DOCSLIB.ORG

Assessing the Environmental Practices and Impacts Of

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Assessing the Environmental Practices and Impacts Of ASSESSING THE ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES AND IMPACTS OF INTENTIONAL COMMUNITIES: AN ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT COMPARISON OF AN ECOVILLAGE AND COHOUSING COMMUNITY IN SOUTHWESTERN BRITISH COLUMBIA by WALEED GIRATALLA B.Sc., The University of Alberta, 2004 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in PLANNING in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) October 2010 © Waleed Giratalla, 2010 Abstract The ecological footprint of the average Canadian is three times greater than the global per capita biocapacity of the planet. The purpose of this research is to gain insights from intentional communities on how to reduce household ecological footprints in Canada. Intentional community is an inclusive term for a variety of community types, including ecovillages and cohousing, where residents have come together to achieve a common purpose. Studies show that intentional communities have per capita ecological footprints that are less than those of conventional communities. I corroborate these findings through my own ecological footprint analyses of Quayside Village and OUR Ecovillage, in southwestern British Columbia. These communities have per capita ecological footprints that are smaller than some conventional averages. Overall, Quayside Village and OUR Ecovillage also have comparatively similar per capita ecological footprints, suggesting that residents of both urban and rural intentional communities may demonstrate similar environmental behaviours. Intentional community living is currently confined to small‐scale grassroots initiatives so even the aggregate environmental benefits are insignificant. Municipalities and land developers can help to advance the pro‐environmental practices of intentional communities by increasing incentives for this community model and adapting intentional community practices to a conventional context. ii Preface This research was approved by the University of British Columbia Behavioural Research Ethics Board (Certificate #H09‐01602). A copy of the Certificate of Approval can be found in Appendix A. iii Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... ii Preface ......................................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................. viii List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... x 1.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Problem and Context ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Research Purpose and Questions ........................................................................................... 2 1.3 Significance of Work .................................................................................................................. 2 1.4 Study Sites .................................................................................................................................. 3 1.4.1 OUR Ecovillage ............................................................................................................................. 3 1.4.2 Quayside Village ........................................................................................................................... 4 2.0 Sizing Up Intentional Communities .................................................................................... 9 2.1 Intentional Communities ............................................................................................................ 9 2.1.1 Definitions .................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1.2 Origins, Motivations and Philosophies ...................................................................................... 10 2.1.3 Challenges .................................................................................................................................. 11 2.2 Relevant Methods .................................................................................................................... 12 2.2.1 Ecological Footprint Analysis ..................................................................................................... 12 2.2.2 Carbon Dioxide Emissions .......................................................................................................... 14 2.2.3 Life Cycle Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 15 2.3 Environmental Impacts of Intentional Communities Worldwide ........................................ 15 2.3.1 Ecological Footprint ................................................................................................................... 15 iv 2.3.2 Carbon Dioxide Emissions .......................................................................................................... 21 2.4 Environmental Behavioural Change ...................................................................................... 23 2.5 Discussion of Previous Findings ............................................................................................ 26 3.0 Methods, Data Collection and Calculation Assumptions ........................................... 28 3.1 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 28 3.2 Data Collection ......................................................................................................................... 29 3.2.1 Survey Questionnaires ............................................................................................................... 30 3.3 Calculation Assumptions ......................................................................................................... 31 4.0 Results and Discussion .......................................................................................................... 34 4.1 Socioeconomic Comparison ................................................................................................... 34 4.2 Preliminary Footprint Comparison ......................................................................................... 35 4.3 Energy Footprint ....................................................................................................................... 37 4.3.1 Comparison with City of North Vancouver Averages ................................................................ 41 4.4 Transportation Footprint .......................................................................................................... 43 4.4.1 Comparison with City of North Vancouver Averages ................................................................ 46 4.5 Consumption and Waste Footprint ........................................................................................ 47 4.6 Food Footprint ........................................................................................................................... 50 4.7 Built-up Land Footprint ............................................................................................................ 