The Environmental Impact Of Sieben Linden Ecovillage

The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780367145644, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Environmental impact assessment is widely taught and researched, but rarely covers both lifestyle and building construction in a town or neighbourhood. This book provides a broad assessment of the environmental impact of the ecovillage Sieben Linden in Germany. The ecovillage was founded in 1997 and has a population of over one hundred people. This book shows how raising the awareness of individuals and adopting a consistent way of community living can be environmentally friendly. This applies both to everyday practices and the way the houses in the ecovillage are built. The tools used to measure the impact are Ecological Footprint and Carbon Footprint methodologies, making use of indicators such as Primary Energy Intensity and Global Warming Potential. Despite the difficulties encountered by using standardised methodologies, these research tools provide an overall assessment and have allowed comparisons with selected, similar cases and general values from statistic sources. This book will be of great use to professionals and scholars in the fields of environmental impact assessment, particularly at the town/district/city level, and of city and ecovillage management. It will particularly appeal to those engaged in a Sustainable Development Goal #11 perspective, as well as environmental policy makers at the local level.

A beautiful, full-color book showcasing 20 best practice designs from ecovillages around the world • Features well-established ecovillages such as Findhorn in Scotland or Auroville in India and newer initiatives such as Hua Tao in China • Highlights the unique features of each project and their solutions to the global social and environmental challenges that confront us • Includes more than 300 full-color photographs, maps, and diagrams In 2015, the United Nations introduced 17 sustainable development goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Aligning perfectly with the practices of ecovillages around the world, these initiatives show that ecovillages and sustainable communities are leading by example as we move into a future focused on partnership, environmental protection, prosperity, and peace for all life and the planet we live on. Offering a visual tribute to the work ecovillages do to alleviate climate change, social conflict, and environmental damage, including more than 300 full-color photographs, maps, and diagrams, this beautiful book highlights 20 best practice designs from ecovillages around the world to show how we can live lightly on the planet no matter where on earth we live, in all climate zones and cultures. It demonstrates how ecovillages have already achieved the climate goals all of us are now striving toward through practical lifestyle changes that promote peaceful and joyful coexistence both among people and between people and nature. Far from being only aesthetic choices, these changes give an increased quality of life, healthy homes, delicious organic food, playful interdependence, a new spiritual connection to our living planet, and much more. Through their regenerative, sustainable, and peace-promoting practices, ecovillages continue the culture of traditional village living in a modern way that addresses the critical challenges of our time. The book features the following 20 ecovillage projects: Hurdal Ecovillage and Hurdal Sustainable Valley, Norway; Svanholm, Denmark; Permatopia, Denmark; Solheimar, Iceland; Lilleoru, Tallin, Estonia; Findhorn, Scotland; Sieben Linden, Germany; Tamera, Portugal; Damanhur, Italy; Torri Superiore, Italy; Kibbutz Lotan, Israel; Sekem, Egypt; Chololo, Tanzania; Tasman Ecovillage, Australia; Narara, Australia; Hua Tao Ecovillage, China; Auroville, India; Ecovillage at Ithaca, New York, USA; Huehuecoyotl, Mexico; Ceo do Mapia, Brazil.

Master's Thesis from the year 2021 in the subject Tourism - Miscellaneous, grade: Pass, Uppsala University, course: Sustainable Destination Development, language: English, abstract: This paper argues that ecovillages are places where students can learn hands-on techniques to reduce their climate-anxiety and conclude by suggesting that HEI should initiate cooperation with local ecovillages to improve the problem of climate-anxiety among students. Climate-anxiety is a growing mental health issue among the public and particularly among students in sustainability-related fields in Higher Education Institutions (HEI). The research field of climate-anxiety has emerged after 2007, and it also relates to other increasingly relevant mental health responses to environmental destruction, such as eco-anxiety. This study examines how HEI can better address climate-anxiety. Specifically, it investigates whether non-formal actors like ecovillages can help students to cope with climate-anxiety. In this context, climate-anxiety is party attributed to the way HEI teach about it. While education on climate change overly addresses cognitive learning, social and emotional learning are neglected. Ecovillages are increasingly recognising their role in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and, through novel pedagogical approaches, can balance the shortcomings of HEI. Exploring the capacity of ecovillages for ESD and coping with climate-anxiety, the study includes five case studies of distinct ecovillages on three continents. The aim is on how educational tourism to ecovillages can help students to cope with climate-anxiety. This study found that lecturers do not sufficiently address climate-anxiety in HEI or Student Mental Health Services (SMHS) in Sweden.

