Throughout history, most humans have lived rural lives. As late as 1950, just 30 percent of humankind lived in cities, but huge changes were already looming. By 2000, 47 percent of us were urban dwellers. And by 2030, 60 percent of a still-growing world population will live in metropolitan areas. In the Cascadia bioregion, more than 85% of the population live in just 12% of the geographic area, clustered in what has been termed the Cascadia ‘megaregion’ by the US and Canadian governments. The opportunities and challenges posed by this dramatic demographic transition are stunning.
With the number of people who live in cities expected to double over the next 20 years, the world has begun searching hard for models of urban and regional renewability and resiliency. It will be up to each of us to find a responsible manner to live in a way which is not destructive for our livelihood and planet, and in a responsible and ethical manner that we can all be proud of.
Cascadians believe in finding ways to live in a responsible and ethical manner, that not only does no damage, but improves the well being of those living here, for this generation, and generations to come. To do this, we use a bioregional framework – which means breaking down and moving away from national boundaries and borders and shifting towards a more holistic approach which accurately reflects the physical realities of our watersheds, and the people living there.
The delineation of a bioregion is defined through watersheds and ecoregions, with the belief that political boundaries should match ecological and cultural boundaries, and that culture stems from place. Ultimately, the people of Cascadia have more in common with each other, than those who currently control our politics and economy from thousands of miles away, with little vested interest in our well being or livelihood.
Bioregionalism reflects perhaps one of the most important, yet least known or understood philosophies that may exist today. It can be utilized by any person, business, cause, movement or organizer, from any background. Together, bioregionalism provides a unifying set of principles and organizing methodology, and is a powerful tool for connecting and breaking down large, urgent global issues to specific areas, and creating simple, accessible pathways for action and change.
At its most simple, this is a philosophy that connects people and ideas into place, which work watershed by watershed, in ways that are sustainable, democratic and just. Bioregionalists work to find solutions to the world’s most challenging issues by using bioregions to break large issues down to a local level, creating or magnifying solutions already being practiced in a community, and create accessible pathways for every person living in a region to be able to get active about issues they care about. Each watershed and community will be different, and each region and community will know their needs the best, and be the best to represent those needs.
Cascadia, more than anything else, is a movement to help build the inter-dependence, sustainability and resiliency for the Cascadia bioregion. We start from our watersheds, and use the idea of Cascadia as a framework, guided by key principles, to break global issues down to a local level, increase the accountability and transparency of our regional economic and food systems, and move our actions and impacts to where individuals have the greatest say in the issues that affect their lives. Different communities will have different needs, and will be the best suited to confront the issues facing those communities, but by sharing a land base, we will all have common principles, values and concerns that will pull us together. There will be no one right answer, or one right solution. Rather it will be hundreds of solutions working together, adapting to fit different needs of different backgrounds, locations and contexts, to achieve the real change that we want to see.
Many of these issues are systemic and spread themselves through social, cultural, economic and physical means. However, within current national and international frameworks, these issues become fragmented, too large, or too distant to be combated in their entirety. Ocean acidification will never be addressed solely through a political campaign in one country. Carbon emissions will never be solved by only addressing economic issues. Locally, issues like undamming the Snake or Columbia river, or creating joint strategies for pollution, disaster response and growth management will never be able to be addressed by only one state.
Trying to target any one of these, while ignoring another, is doomed to failure. Watersheds ignore national boundaries, but they do not ignore bioregional ones. National politics based on arbitrary boundaries, that are disconnected and ignore the areas they are set within, are not representative of the place or the people, nor can they hope to achieve a truly democratic or independent society.
Instead of an issue by issue approach, a holistic approach much be taken. Bioregionalism provides that answer, serving as a physical container that connects the global to local, as well as a terrain of consciousness that connect us with the way that people have been living for thousands of years, strategies that have grown and been adapted for each area, with our society and practices today.
The Cascadia Bioregion contains some of the last old growth temperate rain forest in the world, and 7/10 of the largest carbon absorbing forests within the continental United States are in Washington and Oregon. When combined with British Columbia and Alaska, these forests remain one of the most powerful tools in our regions efforts to combat global climate change.
Indeed, Cascadia contains the world’s tallest trees, thousands of volcanoes, hot springs, rivers, lakes, inlets, island and ocean, and some of the last diminishing, though still impressive wild habitats of salmon, wolves, bear, whale, orca. In all – more than 350 bird and mammal species, 48 reptiles, hundreds of fungi, lichen, and and thousands of invertebrates and soil organisms call Cascadia home. In addition, Cascadia is also in a unique position to become one of the first countries in the world to achieve complete energy independence based on renewable resources. Already, we generate a surplus of electricity based largely on renewable resources such as wind, hydroelectric, and soon, tide generators.
Cascadia is not only about protecting these things that we find special, but also about shifting our thinking to a generational approach, not only for those currently living, but for the generations to come rather than short term, profit driven incentives. This is not a short term movement, but rather a lifelong journey, on a personal level and a societal one.