51 4.8 Aggregated Footprints ............................................................................................................. 51 4.8.1 Comparison with Global Footprint Network Quiz Results ......................................................... 52 4.9 Discussion of Results .............................................................................................................. 53 5.0 Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................................. 55 5.1 Policy Recommendations........................................................................................................ 55 5.2 Future Research ....................................................................................................................... 58 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................... 60 v Appendix A: Ethics Approval Form ……………………………………………………………………………….………….………. 64 Appendix B: Final Survey ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………. 66 Appendix C: Waste Footprint Calculations …………………………………………………………………………………….…. 78 vi List of Tables Table 2.1: Variables of the Ecological Footprint Component Method ....................................................... 14 Table 2.2: Ecological
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Why Green Consumption Behavior Is “Easier Said Than Done”1? - Evidence from China Market
    International Journal of Business and Social Science Vol. 7, No. 7; July 2016 Why Green Consumption Behavior is “easier said than done”1? - Evidence from China Market Ning Yang Postgraduate of Marketing Business School, Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou 510275, China. Zhuomin Shi Professor of Marketing Business School, Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou 510275, China. Zaoying Kuang Postgraduate of Marketing Business School, Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou 510275, China. Abstract The existing research has shown that green consumption attitude is a good predictor of the green consumption behavior, while in the meantime some study has pointed out that there is no significant relationship between the green consumption attitude and behavior. In reality, many consumers think green consumption behavior is "easier said than done". Aiming to reveal the relationship between green consumption attitude and behavior, this study probed the process of attitude-behavior transformation from two dimensions, perceived control, and perceived difficulty. We distributed 200 questionnaires and reclaimed 189 valid questionnaires. Through SPSS and LISREL data analysis, the result showed that perceived control and perceived difficulty moderated this green consumption attitude-behavior process. Both low perceived control (vs. high perceived control) and high perceived difficulty (vs. low perceived difficulty) will weaken the connection between green consumption attitude and green consumption behavior. This paper offers inspiration to both Chinese government and enterprises to raise Chinese consumers’ perceived control as well as lowering their perceived difficulty of green consumption. Keywords: Green consumption attitude, Green consumption behavior, Perceived control, Perceived difficulty 1. Introduction In China, a great number of cities are suffering from heavy fog and haze made by increasing PM2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Influence of High–Low Power on Green Consumption
    sustainability Article The Influence of High–Low Power on Green Consumption: The Moderating Effect of Impression Management Motivation Yong Zhang, Jiayu Ao * and Jiayue Deng School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +86-17820549178 Received: 27 May 2019; Accepted: 6 August 2019; Published: 8 August 2019 Abstract: The importance of sustainable development has reached a consensus. Green consumption, as the final link of consumer behavior, can help green production activities make a real difference and achieve sustainable development. Based on the Agentic–Communal Model, this paper explores the relationship between power and green consumption through three experiments. The results showed that low-power (vs. high-power) consumers, who are more dependent on others, are likely to facilitate and encourage a communal orientation towards one’s environment. These consumers pay more attention to others and may have a preference for green consumption. Self-concern plays a mediating role in this mechanism. However, when individuals have a strong impression management motivation, the difference in their willingness toward green consumption will disappear. In other words, both lower-power and high-power consumers are more willing to purchase green products. This paper helps to deepen the understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying green consumption and also provides practical implications for firms’ green marketing strategies. Keywords: power; green consumption; self-concern; impression management motivation 1. Introduction As academics and industry attach increasing importance to the necessity of sustainable development [1], research and practice also show that green products can promote environmental sustainability. Today, many scholars and firms are committed to energy conservation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Water, Land, and Carbon Footprints of Different Human Diets in China
    FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY WATER ENGINEERING & MANAGEMENT The Water, Land, and Carbon Footprints of Different Human Diets in China Hang Song M.Sc. Thesis August 2017 Supervisors: Prof.dr.ir. A.Y. Hoekstra MSc. C.C.A. Verburg Water Management Group Faculty of Engineering Technology Water Engineering & Management University of Twente P.O. Box 217 7500 AE Enschede The Netherlands THE WATER, LAND, AND CARBON FOOTPRINTS OF DIFFERENT HUMAN DIETS IN CHINA THE WATER, LAND, AND CARBON FOOTPRINTS OF DIFFERENT HUMAN DIETS IN CHINA Summary The demand for agricultural production is increasing significantly due to the growth of economic and population worldwide. The agricultural products have huge impact on water use, land use, and greenhouse gas emissions. This can be quantitatively expressed by three indicators: water footprint (WF), land footprint (LF), and land footprint (CF). While China is the most populated country in the world, the impact of the human food consumed in China is not only within the country but also in other parts of the world where food is imported. In this research, the water, land, and carbon footprints of consumption (퐹푐표푛푠) in China are analyzed for five different diets: the current diet (REF) from the statistics of FAO; a healthy diet (CDG) based on the recommendations by Chinese Nutrition Society; a pesco- vegetarian diet (PES), which includes fish, eggs, and dairy; an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet (OLV), which includes eggs and dairy; and a vegan diet (VEG), which excludes all animal products. While REF has a higher intake of kcal and protein per day than CDG, the other three diets are chosen such that the kcal and protein intake per day equals that of CDG.
