pure convience

Water is a some thing the world will need forever. Sustainable use of water is key for the future. I have been doing lots of reading and research on the change of use of the water. It has always been that 80% of the water in the US has been for agriculture. The issue become what is needed to be produce that is water intensive. An example of this is the tar sands in Canada it would only be possible to get the oil for it with out water. The logic of using something as important as water on extracting oil. The documentary liquid assets hit a lot of important points http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu0S3tp66Rg&feature=channel . There is nothing to switch to when there is no more water. People all over the world have been looking to water as an income source but finding that no amount of water in the world can be equal to a water supply. With more and more people going with out water it will be interesting to see what will be the optimum path to a global solution. If it will be government policy or capitalistic market policy, only time will tell.

ArborSculpture, A Primer: An Alternative to Milled Lumer

I had a Tough time getting the formatting to work right in Blogger. Here is an embedded frame; And if that doesn't work a direct link to the Blog Post.

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1jSH4_BqDlNXiPv7kNNf0dpmEUIakDyhlN-QV_31EItg

Green Guide

David Suzuki is a Vancouver, Canada native and attended Amherst College in Massachusetts receiving his B.A. and received his Ph.D from the University of Chicago in Zoology. He has created the David Suzuki foundation in which he states they work with the government, businesses, and individuals alike to conserve the environment. 

“Our mission is to protect the diversity of nature and our quality of life, now and for the future.” Suzuki states on his website that Canada is doing everything they can to remain on the path of avoiding dangerous climate change and is also taking the right steps to create a safe level of greenhouse gas emissions. One of the top priorities at his foundation is the issues of climate change, something in which Suzuki is very passionate about and has created controversy when giving speeches, encouraging people to find a way to prove what certain leaders are doing to harm the environment is illegal and sending them to jail. 

The foundation also promotes outdoor learning and encourages people, especially the younger generation, to learn what it is to live healthy and embrace outdoor living. On his website, Suzuki also offers tips of how to live healthier and what everyone can do to make informed decisions to decrease their environmental footprint. Among the website are tips to even eat sustainable seafood: “Eat locally caught or farmed seafood that shows up on the green or yellow lists on the seafood guides. This helps reduce the amount of energy used to provide seafood to your plate.” 

Suzuki also talks of illegal acts such as dumping mine tailings into freshwater to spread the word of how to maintain nature. A lot of his focus is on the environment and how to bring communities closer to their natural habitats. He also encourages people to take action for smarter regulation of chemicals in cosmetics. Although its becoming a trend to advertise natural ingredients in food, the topic of chemicals in cosmetics is something not mentioned as often. Overall, Suzuki’s foundation provides tips to live more sustainably and the importance of everyone becoming involved.

Sustainable Transportation

The movement of people and their possessions from one place to another has always left its environmental footprints on the land, but, as we learned, the modernization and mechanization of transportation had much grander effects on the land than any seemingly ancient transportation methods ever did. As David Suzuki points out in his Green Guide, America and Canada currently boast the largest transportation footprints. With more cars than drivers in the U.S., a 6-ton carbon dioxide emission quota per person on average in both Canada and the U.S., and a looming environmental problem that’s largely anthropogenic, it’s clear that our present-day transportation habits and patterns are causing us more harm than convenience.

When the awareness of our detrimental transportation habits is met with our desire to continue living lives filled with things, and travels, we create a transportation compromise. There’s a lot going on right now regarding sustainable transport, which, by definition, is any kind of transportation that produces a low impact on the environment or is attempting to progressively decrease it’s impact on the environment. Examples of sustainable transportation obviously include the basics, like walking, running, cycling, rollerblading, paddling, or skateboarding (a personal favorite). Other methods include public and mass transit, as well as transit-oriented development, which seeks to encourage and develop more ecologically friendly cities based on mixed-use residential and commercial designs with a transit station at the center. Environmentally friendly vehicles, or green vehicles, have experienced an outburst in popularity recently, which is good news; these cars, whether electric, hybrid, hydrogen powered, solar powered, biodiesel powered, or fuel cell powered, all produce significantly less harmful impacts to the environment than traditional vehicles.

Other methods of sustainable transport include, as mentioned by Suzuki, “better planning ... car sharing, carpooling, home delivery of groceries, videoconferencing, and telecommuting.” Suzuki also recommends buying the most fuel-efficient vehicle possible within your means, improving - and lessening - your driving habits, and switching to cleaner fuels. I especially took Through a bit of research, I’ve also discovered that there are numerous organizations dedicated to assisting people in the planning and execution of a sustainable travel experience, also known as sustainable tourism or eco-tourism. Though not exactly a method of transportation, the sustainable building and upkeep of the infrastructures that propel and connect our transportation systems is also prevalent in modern discussions. Such sustainable building and planning can help to ensure a more seamless, space-saving, waste-erasing and efficient way to move from point A to point B.

