Peter Berg (bioregionalist)

Peter Stephen Berg (October 1, 1937 – July 28, 2011) was an environmental writer, best known as an advocate of the concept of bioregionalism. In the early 1960s, he was a member of the San Francisco Mime Troupe and the Diggers. He is the founder of the Planet Drum Foundation.[1]

Early life

Born in Jamaica, Queens, New York, Berg was raised in Florida where he first became interested in the environment as a child. He later studied psychology at the University of Florida and enlisted in the army. After his discharge, he moved back to New York.[2]

Bioregionalism

Peter Berg defined the concept of a bioregion as "a geographic area defined by natural characteristics, including watersheds, landforms, soils, geological qualities, native plants and animals, climate, and weather...[which] includes human beings as a species in the interplay of these natural characteristics."[3]

Death

After suffering from lung cancer, he died from pneumonia in 2011.[4]

Selected work
  • Envisioning Sustainability, Discovering Your Life-Place: A First Bioregional Workbook (2009)
  • A Green City Program for the San Francisco Bay Area and Beyond, Planet Drum Foundation/Bookpeople, ISBN 0914728717 (1987)
  • Figures of Regulation: Guides for Re-Balancing Society with the Biosphere (1982)
  • Reinhabiting a Separate Country: A Bioregional Anthology of Northern California (1978)

References
  1. Anderson, Clifton (2009). Saving the Environment: Five Creative Approaches. Futurist, 43 (2): 48-51. ISSN 0016-3317
  2. Glotfelty, C. (2014). Peter Berg: Living a Making. In C. Glotfelty & E. Quesnel (Eds.), The Biosphere and the Bioregion: Essential Writings of Peter Berg (pp. 228-247). Routledge. ISBN 1134504098.
  3. Ewert, Sara Dant (2002). Bioregional Politics: The Case for Place. Oregon Historical Quarterly, 103 (4): 439-451. (subscription required)
  4. Hurwitt, Robert (August 14, 2011). Peter Berg, activist and Diggers co-founder, dies. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 9, 2014.

Further reading
  • Alexander, D. (1996). Bioregionalism: The Need for a Firmer Theoretical Foundation. Trumpeter. 13 (3). ISSN 0832-6193
  • Carr, M. (2005). Bioregionalism and Civil Society: Democratic Challenges to Corporate Globalism. University of British Columbia Press. ISBN 0774809450.
  • Downton, Paul F. (2009). Ecopolis: Architecture and Cities for a Changing Climate. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 140208496X.
  • Lockyer, J.; James R. Veteto (2013). Environmental Anthropology Engaging Ecotopia: Bioregionalism, Permaculture, and Ecovillages. Berghahn Books. ISBN 0857458809.
  • Woo, E. (August 21, 2011). Peter Berg dies at 73; advocate for bioregionalism. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
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