    [Show full text]
  • Land, Water and Carbon Footprints of Circular Bioenergy Production Systems T ∗ B
    Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 111 (2019) 224–235 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser Land, water and carbon footprints of circular bioenergy production systems T ∗ B. Holmatova, , A.Y. Hoekstraa,b, M.S. Krola a Twente Water Centre, Faculty of Engineering Technology, University of Twente, Horst Complex Z223, P.O Box 217, 7500, AE Enschede, Netherlands b Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, 469C Bukit Timah Road, 259772, Singapore ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Renewable energy sources can help combat climate change but knowing the land, water and carbon implications Bioenergy of different renewable energy production mixes becomes a key. This paper systematically applies land, waterand Biofuel carbon footprint accounting methods to calculate resource appropriation and CO2eq GHG emissions of two Energy scenario energy scenarios. The ‘100% scenario’ is meant as a thinking exercise and assumes a complete transition towards Carbon footprint bioenergy, mostly as bioelectricity and some first-generation biofuel. The ‘SDS-bio scenario’ is inspired byIEA's Land footprint sustainable development scenario and assumes a 9.8% share of bioenergy in the final mix, with a high share of Sustainable development Water footprint first-generation biofuel. Energy inputs into production are calculated by differentiating inputs into fuelversus electricity and exclude fossil fuels used for non-energy purposes. Results suggest that both scenarios can lead to emission savings, but at a high cost of land and water resources. A 100% shift to bioenergy is not possible from water and land perspectives.
    [Show full text]
  • The Land Use Change Impact of Biofuels Consumed in the EU Quantification of Area and Greenhouse Gas Impacts
    Ref. Ares(2015)4173087 - 08/10/2015 The land use change impact of biofuels consumed in the EU Quantification of area and greenhouse gas impacts The land use change impact of biofuels consumed in the EU Quantification of area and greenhouse gas impacts By: Hugo Valin (IIASA), Daan Peters (Ecofys), Maarten van den Berg (E4tech), Stefan Frank, Petr Havlik, Nicklas Forsell (IIASA) and Carlo Hamelinck (Ecofys), with further contributions from: Johannes Pirker, Aline Mosnier, Juraj Balkovic, Erwin Schmid, Martina Dürauer and Fulvio di Fulvio (all IIASA) Date: 27 August 2015 Project number: BIENL13120 Reviewers: Ausilio Bauen (E4tech), Michael Obersteiner (IIASA) and the Scientific Advisory Committee: - Prem Bindraban, Don O’Connor, Robert Edwards, Jacinto Fabiosa, David Laborde, Chris Malins, André Nassar, Koen Overmars and Richard Plevin Project coordination: Michèle Koper (Ecofys) This study has been commissioned and funded by the European Commission. A cooperation of Ecofys, IIASA and E4tech ECOFYS Netherlands B.V. | Kanaalweg 15G | 3526 KL Utrecht| T +31 (0)30 662-3300 | F +31 (0)30 662-3301 | E [email protected] | I www.ecofys.com Chamber of Commerce 30161191 ii Acknowledgements The study consortium is grateful for the useful information and the many comments, questions and recommendations we received throughout the preparation of the study between September 2013 and June 2015 from a wide variety of stakeholders, including representatives from industry associations, NGOs and scientific experts, either by attending one of the eight stakeholder meetings we organised during the study process or by corresponding with us per email. We also thank the European Commission Steering Committee for their input and reviews.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring Pro-Environmental Behavior Experts' Coping Strategies
