MEDIA
& RESOURCES -
Policy Papers
The PROUT Institute places great emphasis on taking a solution-oriented
approach to socio-economic problems. Critical analysis of the problems
of the world alone will not deliver humanity from its difficult blight.
Viable alternatives are necessary.
To give definition to positive solutions, the Institute develops policy
papers to share with the interested public - and in particular with those
people engaged in building a new world who would be empowered by constructive
ideas.
Because PROUT places emphasis on decentralized development, many of its
policy papers have a focus on implementing change at the local and regional
levels.
Sustainable
Economic Development in Lane County
This report on sustainable economics is being given at a time in which we are being called
upon to take a fresh look at our assumptions and our approach to economic development.
Change is upon us, and the ways of the past will no longer serve us. To contine pursuit of
economic development according to the assumptions, priorities, and institutional structures
and behaviors of the dominant economic paradigm is to embrace an unstable, crisis-prone, and inherently
destructive global economic system. Two imperatives arise from the recognition of this condition.
First, and above all, Lane County's economy must become predominantly local and regional in
its control, in its resource base, in its markets, in its capital flow, and in its labor force.
Second, our local economy must focus its development around enterprises that are inherently sustainable
and equitable, and which thereby balance practical considerations such as productive capacity, resource
efficiency, and operating profit with essential concerns such as worker empowerment and fulfillment,
community livability, ecosystem integrity, and people's health and well-being.
PROUT
Development Plan:
A Plan For Economic Development of Khabarovsk Krai
With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, Khabarovsk Krai in
Far East Russia faced major transitional challenges. Leading intellectuals
of the region recognized that economic globalism posed a significant
threat to the future self-determination of the region and attempted
to seize the opportunity to identify a model of development based
on bioregional autonomy and economic decentralization, as well as
an enterprise system that promote social equity and cooperation. They
saw in PROUT the developmental model they had been seeking. Under
the guidance of the Public Academy of Sciences, they moved to study
and promote the PROUT model. This led to an invitation being extended,
by the Governor of Khabarovsk Krai, for the PROUT Institute to conceptualize
a PROUTist vision for the economic future of Khabarovsk.
Sustainable
Agriculture in the Willamette Valley
The world currently faces unprecedented challenges due to long-term
resource mismanagement and environmental degradation. This is particularly
evident in the realm of agriculture where monoculture and industrial
farming techniques have proven to be unsustainable. Topsoil loss,
water shortages, and petrochemical dependency are stressing global
grain production. Food security has progressed from a Third World
concern to the forefront of First World issues. Oregon's Willamette
Valley makes a useful case-study for both detailing the existing problem
and applying PROUT's decentralized, self-sufficient approach to agriculture
as a possible solution.
Policy
Statement on Cooperative Enterprise
Cooperative enterprises - producer, consumer, agricultural, service,
and banking - form the core of a PROUT economy, in which the majority
of manufacturing and service enterprises would be organized as worker
owned and managed cooperatives. This paper presents in detail PROUTist
perspectives the structure and operation of cooperative enterprises.
It examines their principles, advantages, internal organizational
structures, supportive infrastructure, and the wider environmental
factors necessary for their development.
Long
Range Energy Planning for the South Willamette Valley
The combined effects of oil shortages and climatic change will require
significant changes in the development and use of energy resources
in the South Willamette Valley. This paper presents a coherent vision
for securing sustainable, renewable energy for the South Willamette
Valley. It includes discussion of demand reduction, diversified and
local energy resources, and the development of energy cooperatives.
Urban
Conversion
For urban dwellers to put sustainability into practice in their personal
living spaces, there is need to convert their homes and yards in appropriate
ways. This conversion, called urban conversion, requires a holistic
shift toward sustainability. Basic objectives include: reducing energy
demand and water needs, using resources that are available on site
(rainwater, sunlight, and vegetation), and eliminating toxicity and
waste as much as possible.
Ten
Solution-Oriented Initiatives to Promote Sustainable Living
This paper presents ten sustainable living initiatives that could
further efforts to establish a viable and sustainable way of living
in the Cascadia Bioregion. They include ecobuilding consortium, appropriate
technology cooperatives, sustainability tours, community sustainability
fund, bioregional congresses, sustainable design competitions, youth
mentoring, Cascadia sustainability coalation, and sustainable state
of the county reports.
Envisioning
a Cascadian Ethnobotany for the Peak Oil Era:
Project Proposal
The dominant model of development is characterized by (1) neoliberal
globalization of economic markets, (2) plundering natural resources
with minimal regard for sustainability, and (3) cheap oil which is
being rapidly depleted. This approach to development is unsustainable
and will soon collapse. A sustainable approach to development will
must emphasize use of local resources to produce basic commodities.
Many of these local resources will come from plant materials, and
plants will be used to meet a wider range of the local society's material
needs. So the transition to a sustainable economy will therefore require
a re-envisioning of regional ethnobotany. This PROUT Institute paper
is a pilot study to further efforts toward conversion to a new silviculture
and agro-industry base in the Cascadia Bioregion.
Democratization
of Sustainability
The attainment of sustainability requires mass participation in sustainable
living practices. To achieve this condition, the PROUT Institute advocates
an approach that can be termed the democratization of sustainability.
In a democracy, people have both a right and a responsibility to participate
in the political process. Extending this concept to the practice of
sustainability, public policy should be put in place that recognizes
people's right to live sustainably. This means that sustainable lifestyle
choices would become more accessible - and more affordable - than
unsustainable ones. People should not be financially rewarded, not
penalized, for living sustainably.
Geographic
Demarcation of a South Willamette Valley Planning Region
The PROUT model of development gives great emphasis to local economic
planning. The PROUT Institute has demarcated the geographic range
to be included in its South Willamette Valley Relocalized Economy
Plan. In demarcating the area of inclusion, the following main considerations
have been emphasized:
the factors that make for an economically coherent planning unit
the objectives of the Relocalized Economy Plan
the South Willamette Valley's interface with neighboring subregions,
and pragmatic start-up concerns
|
