Polk County Learns The Natural Step

Natural Step Taking Off
Jeff Peterson

The Natural Step, or TNS for short, is the title of a book published in 2004 by New Society Press. The name also represents a working definition of the word "sustainability" as it applies to community development. Based on the work of Swedish oncologist Dr. Karl-Henrik Robert, TNS describes a science-based systems framework for evaluating building and development practices.
The following four "system conditions" comprise the framework by which TNS practitioners measure sustainability:
1) In order for a society to be sustainable, nature's functions and diversity are not systematically subject to increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the earth's crust.
2) In order for a society to be sustainable, nature's functions and diversity are not systematically subject to increasing concentrations of substances produced by society.
3) In order for a society to be sustainable, nature's functions and diversity are not systematically impoverished by physical displacement, over-harvesting, or other forms of ecosystem manipulation.
4) In a sustainable society, people are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their needs.
For an better explanation of what these conditions mean in practice, I recommend the Oregon Natural Step Network's website. Or just Google "natural step framework" and check out any of the 16,000+ listings.

The premise upon which TNS rests is that society is entering a narrowing "funnel" in which constricting availability of natural resources is converging with expanding demand for those same resources. The phenomenon of "peak oil" (Google that, too!) is but one example of this trend. Without a fairly rapid transition to sustainable practices, we're all in for some very tough times as demand for resources overtakes their availability. Here's a graphic:

Graphic from The Sustainable Scale Project

Of course this graph depicts the desired outcome. Without serious innovation and creativity being brought to bear, the two lines could quite possibly intersect. If that happens, the consequences will be almost too painful to contemplate. But contemplate them we must if we're to have any chance of avoiding them. That's what The Natural Step is all about.

Polk County steps up to the challenge
The Wisconsin Green Party held its fall gathering in the Luck area last August and as part of their weekend activities offered a public presentation on The Natural Step. Featuring Jefferson County residents Greg David, Paul Moderacki and Beth Gehred as speakers, the event drew a large crowd to Cafe Wren to hear about ways in which TNS had taken root in another part of the state.
Above: Cafe Wren's meeting room is packed for 8/16/07 presentation on TNS

Many people signed up for more information at the August meeting, but it wasn't until Jan. 6 that local organizers were able to put together a formal "kickoff" event to launch TNS in the Luck area. In the meantime, quite independently from what was happening in the northern part of the county, folks in the Osceola area held their own kickoff on Dec. 13 with Dr. Kelly Cain of UW-River Falls as featured speaker.
The Luck area kickoff was keynoted by Ashland City Councillor Mary Rehwald and Washburn Mayor Irene Blakely and hosted by West Denmark Lutheran Church. Both Washburn and Ashland declared themselves "eco-municipalities" in 2005; Rehwald and Blakely reviewed the steps leading up to those decisions as well as some of the changes their respective cities have undergone as a result of having formally adopted The Natural Step framework.

Above: Ashland City Council Member Mary Rehwald's 1/6/08 presentation

Two weeks after Luck's kickoff event the City of St. Croix Falls sponsored its own Eco-Community Forum at the Festival Theater, again featuring Dr. Kelly Cain as keynoter. (Dr. Cain was recently named Director of UW-RF's St. Croix Institute for Sustainable Community Development.)

As mentioned, The Natural Step is a grassroots effort to effect changes in public policy. In its organization, it relies principally on the collective wisdom of everyday citizens who voluntarily come together in study circles to discuss the TNS framework as set forth in the book The Natural Step for Communities by Sarah James and Torbjorn Lahti. This exercise in local democracy is now underway throughout Polk County, with study circles either underway or about to start in Luck, St. Croix Falls, Amery, and Osceola. Each circle contains from eight to a dozen members who meet weekly for an eight-week course of study. Most groups meet in private homes and follow a study guide developed by a Madison group called Sustain Dane.


Above: One of the Luck area TNS study circles

Where do we go from here? That remains to be seen. Through their participation in study circles, many Polk County residents are beginning to realize how important the county's current comprehensive planning process really is and how vital it is that we all involve ourselves in that process -- preferably at the town, village or city level. Will Polk County become the state's next "eco-county"? It could happen!

It's still not too late to join some study circles. Otherwise, there are already plans being made for a second round starting in the spring. The following contact people can help you find a group to join: stock4u [at] centurytel [dot] net (St. Croix Falls); johnsont [at] frontiernet [dot] net (Osceola); kakolar [at] amerytel [dot] net (Amery); peterson [at] lakeland [dot] ws (Luck).
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