Oregon Rural Action’s Annual Meeting: Making the Shift Building a Vibrant Local Economy Amidst the Broken Global Financial System La Grande, Oregon October 9, 2010

My Story From Wall Street to Grasslands and the Capital Institute “I once said greed was good… now it seems that greed is legal.” - Gordon Gekko

Bridging the gap between mainstream finance and the new economy movement.

the dilemma of compound growth UNSUSTAINABLE

Economics ignores laws of thermodynamics Anyone who thinks you can grow the economy forever on a finite planet is either a madman or an economist! - Kenneth Boulding

Symptom: financial crisis Problem: unsustainable economic system Sustained economic growth: oxymoron? The world is full…but nothing is changing. Planetary Boundaries

FACT If everyone were to live like Americans we would need 5 Earths

So what?

Financial Crisis crisis

Population Crisis World 6,826,859,514 CaOwK2yTk/S1600-R/worldpop_2009_lowerfertility.gif

Climate Crisis Hurricane Katrina, 2005

Water Crisis

Peak Soil In past 40 years, 30% of farmland has become unproductive

Peak Oil

Energy Crisis 48c5-b9a5-7d322cf1fccc/Image/caa79888d3200de8c9ed8dbfb0bfd8c4.jpg “Nothing has changed….oil and natural gas are essential to our way of life.” - Jack Gerard, American Petroleum Institute “Nothing has changed….oil and natural gas are essential to our way of life.” - Jack Gerard, American Petroleum Institute

So if we know the problems, why aren’t we changing?

Economic Efficiency Economy Finance Planet What’s wrong with this picture?

Sustainability Optimum Efficiency 100% 0% Resiliency Collapse of Financial System Source: Bernard Lietaer, 2008 Biosphere Economy Finance Sustainability in Complex Systems

In the wake of one of the World’s greatest economic crises, “sustainability” is unable to compete with mainstream perceptions of financial reform Public Opinion on Priority: Sustainability vs. Economic Growth sustainability economic growth Opinion on Priority GALLUP POLL environment-and-sustainability-how-conventional-wisdom- gets-way

Look where the money’s going: Climate Protecting Climate Damaging

Finance is the fuel source… what we feed GROWS

Reform Transform

Harnessing Capital. A world in which finance serves a just, resilient and sustainable economic system.

Driving capital upstream wPZzo/s1600/upstream.jpg

Building a Vibrant Local Economy taking action

”... production from local resources for local needs is the most rational way of economic life...” - E. F. Schumacher, Small Is Beautiful

Place based diverse economies: building resiliency Tribal? Portland Detroit Sustainability Optimum Efficiency 100% 0% Resiliency

“Economies of location often override and outdo economies of scale.” - Jane Jacobs, The Nature of Economies

Farmer’s Diner “increasing the economic vitality of local agrarian communities” Decreasing distance from farm to plate, increasing profit for local farmers

Grasslands, LLC: Holistic Management Restore ecological function, revitalize rural communities. Profitably.

“When you improve the quality of the land in an ecological sense, the profitability follows.” How to Save the Grasslands: Bring in More Cattle By JUDITH D. SCHWARTZ Tuesday, Sep. 07, 2010 Grasslands, LLC

Local CAN scale Founded in 1956 Philosophy: Co-operation | Participation | Social Responsibility | Innovation 4 Sectors: Finance, Industry, Distribution and Knowledge 85,000 people, 256 companies, 15 Billion Euros in turnover Basque Country, Spain

Local CAN scale “Import replacement” activity (Jane Jacobs) Employee-owned, for-profit companies: greenhouse produce, laundry service, solar energy Based locally, hire locally: permanent green jobs Workers earn a living wage, build equity as owners Circulate money within community - 5:1 multiplier Cleveland, OH

Local Community Capital

Complementary Currencies: building resiliency Thousands of examples, over 600 in Japan alone Numerous countries Highly diverse ecosystem Multiple “schools” of thought Sustain Optimum Efficiency 0% Resilien cy

Complementary Currencies: proven models WIR Bank Founded in 1934, Switzerland Response to stock market crash in 1929 The word for “we” in German > economic circle is also a community Has grown from 16 to 62,000 members Swiss Franc 1.6 Billion annual turnover

Complementary Currencies: time banks Building the Core Economy Time really is money Strengthening communities through reciprocity “We are all assets”

Complementary Currencies: emerging models BerkShares A local currency for Southern Berkshire region of Massachusetts (pop. 19,000) Defines a trading area, an economic footprint Distinguishes the local businesses Builds loyalty Encourages community self-reliance and wellbeing of community

“A good community, as we know, insures itself by trust, by good faith and good will, and by mutual help. A good community, in other words, is a good local economy.” -Wendell Berry

What is the purpose of capital?