#096 Extra - A Deep-Dive into Regeneration
Part 2 of my conversation with global visionary Paul Hawken
This is a very special extra to episode 96 with Paul Hawken, the globally renowned environmentalist, author, entrepreneur and activist. I say extra, but it’s really a second part, a whole conversation in its own right. Some of the story behind the story. This is essentially the middle hour and a bit of our conversation, where we deep-dove into some of the keystone themes, if you like, of Regeneration - the themes that enable all the other themes. Or disable them, if absent or mis-placed. Some of this is based on what’s in the book, some on what I noted isn’t in it.
From the extraordinary Solutions page on the Regeneration website.
“But I’ll go mano a mano in terms of technology, because the technology that the Haggerty’s are dealing with, or Charlie’s dealing with, and other regenerative farmers, is more complex than any shiny object that’s coming out of Silicon Valley. And the perception and understanding of it is very very different than a mechanistic one.”
We pick up with a profound story Paul tells of an encounter he had with a Yupik woman from the Bering Strait region. This stemmed from where we spoke in the main episode of what gripped each of us most in Regeneration. We go on to delve into those keystone themes (mapped out below), before closing with some beautiful and revealing personal musings. Firstly, on how Paul approaches his days with Regeneration in mind. And then he offers us a rare glimpse ahead to his next book.
In case you want to hit up particular parts of our conversation, here’s a mapping of it (though the inter-weaving of each topic comes from listening in sequence):
1.40 - Meeting the Yupic woman
6.10 - The microbiome, water and rain-making (naturally!)
10.40 - The ‘emergent technology’ of regenerative farmers
14.40 – Finding common ground with the water story (and what about water credits?)
19.40 – Is the term ‘regeneration’ being co-opted?
21.10 – De-polarising the meat question
30.40 – Are ‘fake meat’ and lab-grown plants a solution, or another industrial ultra-processed ‘food-like substance’?
39.40 – De-commodification (of everything?)
47.40 – The catch-22 of transition – will the rapid construction of buildings, renewables etc. avert catastrophe, or inadvertently speed it up? (We need to build a New York City a month for 40 years?)
57.40 – “Only 5% of current offsets actually sequester carbon.” So if offsets don’t cut it, maybe onsets will? (starting with Paul’s biggest regret in Drawdown)
63.40 – So what are we aiming for? What’s renewable energy for? Essentially, what’s a regenerative economy look like? (And was there ever going to be more on this in the book?)
69.40 – A sense of Paul’s daily life with Regeneration in mind (including some of the ‘making of’ Regeneration)
72.40 – A rare glimpse into the next book.
This conversation was recorded on 30 September 2021 (Australian time), with thanks to the team at the Derby Media Aboriginal Corporation for use of the studio.
Get more:
To hear the rest of our conversation, and gain access to further links, tune into the main episode - Regeneration: Ending the climate crisis in one generation.
Music:
By Jeremiah Johnson.