{"id":418,"date":"2024-11-25T21:41:09","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T05:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/bbigelow\/?p=418"},"modified":"2024-11-25T21:41:09","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T05:41:09","slug":"reflection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/bbigelow\/reflection\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"FINISH<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Masters of Arts in Climate Action Leadership summit was a wonderful way to complete this program, with a week of vulnerability, self-expression, and learning. During this, I took part in the Regenerar workshops: To Die, To Dream, To Live that was led by the wonderful team at Solvable<\/a>. We were challenged with identifying societal norms and creating connections between visions and dreams that stem from our awakened conscious selves and asleep subconscious selves. Upon watching Regenerar (Parente, 2023) and participating in the workshop, which I fully recommend, I am now completing this program closer to answering a question that has been growing louder throughout my journey. Is promoting and leading climate action through sustainable actions enough to create a truly sustainable future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainability, defined as \u201c\u2026meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.\u201d (Brundtland, 1987), has become a widely accepted practice to enact climate action in society. There is a clear connection between human caused greenhouse gas emissions increases from pre\u2013Industrial Revolution levels and the increase in global mean temperature (Allen et al., 2018). In addition, global population is projected to continue increasing and peak above 10 billion between 2060-2090 (Spears et al., 2024; O\u2019Sullivan, 2023), nearly seven times greater than preindustrial levels. As a result, greenhouse gas generation and resource consumption are currently at unsustainable levels and have potential to increase. While climate action technologies are still evolving to help address this, societal frameworks, such as capitalism and colonialism which focus on consumption and exploitation, are still systemic in modernity despite social movements promoting increased equity. These issues were the provocation of my original question, with continued growth are sustainable actions within current societal constructs going to be enough to create the sustainable future we desire?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to my thoughts entering the MACAL program, I no longer believe that sustainable actions are going to be enough. Or at least not how they are currently being approached. Are sustainable actions taken while participating in an unsustainable society going to yield the desired results or just progress the issue at hand at a slower pace? It was comforting to know that I was not the only one with this question as others questioned whether humanity could achieve actual sustainability with its current growth rate and current societal systems in place (Benson & Craig, 2014; Foster, 2017). The courses I selected for my portfolio learning stream focused on addressing this question by centering on creating a space for ecological decision making to be incorporated into capitalistic decision processes. Hussen (2012) proposes methodologies to valuate ecosystem services quantitatively instead of qualitatively so they can be better considered in the economic decision-making process. This struck me as imperative to addressing the ecological extortion of capitalism due to current practices of externalizing the costs of depleting ecosystem services, such as pollution removal and natural resources. Being able to quantify these costs allow them to be considered and internalized when making decisions. Thus, allowing the decision-making tools to begin addressing this exploitation at its source. I did not realize at the time how impactful these course selections would be. This realization would be the beginning of a state of metamorphosis, where my previous climate action solution of sustainability could die, and my dream of regenerative sustainability could begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regenerative sustainability transcends sustainability by transitioning from a focus on maintaining current living systems for future generations to reforming current systems to allow for a better and thriving living system in the future through the regeneration of ecosystems (Gibbons, 2020). Regenerar (Parente, 2023) proposes that the dream state is a way of creating space for transformative thoughts that boldly challenge current societal constructs and concepts. Furthermore, that living is the exploration and actioning of these transformative thoughts to create regeneration from the damages caused by current ways of being (Parente, 2023). I see dreaming and living as a synchronous process that would continue in perpetuity when pursuing the act of regenerative sustainability by creating space for critical reflection with transformative action to follow. To me, this process of boldly challenging and transforming societal constructs to regenerate from damages previously done is the foundation of regenerative sustainability. While continuous, there will be times when new challenges will arise, \u00a0additional ways of thinking and being will need to be hospiced, and transformative thought and action processes will need to begin anew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Regenerar workshop helped me identify that I was naturally moving through these stages, to die; to dream; and to live, as I progressed from the beginning of the MACAL program to its completion. To die, my definition of climate action, living and promoting sustainable ways of being, was in the hospice stage as I was questioning its validity and trying to find an approach that better suits the wicked problem of climate change. To dream, while my previous definition of sustainability was being hospiced I was dreaming of ways to reform current capitalistic functions to incorporate ecological impacts at the root of its decision-making process to help change the system from within. To live, reinventing my approach to climate action by pursuing and promoting systemic changes that can impact climate change at the foundational level through the process of regenerative sustainability instead. I view my completion of the MACAL program as my first iteration of this process, where my original concept of leading in climate action was challenged, hospiced, and now reborn to live again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To answer my original question, I no longer think leading climate action through sustainable actions is enough to create a\u00a0sustainable future. My approach to climate action has evolved into believing that a truly sustainable future is only attainable through regenerative sustainability. That this will create the capacity for the regeneration of ecological systems needed to create a future that is thriving, not simply surviving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allen, M.R., Dube, O.P., Solecki, W., Arag\u00f3n-Durand, F., Cramer, W., Humphreys, S., Kainuma, M., Kala, J., Mahowald, N., Mulugetta, Y., Perez, R., Wairiu, M., & Zickfeld, K. (2018). Framing and Context. In: Global Warming of 1.5\u00b0C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty. In Press. <\/em>https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/site\/assets\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/SR15_Chapter1_Low_Res.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benson, M., & Craig, R. (2014). The End of Sustainability. Society & Natural Resources<\/em>. 27(7), 777-782. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/08941920.2014.901467<\/a> .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brundtland, G.H. (1987). Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. Geneva, UN-Dokument A\/42\/427.
http:\/\/www.un-documents.net\/ocf-ov.htm<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foster, J. (2017). Post-Sustainability: Tragedy and Transformation. Routledge<\/em>. ISBN:978-1138296497.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gibbons, L. (2020, July 7). Regenerative \u2013 The New Sustainable?. Sustainability<\/em>. 12.  DOI:10.3390\/su12135483<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hussen, A. (2012, November 2). Principles of Environmental Economics and Sustainability. Routledge<\/em>. ISBN: 978-0-415-67691-5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Sullivan, J. (2023, July 21). Demographic Delusions: World Population Growth Is Exceeding Most Projections and Jeopardising Scenarios for Sustainable Futures. World<\/em>. 4, 545-568. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/world4030034<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parente, M. (Director). (2023). Regenerar [Film]. Spanda Produtora. https:\/\/regenerar.vhx.tv\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spears, D., Vyas, S., Weston, G., & Geruso, M. (2024, January 20). Long-term population projections: Scenarios of low or rebounding fertility. PLoS ONE. <\/em>19(4). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0298190<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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