36000001Enhz/a/1Q000000kVoY/kuR1PLHMGR2K9eEbo8aivV.xPegZVTqwt.EjX.4a.hk> 
that includes actions cities can take to build back better. If we expect 
to have a green and just recovery from the pandemic and survive the 
climate crisis, we must all speak up to embrace and practice this model. 
There is no question that a great deal of pressure is put on local 
politicians to do it all. But their proximity and agility make them 
ideal and accessible partners with local non-government organizations.

Many of the changes we’ve made to protect public health during this 
pandemic also address climate change and bring more of us into the 
doughnut. They include working from home, replacing car lanes with 
protected bike lanes, walking and biking through our neighbourhoods, 
reduced air travel, the need for a universal basic income, and even the 
heightened interest in home gardening. The tiny homes on Lot 42 and a 
number of local hotels opening up rooms for our homeless also address 
some of the social inequities.

Thing is, these changes can’t be temporary, thinking we’ll get back to 
normal when the pandemic is done. Our normal needs to be better and 
Raworth’s Doughnut model provides the tools to do that.

Right now, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are the only Canadian cities 
that are part of the C40 Cities. Waterloo Region has been a leader in 
sustainability in many ways, but it is time for us to leap in 
wholeheartedly with the full commitment to a carbon-neutral, socially 
just community that the Doughnut model represents.

Environmental and social justice advocates are fragmented and 
issue-driven. A lack of resources and collective power forces them to 
react and put out fires. We need to collaborate and work around the 
common themes in the Doughnut model for Waterloo Region to become one of 
the many Doughnut cities that are popping up worldwide. Action is the 
key word here and anyone can sign up at doughnuteconomics.org 
<https://doughnuteconomics.org/> to make the magic happen.

Because ain’t nobody don’t like doughnuts.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://gren.ca/pipermail/all_gren.ca/attachments/20201015/d73f6468/attachment.html>