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

[Susan Koswan]

I don't think the graphic came through, so I've attached it. Please have 
a look.

Susan K

On 10/15/2020 12:38 PM, Susan Koswan wrote:
>
> 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.
>
>
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