Sustainable Tarpon Springs - Legalizing Sustainability

In the weeks since I started regularly penning this blog, I’ve been aware that some of my topics are far from manifestation - yet.  Just because an idea appears impossible at this point doesn’t mean it can’t move forward in our consciousness, nor does it mean we should just ‘think’ about the possibilities without doing anything to accomplish them.  

Right now, I’m personally doing research and taking action on several items I hope will eventually become possible in our area.  Maybe I’m superstitious, (or I just feel like energy is dissipated by ‘talking’ too much), so suffice it to say progress is being made!  Meantime, I will continue to share ideas and successes of other sustainable communities as a form of ‘seed-planting’.  Whether I’m the one to water the seeds doesn’t matter.  Life is full of sharing inspirations that will come to fruition from anyone who is similarly inspired.

There are plenty of grand visions in the world of sustainability.  These visions are made up of individual ideas to enable our future generations to inherit a planet with plenty of clean energy sources, clean water, clean air, much less waste, urban food forests, no hunger, homes that are aligned with nature, designs that are based on what nature teaches us, and so on.  

In attempting to move some ideas forward, one sometimes comes up against ‘old rules’ based on ignorance or misconceptions.  Beyond old laws, there may be ‘corporate legislation’ in place to protect the for-profit interests of systems that do not want to make room for more community-based, sustainable economies.

I have mentioned the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) before, and how they sponsor a 3-day ‘Democracy School’ program to train communities how to amend old codes so that ecosystems, communities, creatures, and people who depend on them, are protected.  Such is the case with a ruling that was a game changer in Santa Monica, California, as their City Council voted unanimously to support a Bill of Rights for Sustainability.

Dozens of communities across the U.S., Equador, Bolivia, and New Zealand are responding to a fast-growing movement to establish Nature’s Rights.  Rather than picking away at promoting individual environmental protections, establishing ‘nature’s rights’ offers a much broader scope of protection, typically delineated within the ‘bill’.

Beyond protecting and conserving the natural treasures that are rapidly disappearing, the Bill of Rights for Sustainability opens a clear path for appropriate progress.  In doing so, we thoughtfully ‘define and design’ our cities, as defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development, to ‘meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’

Transitions toward sustainability need to be happen steadily, right now, as dying, ‘limiting’ infrastructures evolve.  Honestly, I believe this best occurs at the grassroots level -- non-government organizations, green groups, academic institutions, the private sector, and other leading organizations - to demonstrate how new, sustainable ideas and technologies work until the ‘system’ catches up.  

Our biggest challenge will be easing the transition from multinational, corporate profitability models to greener, community and people-friendly choices.  The current model is not sustainable  over time, nor is it secure.  Just remember the power Enron had, how prices and energy shortages were manipulated, and millions of average people were affected by it.  Think of the more recent economic manipulation in the housing market, affecting billions of people worldwide.  It doesn’t seem that ‘campaign finance reform’ is anywhere on the near horizon, so legalizing sustainability has to be a priority.

I’d like to invite anyone who wants to participate in the vision for Sustainable Tarpon Springs to join the conversation at the Eco-Bean on July 9th at 7 PM.  I’d like to just meet and discuss the possibilities.  Fortunately for us, Tarpon Springs Board of Commissioners understands the need to move toward sustainability!  Now’s the time to promote a sustainable future to all of our friends and neighbors so we can all enthusiastically work together on a lasting future!