Can contemporary democratic governments tackle climate crisis? Some argue that democracy has to be a central part of a strategy to deal with climate change. Others argue that experience shows it not to be up to the challenge in the time frame available-that it will require a stronger hand, even a form of eco-authoritarianism. A question that does not lend itself to an easy assessment, this volume seeks to out and assess the competing answers. While the book supports the case for environmental democracy, it argues that establishing and sustaining democratic practices will be difficult during the global climate turmoil ahead, especially in the face of state of emergencies. This inquiry undertakes a search for an appropriate political-ecological strategy for preserving a measure of democratic governance during hard times. Without ignoring the global dimensions of the crisis, the analysis finds an alternative path in the theory and practices participatory environmental governance embodied in a growing relocalization movement, and global eco-localism generally. Although such movements largely operate under the radar of the social sciences, the media and the political realm generally, these vibrant socio-ecological movements not only speak to the crisis ahead, but are already well established and thriving on the ground, including ecovillages, eco-communes, eco-neighborhoods, and local transition initiatives. With the help of these ideas and projects, the task is to influence the discourse of environmental political theory in ways that can be of assistance to those who will face climate crisis in its full magnitude.

In a world of dwindling natural resources and mounting environmental crisis, who is devising ways of living that will work for the long haul? And how can we, as individuals, make a difference? To answer these fundamental questions, Professor Karen Litfin embarked upon a journey to many of the world’s ecovillagesÑintentional communities at the cutting-edge of sustainable living. From rural to urban, high tech to low tech, spiritual to secular, she discovered an under-the-radar global movement making positive and radical changes from the ground up. In this inspiring and insightful book, Karen Litfin shares her unique experience of these experiments in sustainable living through four broad windows - ecology, economics, community, and consciousness - or E2C2. Whether we live in an ecovillage or a city, she contends, we must incorporate these four key elements if we wish to harmonize our lives with our home planet. Not only is another world possible, it is already being born in small pockets the world over. These micro-societies, however, are small and time is short. Fortunately - as Litfin persuasively argues - their successes can be applied to existing social structures, from the local to the global scale, providing sustainable ways of living for generations to come. You can learn more about Karen's experiences on the Ecovillages website: http://ecovillagebook.org/

How to research, visit, evaluate, and join the ecovillage or sustainable community of your dreams. Finding community is as critical as obtaining food and shelter, since the need to belong is what makes us human. The isolation and loneliness of modern life have led many people to search for deeper connection, which has resulted in a renewed interest in intentional communities. These intentional communities or ecovillages are an appealing choice for like-minded people who seek to create a family-oriented and ecologically sustainable lifestyle—a lifestyle they are unlikely to find anywhere else. However, the notion of an intentional community can still be a tremendous leap for some—deterred perhaps by a misguided vision of eking out a hardscrabble existence with little reward. In fact, successful ecovillages thrive because of the combined skills and resources of their members. Finding Community presents a thorough overview of ecovillages and intentional communities and offers solid advice on how to research thoroughly, visit thoughtfully, evaluate intelligently, and join gracefully. Useful considerations include: Important questions to ask (of members and of yourself) Signs of a healthy (and not-so-healthy) community Cost of joining (and staying) Common blunders to avoid Finding Community provides intriguing possibilities to readers who are seeking a more cooperative, sustainable, and meaningful life. Diana Leafe Christian is the author of Creating a Life Together and editor of Communities magazine. She lives at Earthhaven Ecovillage in North Carolina.

The environmentalist's bible' Times Higher Education Supplement. 'Essential reading' The Good Book Guide. 'The most comprehensive, up-to-date, and accessible summaries ... on the global environment' E. O. Wilson, Pulitzer Prize winner. Celebrating its 25th year of publication, State of the World 2008 suggests that something huge and even revolutionary is struggling to be born as policymakers, business leaders and others around the globe create the architecture of sustainable economies. Featuring chapters on renewable energy, innovations in clean production, commons resources, trade policy, finance for sustainability, new economic yardsticks, and many other topics, State of the World 2008 is the first global-level publication to showcase a wide range of diverse innovations and to demonstrate their near-term potential to put whole societies on a sustainable path. Published annually in 28 languages, State of the World is relied upon by national governments, UN agencies, development workers and law-makers for its authoritative and up-to-the-minute analysis and information. It is essential for anyone concerned with building a positive, global future.