Redesigning the Planet Regions A Challenge to You to Engage in Creating Wild Designs for Wicked Problems— To Transform Regions In the Planet for the Extended Present Using Common Sense, Synergetic Designs, Radical Ecology, Eutopian Strategies & Thought Experiments Version 5.0 Page 1 Books from Mozart & Reason Wolf Urania Science Press RE: viewing thinking & turning Good Forestry from Good Theories & Good Practices (O)utopias or (E)utopias, by Alan Wittbecker Topopoetics, by Alan Wittbecker Global Emergency Actions, by Alan Wittbecker Redesigning the Planet Calliope Press Two Diaries, by Marcus Rian Amphibian Dreams, by A. M. Caratheodory Wild Apples, by A. M. Caratheodory Light from a Vanished Forest, by A. M. Caratheodory Cheap Visions, by Violet Reason Carbon Dreams, by Violet Reason Tropomorphoses, by Yulalona Lopez Night Wolves, by Yulalona Lopez Clio Press The Thesis,by Marcus Rian Waiting for Better Times in Bulgaria, by Conor Ciaran Musings, ed. by Crawford Washington Coyote Redux, by Yulalona Lopez Coyote Remasked, by Yulalona Lopez Poetic Archaeology of the Flesh, by Alan Wittbecker Eutopias: Making Good Places Ecologically & Culturally Page 2 Redesigning the Planet Regions An Abstract and Annotated Outline to be Filled in as Emergency Actions Fail or Succeed A Challenge to You to Engage in Creating Wild Designs for Wicked Problems— To Transform Regions In the Planet for the Extended Present Using Common Sense, Synergetic Designs, Radical Ecology, Eutopian Strategies & Thought Experiments Section Authors: Michael W. Fox John B. Cobb, Jr. Paolo Soleri Arne Naess Alan R. Drengson Twila Jacobsen Michael Barnes Doctress Neutopia Alan Wittbecker, Coordinator You, you and you! Version 5.0 Urania Science Press Sarasota Mozart & Reason Wolfe, Ltd. 2014 Page 3 Cover Design: 2007, Rian Garcia Calusa Other graphics and photographs: Alan Wittbecker (unless credited) Some royalty-free graphics from web locations Published by Urania Science Press, Mozart & Reason Wolfe Ltd at SynGeo ArchiGraph Mail: Post Office Box 370, Tallevast, Florida 34270 Email: [email protected] For more information on sites and projects: SynGeo ArchiGraph LLC: www.syngeo.org Ecoforestry Institute: www.ecoforestry.net G. P. Marsh Institute: www.gpmi.us Rian Garcia Calusa: www.riangarciacalusa.us Eutopian Ecologists: www.eutopias.net Redesigning the Planet: www.redesigningthepla.net Copyright © 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 All rights reserved on coauthor’s contributions. No part of the book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior written consent of the Authors or Publisher. Publisher’s Cataloging in Publication Data Alan Wittbecker— Redesigning the Planet: Regions / Alan Wittbecker et al. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1499194593 (Paper) ISBN-10: 1499194595 (Paper) 1. Human Ecology. 2. Ecological Design. 3. Deep ecology. 4. Architecture I. Title. GF75.W57 2014 Book Design by Rian Garcia Calusa Printed in the United States of America Page 4 CONTENTS 0.0. Introduction 12 0.1. Preliminary Thoughts on a Regional Framework for Redesign 0.1.1. What this work is not 0.1.2. What this work is 0.1.3. What we need to do & why it would work 0.1.4. What can you do? 0.2. Designing Whole Places & Regions 17 0.2.1. Starting with Regional Design 0.2.2. A Snapshot of Regional Design 0.2.3. How should We Feel about Regional Design? 0.3. Design Science as Poetic Production (Conversation with R.B. Fuller) 21 0.3.1. Allowing Flatscapes of Design 0.3.2. Designing Real Living Places: Eutopias 0.3.3. How Can We Redesign the Experiment? 0.3.4. Expanding Poetic Production 0.4. Techo-utopia Or Peaceable Kingdom (By M.W. Fox) 29 0.5-0.9. [Empty Topics] 1.0. Preparing for Challenges to Design 34 1.1. The Gift of Bigness 1.2. The Gift of Speed 1.3. Eight Terrible Losses 1.4. [Empty Topic] 1.5. Grand Thefts 1.6. Model Fields as Context 1.7-1.9. [Empty Topics] 2.0. Approaching Regions with Design 54 2.1. Human Design & Regions 55 2.1.1. Why design? 2.1.2. What is the Regional Scale? 2.1.3. Why Start with the Regional? 2.2. [Empty Topic] 2.3. What is Nature? Natural Design? 59 2.4. What is Traditional Design? 61 2.5. What is Ecological Design? 63 2.6. What is Regional Ecological Design? 70 2.6.1 Design at the Level of the Region 2.6.2. How is Regional Design Different from Ecological Design? 2.6.3. Regional Design Components Elements & Variations 2.6.4. Characteristics of Regional Ecological Design 2.6.5. Principles of Regional Ecological Design 2.6.6. Applied Regional Ecological Design as Lessons Page 5 2.6.7. Applying Regional Ecological Designs to Regions 2.7. Fitting Regional Design with Global & Local Design 90 2.7.1. Regions Emerge from & Constrain Local Systems 2.7.2. Regions are Constrained by the Global System 2.7.3. Are Local Designs Ever Independent of Regional Designs? 