Webinar Recording: Bioregionalism and a Good Life
Bioregionalism is a philosophy advocating for the organization of political, cultural, and economic systems based on naturally defined areas known as bioregions, akin to ecoregions. These bioregions are delineated by physical and environmental features such as watershed boundaries, soil composition, and terrain characteristics. Emphasizing that the identification of a bioregion is both a physical and cultural phenomenon, bioregionalism underscores the significance of local populations, knowledge, and solutions for sustainable and just systems.
In his 1983 essay, “Bioregions”, Pete Berg continues that in bioregionalism, “people are also counted as an integral aspect of a place’s life, as can be seen in the ecologically adaptive cultures of early inhabitants, and in the activities of present day re-inhabitants who attempt to harmonize in a sustainable way with the place where they live.”
On Tuesday, December 12th, PCA was pleased to welcome longtime bioregionalist, aythor, and activist, Stephanie Mills. Ms. Mills was launched into prominence with her 1969 Mills College commencement address, “The Future is a Cruel Hoax.” She has served on countless boards, from that of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America to her local natural foods co-op.
She was editor-in-chief of Earth Times, Not Man Apart, and Cry California, and assistant editor of CoEvolution Quarterly. She edited the Communities section of the Millennium Whole Earth Catalog. She wrote and published scores of essays, editorials and book reviews appearing in publications from Resurgence and Orion to the Britannica Book of the Year, as well as in numerous anthologies.
In 1984, following a life-changing encounter at the first North American Bioregional Congress, Mills quit the San Francisco Bay Area for Northwest Lower Michigan, where she lives to this day. There she began writing books, helped organize Great Lakes Bioregional Congresses, and helped to start a local currency.
Stephanie Mills is a fellow of the Post Carbon Institute and was featured in the 2010 PBS documentary EarthDays.
In 2009 Mills was awarded an honorary doctorate by her alma mater. The citation called her “a visionary ecological activist and pioneering bioregionalist whose unswerving advocacy for the preservation of our shared planet and powerful message of personal responsibility teach us that a single voice can transform the world.”
We encourage you all to watch the recording of this insightful conversation.
Find a list of resources discussed during the webinar here.
Our monthly Morning Coffee webinar series highlights experts in the field to inform and inspire our regional climate community.