Daniel Christian Wahl: “Bioregional Futures: Reconnecting to Place for Planetary Health”
Episode 139
September 4th, 2024
(Conversation recorded on July 24th, 2024)
Show Summary
In the past century of abundant energy surplus, humanity’s globalized, large-scale approach to problem-solving has yielded remarkable benefits and innovations. However, as we face a future with reduced energy resources, mounting waste, and a biosphere in danger, the negative impacts of this approach are increasingly overshadowing its gains. How should we evaluate and change these tactics as we look to build future societies that can better attune with their environments and the health of the planet?
This week, Nate is joined by Daniel Christian Wahl, a leader and activist in regenerative living, for an exploration into what our lifestyles and communities could look like if we aligned human systems—like agriculture, economy, and community planning—with the natural ecosystems of a specific bioregion to create more sustainable and harmonious ways of living.
How can small, incremental improvements made at the local ecological level create emergent benefits for the entire planet? What do we need to unlearn from past centuries of living in order to find balance with nature in the habitats and regions that we call home? How can individuals incorporate regenerative principles into their own lives today, regardless of their surrounding systems?
About Daniel Christian Wahl
Daniel Christian Wahl is one of the catalysts of the rising reGeneration movement and the author of Designing Regenerative Cultures - so far translated into seven languages. He works as a consultant, educator and activist with NGOs, businesses, governments and global change agents. With degrees in biology and holistic science, and a PhD in Design for Human and Planetary Health, his work has influenced the emerging fields of regenerative design and salutogenic design. He is the winner of the 2021 RSA Bicentenary Medal for applying design in service to society and was awarded a two year Volans-Fellowship in 2022.
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Show Notes & Links to Learn More
00:00 - Daniel Christian Wahl works + info, podcast: Regeneration Rising, book: Designing Regenerative Cultures, writings: Resilience + Medium
02:40 - Regenerative agriculture, TGS episodes on regenerative agriculture: Andrew Millison + Daniel Zetah
03:30 - Regeneration is a biological process + bones regenerate every seven years
04:00 - Keystone species
05:12 - The Great Simplification animated video
05:43 - Kincentric ecology
07:11 - Carbon markets and digitalisation
07:50 - Water cycles: Overview + from trees and vegetation to the whole system
10: 04 - Energy embedded in global supply chains
11:00 - Bioregions
17:05 - Global Ecovillage Network, Amena Bal
18:04 - Three Horizons Framework
18:20 - Findhorn College
19:42 - Donella Meadows, The Balaton Group, Paper on the need for bioregionalism
20:23 - Gaia Education, Ross Jackson
20:50 - Auroville, Crystal Waters, Findhorn, The Farm
21:42 - Albert Bates, Biochar
22:10 – Bioregionalism
22:25 - Satish Kumar, Schumacher College
23:25 - Agriculture and the shift away from bioregionalism
23:39 - Sir Patrick Geddes, town planning, Cities in Evolution
24:25 - Ian McHarg, Geographic Information System (GIS)
24:34 - Planet Drum Foundation, Peter Berg, Raymond Dasmann, Gary Snyder, David Haenke
25:09 - **First North American Bioregional Congress in 1984
26:30 - Rewilding of the river Isar
27:50 - Carol Sanford
29:22 - Forecasts of environmental migration
32:26 - Energy primacy
33:45 - Goethe
37:04 - Saving the Appearances, Owen Barfield, Phenomenology
39:45 - Werner Heisenberg, Gregory Bateson, Humberto Maturana, Fransico Varela, Article on Maturana and Varela
40:17 - Henri Poincaré, the Three Body Problem
42:22 - Humboldt
43:06 - Año Nuevo state park, Burney LeBoeuf, Elephant Seal study
43:33 - Occam’s razor
44:15 - Thom Hartmann, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight
45:14 - Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God
45:54 - Joanna Macy, Fritjof Capra + TGS Episode, John Seed
46:14 - James Lovelock, Rupert Sheldrake, Henri Bortoft, David Bohm, Margaret Colquhoun, David Suzuki, Karl-Henrik Robèrt, Amory Lovins
48:28 - John Manoocheri
49:20 - Ecovillage Design Education course, Brazil arm
50:32 - Tobias Luthe, ETH Zurich, Warm Data
50:57 - MOOC: Designing Resilient Regenerative Systems, Certificate of Advanced Studies in Regenerative Systems, Masters in Regenerative Systems
52:00 - Báyò Akómoláfé
53:00 - Local Peace Economies
53:41 - The Carbon Pulse
54:05 - John Todd, the New Alchemy Institute (now The Green Center)
54:25 - Youtube conversation with John Todd and Nancy Jack-Todd
56:18 - Ecovillages in Senegal
58:06 - Jeremy Lent, Deep Transformation Network
58:48 - Gathering of Tribes Portugal
1:00:30 - 2018 VMX article: The New Sustainability: Regeneration + Bayer/Monsanto and ‘regenerative agriculture’
1:01:55 - Trophic Cascades, Net Primary Productivity
1:02:20 - We use 100 million barrels of oil equivalents per day of ancient sunlight + humans are appropriating 35-40% of Net Primary Productivity
1:02:45 - Forests regenerate 2.6% of biomass per year
1:03:26 - Mycelial networks and agroecosystems, The syntropic effect and ecosystem resilience
1:05:09 - Bill Gates says we can’t solve the climate crisis by planting trees
1:05:40 - Gut health and ecosystem health
1:14:20 - Manish Jain
1:15:00 - Educational policy in Victorian England
1:15:40 - Nora Bateson
1:16:30 - The story of *Penelope
1:18:24 - Regenerative Communities Network, John Fullerton, Stuart Cowan, Buckminster Fuller Institute, Isabel Carlisle, The Bioregional Learning Centre
1:19:20 - Commonland Foundation, Willem Ferwerda, IUCN, Four Returns Framework
1:24:27 - Gary Snyder and Reinhabitation, Peter Berg and Raymond Dasmann on Reinhabitation
1:26:15 - Animism
1:29:04 - Herbert Girardet, World Future Council, Regenerative Cities
1:32:20 - Alnoor Ladha, Post Capitalist Philanthropy
1:32:46 - Degrowth
1:42:06 - Daniel Schmachtenberger + Bend Not Break series, TGS Episode on Artificial Intelligence, TGS Episode on Naive Progress
1:43:13 - Salutogenesis + more info, Aaron Antonovsky
1:43:33 - Paper: Design for Human and Planetary Health