2.7.4. Leaving Hooks & Flexibility 2.8. Insurmountable Problems at the Regional Level 94 2.8.1. Water & Drought 2.8.2. Heat & Control 2.8.3. Liberty & Crime 2.8.4. The Maintenance of Civilization 2.9. Architecture & Deep Ecology (By Arne Naess) 97 3.0. Naming Nature for Design 101 3.1. Elements & Materials [Empty Topic] 3.2. Events Processes & Connections [Empty Topic] 3.3. Regional Design Factors: Ecosystems Communities & Organisms 102 3.3.1. Communities & Ecosystems 3.3.2. Populations Organisms & Organic Structures 3.4. Regional Design Factors: Landscapes Forms & Structures 105 3.4.1. Landscapes 3.4.2. Biomes 3.4.3. Dealing with Change 3.5. Regional Design Factors: Regional & Planetary Cycles 110 3.5.1. Individual Cycles 3.5.2. Interactions of Cycles 3.5.3. Interactions of Cycles with Ecosystems & Communities 3.6. Regional Design Factors: Regional Planetary Spheres 111 3.6.1. Geosphere 3.6.2. Hydrosphere 3.6.3. Atmosphere 3.6.4. Biosphere 3.7. Regional Design Factors: Intricate Patterns 116 3.7.1. Distribution & Density 3.7.2. Surprise & Joy at Diversity 3.7.3. Unique Places 3.7.4. Living Places as Invested Ecosystems 3.7.5. Patterns 3.8. Defining Regional Places Ecologically 122 3.8.1. Places as Healthy Ecosystems 3.8.2. Place Health at the Regional Level 3.8.3. Details & Framework 3.9. Designing Elements to Bioregions 128 3.9.1. Designing Elements & Processes 3.9.2. Designing Ecosystems & Landscape Page 6 3.9.3. Designing Patterns & Biomes 3.9.4. Designing Landscapes & Fitting Humanity Inside 4.0. Designing Nature 134 4.1. Regional Problems: Water 134 4.1.1. Water Cycle Restated 4.1.2. Interaction of Cycles 4.1.3. Problems with Disrupted Cycles 4.1.4. Valuing Water 4.1.5. Designing Water Flows 4.1.6. Seawater Foundation 4.2. Designing a Regional Watershed: Amazon River 140 4.2.1. Rethinking Energy 4.2.2. Rethinking Forestry 4.2.3. Rethinking Agriculture 4.3. Regional Problems: Atmospheric Change 146 4.3.1. Anthropogenic Change & Atmospheric Heating 4.3.2. Greenhouse Gases 4.4. Designing Regional Spheres & Cycles 152 4.4.1. Designing Spheres 4.4.2. Designing Cycles 4.4.3. Designing to Adjust to Change 4.5. Regional Design Factors: Forests (By Twila Jacobsen et al.) 163 4.5.1. Forest Planet 4.5.2. History of Forests 4.5.3. Forest Participation in Cycles 4.5.4. Designing Regional Forests within Cycles 4.5.5. Reforesting the Edges of the Sahara 4.6. Nilgiri Reserve in India: A Case Study (By Michael W. Fox) 176 4.6.1. Revisioning Health 4.6.2. Regional Biosphere Reserves & Sustainable Biosystems 4.6.3. Sustainable Biosystems 4.6.4. A Case Study: The Nilgiri Reserve 4.7. Regional Animal Patterns 182 4.7.1. Interactions: Disturbance Exploitation & Interference 4.7.2. Tracing Northern Hemisphere Wolf Paths 4.8. Tracing Northern Hemisphere Wolf Paths 184 4.8.1. Brief Natural History of Wolves 4.8.2. Wolf Habitat Regions: Alaska to Siberia 4.8.3. Calculating & Linking Reserves & Paths 4.9. Determining Regional Wilderness Areas 192 4.8.1. Wilderness as Empty Waste 4.8.2. Wooing the Wild 4.8.3. Determining Regional Wilderness Designs & Extents Page 7 5.0. Facing Culture for Design 213 5.1. What is Humanity? Human Ecology and Regional Limits? 213 5.2. What is Culture? Are There Regional Cultures? 214 5.2.1. Animate & Human Culture 5.2.2. Dependence & Constraints 5.2.3. Are there Regional Cultures? 5.3. Regional Design Factors: Adaptive Patterns—Agriculture 217 5.3.1. Advantages & Disadvantages of Agriculture 5.3.2. Agriculture in Minnesota (By Michael W. Fox) 221 5.4. Evolution Agriculture & Urbanization 5.4.1. An Evolutionary Conjecture (By Paolo Soleri) 227 5.4.2. Split & Reapproachment of Urbanization & Agriculture 5.5. Regional Design Factors: Urbanization & Civilization 232 5.5.1. City as Ecosystem 5.5.2. Changes from City Living 5.5.3. How did Civilization Rise from Cities? 5.5.4. Intensification & Civilization 5.5.5. The Complex of Civilization 5.5.6. Discussion of Cities & Civilizations: Ideals or Traps 5.6. Regional Design Factors: Civilization & Industrialization 237 5.6.1. Industrial Intensification 5.6.2. Regional Problems with Industrial Civilization 5.7. Regional Problems: Ecosystem & Cultural Collapse 239 5.7.1. The Spectrum of Collapse 5.7.2. Discussion of Collapse 5.7.3. Patterns of Collapse: Recovery & Renewal 5.7.4. Future Collapse 5.8. Regional Problems: Culture & Bad Images 248 5.8.1. Patterns & Cultural Transformations 5.8.2. Challenges & Traps 5.9. Designing Cultural Units based on Primary Cultures 252 5.9.1.