The solutions-based design framework of permaculture exhibits transformative potential, working to holistically integrate natural and human systems toward a more just society. The term can be defined and applied in a breadth of ways, contributing to both strengths and weaknesses for its capacity toward change. To explore the tension of breadth as strength and weakness, we interviewed 25 prominent permaculture teachers and practitioners across the United States (US) regarding how they define permaculture as a concept and perceive the term’s utility. We find that permaculture casts a wide net that participants grapple with in their own work. They engaged in a negotiation process of how they associate or disassociate themselves with the term, recognizing that it can be both unifying and polarizing. Further, there was noted concern of permaculture’s failure to cite and acknowledge its rootedness in Indigenous knowledge, as well as distinguish itself from Indigenous alternatives. We contextualize these findings within the resounding call for a decolonization of modern ways of living and the science of sustainability, of which permaculture can be critically part of. We conclude with recommended best practices for how to continuously (re-)define permaculture in an embodied and dynamic way to work toward these goals.

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The absence of federal action on climate change in the United States has motivated local and regional efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the adoption of 100 percent net-renewable electricity resolutions. As of 2020, more than 150 cities, counties, and states have committed to such resolutions, with six U.S. cities having already achieved their goals. Implementing 100 percent net-renewable electricity resolutions, nevertheless, requires hurdling many significant obstacles, including developing and procuring sufficient renewable electricity resources from local utilities, navigating complex energy regulations, balancing costs with other community priorities, and convincing local citizens of the merits of renewable electricity and efficiency for their homes and businesses. Through semi-structured interviews with city, community, utility, and nongovernment environmental organization representatives and secondary sources, this article investigates how the cities of Salt Lake City, Park City, and Moab, the first three cities in Utah to enact 100 percent net-renewable electricity resolutions, have been tackling those challenges. It provides an overview of their most significant outcome thus far-passage of the Community Renewable Energy Act of 2019, which prompted several additional Utah cities and counties to also commit to 100 percent net-renewable electricity. Guided by frameworks of collaborative and transformational leadership, coupled with community-based social marketing, this article offers guideposts to help other communities chart a transition to 100 percent net-renewable electricity.