    sustainability Article How to Cope with Perceived Tension towards Sustainable Consumption? Exploring Pro-Environmental Behavior Experts’ Coping Strategies Gabriele Torma Department of Management, Aarhus BSS, Aarhus University, Fuglesangs Allé, DK-8210 Aarhus, Denmark; [email protected]; Tel.: +45-87164862 Received: 23 September 2020; Accepted: 20 October 2020; Published: 22 October 2020 Abstract: Pro-environmental behavior experts (PEBEXs) encounter tensions associated with sustainable consumption, just like other individuals. What distinguishes them is their high level of knowledge, motivation, and reflection on climate change topics, as intended by many downstream policy interventions targeting individual consumption behavior. Based on 31 problem-centered interviews with PEBEXs, we found two general coping strategies: contributing to maximizing sustainable consumption and accommodating to the minimization of perceived tension. These coping strategies offer a promising source of information for individuals in general on how to drive personal consumption behavior in more sustainable directions and how to deal with accompanying barriers and tensions. Because coping strategies can be trained, the introduced strategies can support the design of interventions targeting individual consumption decisions. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of accompanying upstream interventions, such as structural changes, to support individual behavior changes. Keywords: pro-environmental behavior; sustainable consumption; climate change; coping strategies; ecological coping; experts 1. Introduction Climate change is arguably one of the most critical and urgent problems of our time and represents what Rittel and Webber [1] referred to as a “wicked problem”. Wicked problems are problems that cannot be resolved by one individual alone because they are complex, ill-structured, and of public concern. They have no definite formulation, have no ‘true-false’ but rather ‘good-bad’ solutions, and are symptoms of other problems [1,2].
    [Show full text]
  • CUBA's TRANSITION to ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY in Swedish
    CUBA’S TRANSITION TO ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY Jan Strömdahl KUWAIT 6 5 DENMARK USA 4 SWEDEN 3 GERMANY JAPAN RUSSIA 2 SOUTH AFRICA BRAZIL 1 CHINA CUBA NIGERIA ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT, NUMBER OF GLOBES/PERSON FOOTPRINT, ECOLOGICAL HAITI INDIA 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 LOW HDI MEDIUM HDI HIGH HDI VERY HIGH HDI HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX, HDI TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 4 2. CUBA AND SUSTAINABILITY 5 2.1 The Human Development Index 6 2.2 Ecological footprint 8 2.3 Later Living Planet Reports 10 2.4 Conclusions in the Living Planet Reports 12 2.5 Analysis of ecological footprints for selected countries 13 2.6 Global target for sustainability 14 2.7 Measures for protection against climate change 15 2.8 How has Cuba succeeded so far? 16 3. AGRICULTURAL AND OTHER LAND USE 18 3.1 Exploitation and Revolution - a historical background 18 3.2 Present situation 20 3.3 Food security 24 3.4 Organic farming 26 3.5 Organic urban and suburban agriculture 27 3.6 Permaculture 30 3.7 Environmental and health aspects 33 3.8 Outlook 33 4. WATER 36 4.1 Present situation 37 4.2 Water footprints 39 4.3 Fisheries 40 4.4 Water pollution 41 4.5 Water and sewage supply 43 4.6 Closing remarks 44 5 ENERGY 46 5.1 Energy revolution starts 47 5.2 Oil still dominate 50 5.3 Renewable fuels and technologies 50 5.4 Fossil fuels and technologies 54 5.5 The rise and fall of nuclear power 54 5.6 Efficiency and savings 57 5.7 Two forerunners - Granma and Guamá 57 5.8 A second energy revolution 59 5.9 Environmental and health impacts 62 5:10 Social aspects 63 6 TRANSPORTATION 65 6.1 Horses and bikes dominate locally 67 6.2 Railway tradition 71 6.3 Freight most by truck 73 6.3 Decentralization and improved effectiveness 73 6.4 Environmental and health implications 75 6.5 Social aspects 76 6.6 Cuba´s challenges 76 2 7 HOUSING 78 7.1 The housing policy of revolution 79 7.2 Current situation 81 7.3 Building tecchnics and materials 83 7.4 Havana 86 7.5 Housing as social right 86 7.6 What about the future? 87 8.
