California Dreaming: Ecovillages for Climate, Human Health, and All the Rest

The Golden State, a leader in so many ways, also faces its own severe, interconnected crises: soaring rates of homelessness, significant mental illness, challenges with post-incarceration reintegration, complexities of undocumented immigration, devastating forest fires, agricultural land degradation, crushing college education costs, and an epidemic of diet-related chronic diseases.

As detailed in the first Grand Bargain Blog, roughly 4 million ecovillages, housing 4 billion ecovillagers who embrace healthy food, land stewardship, and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (UNSDGs) will be essential to prevent human extinction. This comprehensive approach will also dramatically improve public and nvironmental health and foster global peace. Anything less will be futile.

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The global vision presented in the first Grand Bargains blog may seem audacious, but the scale of our needs is unprecedented. Ecovillages would be win-win-win-win-win propositions—good for Californians and California:

• Climate activists seeking leadership roles in reversing global warming,
• High school graduates desiring work skills and debt-free college educations,
• Former felons leaving prisons seeking good jobs, caring communities, and suitable higher education.
• Immigrants eager to contribute their talents to community and humanity.
• Individuals facing health challenges (physical and/or mental, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, depression, anxiety) who seek an optimal environment for health restoration. California ecovillagers, focused on producing organic /regenerative food, fostering ecological and human health, and adhering to the UNSDGs, could sequester more

Carbon dioxide (CO2) in the ground than residents emit as greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) into the atmosphere.

Table 1 of my preprint on proposed ecovillages shows that in 2023 California had net GHGs of 375 megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e). However, by immediately transitioning to organic/regenerative agriculture, ranching, and forestry, California ecovillages could sequester up to 128.7 million tons of CO₂ equivalent per year by 2045. In line with the California Air Resources Board Assembly Bill 32 Scoping Plan and the California Climate Action Team, this collaborative approach could cut fossil fuel use by 85% by 2045. This would allow California to achieve a net sequestration of –60.6 MTCO2e. Without 10-20 million California ecovillages, GHG emissions reductions would be inadequate.
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The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) defines an ecovillage as “an intentional, traditional, or urban community that aims to become socially, culturally, ecologically, and economically sustainable using locally owned participatory processes.” Imagine California creating 20,000 such ecovillages to house 20 million Californians between 2026 and 2035. These communities would be dedicated to all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and tasked with tackling California's polycrises.

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The California model, like its global counterpart, presents a profound choice. Up to 20 million democratically self-governing ecovillagers, sharing ownership and committed to the UNSDGs while tackling deep-seated societal problems, will face immense challenges. However, demonstrating powerful, nature-based strategies for environmental, social, and economic restoration is crucial. To inspire the world, they must succeed.

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These models are not just about reducing GHG emissions; they are about fundamentally reimagining how we live, work, and relate to each other and the planet. They represent a "grand bargain" where solving social inequities, empowering marginalized communities, and restoring our environment go hand-in-hand. It’s a vision of a future where human ingenuity and a commitment to shared values allow both humanity and nature to thrive.

The question is, “can the explosive viral growth of climate activists’ ecovillages get started now?”