The Biosphere and the Bioregion: Essential Writings of Peter Berg (Routledge Environmental Humanities)

"Bioregionalism asks us to reimagine ourselves and the places where we live in ecological terms and to harmonize human activities with the natural systems that sustain life. As one of the originators of the concept of bioregionalism, Peter Berg (1937-2011) is a founding figure of contemporary environmental thought. The Biosphere and the Bioregion: Essential Writings of Peter Berg introduces readers to the biospheric vision and post-environmental genius of Berg. From books and essays to published interviews, this selection of writings represents Berg's bioregional vision and its global, local, urban, and rural applications. The Biosphere and the Bioregion provides a highly accessible introduction to bioregional philosophy, making Berg's paradigm available as a guiding vision and practical "greenprint" for the twenty-first century. This valuable compilation lays the groundwork for future research by offering the first-ever comprehensive bibliography of Berg's publications and should be of interest to students and scholars in the inter-disciplinary fields of environmental humanities, environment and sustainability studies, as well as political ecology, environmental sociology and anthropology"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Title 6 Copyright 7 Dedication 8 CONTENTS 10 Celestial soulstice 2010 16 Preface: meeting Peter Berg 18 Acknowledgments 24 Editorial policies 26 Contributors 28 Introduction 32 Peter Berg: living a making 43 Part 1 Peter Berg’s bioregional vision 64 Reinhabiting California 66 Globalists versus planetarians An interview of Peter Berg by Michael Helm 72 Figures of regulation: guides for re-balancing society with the biosphere 83 A river runs through it 89 Bioregions 92 The post-environmentalist directions of bioregionalism 95 Learning to partner with a life-place 101 Part 2 Transforming cities from gray to green 108 A white paper on San Francisco’s future and the natural interdependence of Pacific people 110 Green city 116 Bioregional and wild! An interview of Peter Berg by The New Catalyst 123 A metamorphosis for cities: from gray to green 129 A San Francisco native plant sidewalk garden 135 City people An interview of Peter Berg by Derrick Jensen 139 San Francisco Bioregional Chant 148 Proclamation City and County of San Francisco 150 Photo gallery 152 Part 3 Bioregional travels around the Pacific Rim 158 Walking into the ring of fire 160 Guard Fox Watch takes on the Olympics 166 Bioregionalism comes to Japan An interview of Peter Berg by Richard Evanoff 169 China’s epic conflict of capacities 180 Colors are the deeds of light 183 Finding the future in the mud 187 Instructions from mountains and an island 190 Part 4 Ecological restoration in Ecuador 194 Conservation, preservation and restoration in Ecuador 196 How to biosphere 202 Lagalou: to get things done with feeling 205 The core of eco-tourism 211 “Rights of nature” in new Ecuador constitution, 2008 213 Out of the blue, even more green: unexpected benefits of restoring biodiversity 215 The autonomous decentralized municipal government of Cantón Sucre on behalf of Cantón Sucre, makes record of its unending gratitude 218 Part 5 Tributes 220 Peter Berg—an appreciation 222 Peter Berg and Judy Goldhaft and the Reinhabitory Theater 225 Elegy for Peter Berg 228 Remembering Peter 229 Diamond thunderbolt, bioregions of ecological truth: homage to Peter Berg 232 Bioregionalism and river of words 237 Peter Berg: an excellent lizard man 241 Remembering Peter Berg 243 Family 245 Many happy returns, right? 247 In memory of Peter Berg 248 Howling with Peter Berg, a tribute 251 Forging a new path: evolution of ecological restoration in Bahía de Caráquez 254 Peter Berg 257 The mechanics of reinhabitation: remembering Peter Berg along the bioregional trail 259 Peter Berg, counterculture, and the bioregional impulse 279 Peter among the Diggers 281 In transpacific fraternity: Peter Berg’s planet drumming in Japan 283 Peter Berg, regional planner 287 Seeing deep: a remembrance of Peter Berg 291 Appendix: Strategies for reinhabiting the northern California bioregion 294 Permissions 302 Peter Berg bibliography 304 Index 318 "As one of the originators of the concept of bioregionalism, Peter Berg (1937-2011) is a founding figure of contemporary environmental thought. As arguably the nation's first post-environmentalist, in the 1970s Berg perceived the negative direction the environmental movement was taking and began to articulate a more positive and pro-active alternative, centred on the concept of bioregions. This book introduces readers to the biospheric vision and post-environmental genius of Berg, with original tributes from sixteen prominent writers and thinkers, whose reflections illuminate facets of Berg's continuing importance and offer fresh angles on bioregionalism"