    [Show full text]
  • Green Brand of Companies and Greenwashing Under Sustainable Development Goals
    sustainability Article Green Brand of Companies and Greenwashing under Sustainable Development Goals Tetyana Pimonenko 1, Yuriy Bilan 2,* , Jakub Horák 3 , Liudmyla Starchenko 4 and Waldemar Gajda 5 1 Department of Marketing, Sumy State University, 40007 Sumy, Ukraine; [email protected] 2 Faculty of Management, University of Social Sciences, 90–113 Lodz, Poland 3 School of Expertness and Valuation, The Institute of Technology and Business in Ceskˇ é Budˇejovice, Okružní 517/10, 37001 Ceskˇ é Budˇejovice,Czech Republic; [email protected] 4 Department of Economics, Entrepreneurship and Business Administration, Sumy State University, 40007 Sumy, Ukraine; [email protected] 5 Warsaw Management School-Graduate and Postgraduate School, Siedmiogrodzka 3A, 01204 Warszawa, Poland; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 15 January 2020; Accepted: 21 February 2020; Published: 24 February 2020 Abstract: Implementing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and increasing environmental issues provokes changes in consumers’ and stakeholders’ behavior. Thus, stakeholders try to invest in green companies and projects; consumers prefer to buy eco-friendly products instead of traditional ones; and consumers and investors refuse to deal with unfair green companies. In this case, the companies should quickly adapt their strategy corresponding to the new trend of transformation from overconsumption to green consumption. This process leads to increasing the frequency of using greenwashing as an unfair marketing instrument to promote the company’s green achievements. Such companies’ behavior leads to a decrease in trust in the company’s green brand from the green investors. Thus, the aim of the study is to check the impact of greenwashing on companies’ green brand.
    [Show full text]
  • Sustainable Construction Investment, Real Estate Development, and COVID-19: a Review of Literature in the Field
    sustainability Review Sustainable Construction Investment, Real Estate Development, and COVID-19: A Review of Literature in the Field Arturas Kaklauskas 1,*, Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas 2,* , Natalija Lepkova 1 , Saulius Raslanas 1, Kestutis Dauksys 1, Ingrida Vetloviene 2 and Ieva Ubarte 2 1 Department of Construction Management and Real Estate, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, LT-10223 Vilnius, Lithuania; [email protected] (N.L.); [email protected] (S.R.); [email protected] (K.D.) 2 Institute of Sustainable Construction, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, LT-10223 Vilnius, Lithuania; [email protected] (I.V.); [email protected] (I.U.) * Correspondence: [email protected] (A.K.); [email protected] (E.K.Z.) Abstract: Aspects of sustainable construction investment and real estate development (CIRED) and their interrelations during the period pre-, intra-, and post-COVID-19, are presented in the research. Applications of the topic model, environmental psychology theory, building life cycle method, and certain elements of bibliometrics, webometrics, article level metrics, altmetrics, and scientometrics make it possible to perform a quantitative analysis on CIRED. The CIRED topic model was developed in seven steps. This paper aims to present a literature review on CIRED throughout the pandemic and to look at the responses from the real estate and construction sector. This sector is a field that appears to be rapidly expanding, judging from the volume of current research papers. This review focuses on last year’s leading peer-reviewed journals. A combination of various keywords was Citation: Kaklauskas, A.; Zavadskas, applied for the review and the criteria for paper selections included construction investment, real E.K.; Lepkova, N.; Raslanas, S.; estate development, civil engineering, COVID-19, and sustainability, as well as residential, industrial, Dauksys, K.; Vetloviene, I.; Ubarte, I.
