Sustainable has been a word you’ve heard used by community planners in Western Wisconsin and around the state and country for quite some time now.
Eleven municipalities around the state, including La Crosse city and county in the western region, have declared themselves “eco-municipalities.” Groups like the Wisconsin chapter of the American Planners Association, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Economic Development Association (WEDA) and others have held seminars and conferences on sustainable approaches across the state.
Government officials and planners seem to have bought into the concept that to make development sustainable it makes sense to combine the environment, economic and societal elements of a community.
It also makes business sense. That’s the main thrust of Fred Schnook’s message, as the former Ashland-mayor-turned-consultant for Foth Infrastructure & Environment LLC., goes around the state. Schnook recently brought his message to Western Wisconsin.
“I came to the sustainable movement for economic reasons,” Schnook said at a recent presentation in Vernon County. “You can’t bring back the old economy, and a sustainable approach is very much part of the new economy.”
The “old economy” was structured in a linear fashion — based on mass production with specialists doing a specific task in an “assembly” line fashion. It produced goods at a relative low cost. It created jobs, but jobs that ultimately were destined to dwindle because of out-sourcing, or exportation overseas, or technology.
Communities that rely on old economy business are struggling, Schnook maintains. They cannot maintain long term growth.
The “new economy” requires more of a closed loop, creative model based on talented people; good paying positions, not just jobs; and “cool places” for recreation, education, etc. In this new economy, the public sector needs to help create an environment based on these entities. That environment in turn prompts the private sector to thrive and thus create long term business, which keeps the community healthy. Schnook emphasizes that this approach can retain current businesses, as well as attract new ones.
A sustainable approach means less reliance on fossil fuels and other high cost energy, less pollution and degradation of the environment, reduction of encroachment into nature, inclusion of as diverse a group of people as possible.
Schnook, who helped Ashland become the second “eco-municipality” in Wisconsin (Washburn was the first), bases his work on the Natural Step systems approach, which originated in Sweden.
The communities of Overtonea, Helsingborg and Kungsor in Sweden often are used as models for sustainable development throughout the world. Ashland, Washburn, La Crosse county and city and other Wisconsin municipalities are using modifications of the Natural Step approach in their work.
It does seem to indeed be a natural for Western Wisconsin. Recent controversies over a landfill site for coal ash, a large hog farm operation and potential pollution, development of the Mississippi River corridor, loss of longtime manufacturing businesses in several regional communities all smack of problems faced by those still operating within what Schnook calls the “old economy.”
The geography and terrain in many parts of the region make it an environmentally sensitive area, thus requiring business people and others to think about the long term impacts of their practices.
Farming remains a big part of the economy in much of Western Wisconsin and needs to follow sustainable approaches so it can remain strong.
Tourism is a natural for the region, which boasts some of the most beautiful areas of the state, yet intrusive, high impact tourism could be very harmful. Eco-tourism holds great potential for the region.
The St. Croix area and other pockets in the region face sprawl issues from the Twin Cities and elsewhere. Communities in such areas will not benefit if they become only “bedroom communities.“ They need to make sure that development creates business for the long term and does not harm the environment.
Some things must be kept in mind as the region moves forward on sustainable development. A coordinated, systems approach should give flexibility for each community to develop its own plans, after getting input from as wide a variety of people as possible. But, there also should be coordination and cooperation among communities because environmental concerns, transportation issues, etc. do not stop at the border of a village, city or county. For example, if La Crosse city and county develop sustainable practices, but are surrounded by communities that don’t, the effectiveness of those practices will be reduced.
Business people in the region need to become more aware of sustainable practices. They should become more involved in education, which provides the needed, skilled workforce. They need to make their operations as “green” as possible, because that will allow them to do business for generations.
Concrete projects and development have to come out of all this sustainable discussion and planning. If the discussion remains only theoretical, and does not result in grassroots projects and development, people will abandon it.
Finally, municipal planners, educators, business people and citizens in general need to work together and not go off in their own directions to pursue their own myopic, short-term interests alone. If they do the latter, a systems approach will inevitably break down.