    [Show full text]
  • Green Consumerism: Moral Motivations to a Sustainable Future
    Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect Green consumerism: moral motivations to a sustainable future 1 2 3 Sonya Sachdeva , Jennifer Jordan and Nina Mazar Green consumerism embodies a dilemma inherent in many more expensive green products that may act as a barrier to prosocial and moral actions — foregoing personal gain in favor engaging in green consumerism. Nonetheless there are of a more abstract, somewhat intangible gain to someone or several recurring themes in the expanse of literature on something else. In addition, as in the case of purchasing more the topic of green consumerism, which may shine a light expensive green products, there is sometimes a very literal cost on ways to promote green consumerism. that may act as a barrier to engaging in green consumerism. The current review examines endogenous, exogenous, and structural factors that promote green consumerism. We also What is green consumerism? 4 discuss its potential positive and negative spillover effects. We Oxymoronic implications aside, green consumerism is, close by discussing areas of research on green consumerism for a significant portion of the Western industrial popula- that are lacking — such as the moral framing of green tion, an accessible way to engage in pro-environmental, consumerism and the expansion of the cultural context in which sustainable behavior. An operational definition of green it is defined and studied. consumerism subsumes a list of behaviors that are under- Addresses taken with the intention of promoting positive environ- 1 5 U.S. Forest Service, United States mental effects. Some prototypical behaviors that fall 2 University of Groningen, The Netherlands within this rather vague definition are purchasing appli- 3 University of Toronto, Canada ances with energy star labels, buying organic products, or turning off electrical appliances when not in use, and Corresponding author: Sachdeva, Sonya ([email protected]) taking shorter showers.
    [Show full text]
  • Eco-Collaboration Between Higher Education and Ecovillages A
    Partnerships for Sustainability: Eco-Collaboration between Higher Education and Ecovillages A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Kiernan Jeanette Gladman IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF LIBERAL STUDIES February 2014 ©Kiernan Jeanette Gladman 2014 For John May the soles of our shoes wear down together. i Paradise (John Prine) When I was a child, my family would travel Down to western Kentucky where my parents were born And there's a backwards old town that's often remembered So many times that my memories are worn Chorus: And Daddy, won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County Down by the Green River where Paradise lay Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away Well sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River To the abandoned old prison down by Adrie Hill Where the air smelled like snakes and we'd shoot with our pistols But empty pop bottles was all we would kill Chorus And the coal company came with the world's largest shovel And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man Chorus When I die let my ashes float down the Green River Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin' Just five miles away from wherever I am Chorus ii CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS ...............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Contents
    Introduction In Creating a Life Together, Diana Leafe Christian estimates that 90 percent of attempts to start an intentional community do not survive past the initial stages. Similarly, many personal searches for intentional community fizzle out due to lack of adequate information, guidance, or exposure to fellow travelers’ stories. In both cases, ignorance of the wide array of options possible, and of the breadth of resources and support available through the Fellowship for Intentional Community and allied groups, undoubtedly contributes to the “failure” rate. This volume on “Starting a Community” and the next volume in this series, on “Finding a Community,” address the need for one-stop collections of stories to help founders and seekers. They are meant to complement the Communities Directory (available in print and online: ic.org/directory), COMMUNITIES magazine, a quarterly publication focused on Life in Cooperative Culture, and educational resources available through Community Bookstore (ic.org/bookstore). These books should broaden anyone’s outlook on what is possible and how to pursue their dreams of community. Within each section we hear from a range of voices spanning a great diversity of perspectives and experiences. In this volume, following more general “overview” articles, we dive into on-the-ground stories from founders, arranged roughly chronologically, followed by a separate roughly chronological flow about experiences of community that don’t fit the classic intentional community definition but are nonetheless powerful for their creators and participants. Most articles are drawn from the past decade of COMMUNITIES magazine, with several excerpted from the Communities Directory and a few from older issues of COMMUNITIES that were also excerpted in our Best of collections, Volumes I and II.
    [Show full text]