Food Footprint

After reading David Suzuki's urgings on how and what we should try to eat on a day to day basis I have been trying to become more aware of my food choices. In the three weeks leading up to Thanksgiving break I almost entirely eliminated meat from my diet. This was a huge change for me considering I normally eat some meat four or five times a week. When I read that "raising 1 kg of beef generated the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 150 miles" I decided to try to lay off of meat for a while.

With no money going towards meat I was able to spend the little bit extra on organically and locally grown produce. Additionally the only meat I did eat over those weeks was some non corn fed, eco raised salmon and a locally raised, grass fed beef meatball. I also cut back on the amount of eggs I used but kept the amount of milk and cheese the same. I felt healthy eating predominantly vegetables and fruits and I felt good knowing I was at least trying to reduce my "ecological footprint from eating by up to 90%."

While this was an interesting experiment for myself, it was also frustrating. I wanted to buy only local organic produce but with the difference in price coupled with my rent and electric bills I couldn't always do that. Had i been buying more meat and stuck to only humanely and organically raised products the price increase would have been even steeper. It is deflating to someone trying to become a more thoughtful eater, as well as urge others to do the same, when finances come into play as a limiting factor. I found the best prices on organic produce to be at farmer's markets and feel that in order for there to be a larger movement in reducing our food footprint there has to be a push to continue the expansion of supporting more and more local agriculture through markets and CSA's to eventually lower the price of good food so that it is obtainable by the masses.

-Christian-

Diversity is Key

When reading part 5 of Cradle to Cradle one thing really came to mind was diversity in food.  Not just the food itself, but its genetics.  Its easy to get many different food items at any of our local food markets, but with all the genetically engineered food out there i fear that diversity of food plant life is being manipulated too much.  When we watched the Film in class about food, one thing that struck me as very interesting is that Monsanto has patented genetics, and seed stock, and that their seed stock that is being legitimately grown by farmers and is also pollinating other farmers crops that do not buy these genetics.  I feel as though our food crop is getting "dumbed" down by such practices of patenting.  I sincerely hope that all of our food stock isn't leaning toward this trend.  We need different genetics in out food stocks to keep the plant species healthy and nutritious.  Mixing genetics is what helps plants evolve to be strong and viable.  If we are kept eating one type of corn with one type of genetic make up, I fear not only for us but for the plant itself.  With any type of breeding  project, whether plant of animal there is always the possibility of working yourself into a corner, and that corner usually comes with inbreeding.  If we keep inbreeding these specimens without out-crossing them, there runs a high risk for sterility.  And if farmers are getting forced to grow one type of seed, where is the diversity in that.  I understand that breeding and some inbreeding needs to happen to stabilize certain genetics, but if out crossing never happens i feel like we are heading towards a heap of trouble.  I am grateful though for the seed bank tucked away in the arctic that holds many of the worlds viable seeds in case we as humans get our selves in trouble, atleast we have that to fall back on.

side-note: my spell check has Monsanto in its word bank.........creepy

The Truth of Thanksgiving

In the spirit of thanks giving I think it’s important to explore its history. In 1492 Christopher Columbus first landed in the Bahamas and encountered Native Americans. He immediately referred to them as an inferior race and wrote "They all go around as naked as their mothers bore them; and also the women.” He also said that "they could easily be commanded and made to work, to sow and to do whatever might be needed, to build towns and be taught to wear clothes and adopt our ways." He imprisoned thousands of Native Americans, he raped their women murdered their children and enslaved their men. The Pilgrims didn’t invent Thanksgiving.

When the Mayflower arrived on Plymouth Rock, they had only one slave left that had survived small pox and his name was Squanto. Squanto taught the pilgrims to grow corn and fish, he also helped them create a peace treaty with the Wampanoag tribe that resided on the land. The Native Americans in that part of the country already had a rich tradition of marking the fall harvest with a major fiesta. After the puritans first harvest they stole the Native Americans tradition and held a feast of their own to celebrate. At which the Puritans gave the Indians gift baskets, infected with small pox beginning the plague. After seeing the thousands of dead natives that the plague killed. The newly appointed Governor of Massachusetts John Winthrop, declared a day of thanks giving. Thus thanking god for killing over 700 savage, Native American, Men, Women and children.

King James of England, decades later called the deaths of millions of Native Americans "this wonderful plague." He thanked God for sending it. The puritans came by the thousands to claim land that the Natives weren’t even claiming as theirs. They said the land belonged to the earth and the pilgrims felt they were doing the natives a favor by killing them and abolishing this idea.

Major revisions to our history books, make heroes out of murderers. Our nation thinks of turkey As a Hallmark façade, in the same category as Santa and the Easter Bunny. The Native Americans invented holistic medicine, crop burning for fertilization and lived a life without pollution. This scared us, they didn’t believe in our God, they had rituals we couldn’t understand and so we killed them or colonized them and made them conform to our ways. Now most Indian reservations, are fueled by casinos and revenue from drugs.

We began as caveman living as nomads off nothing, developed technology and with it came power and greed. Now we have almost made extinct the people that know how to utilize best, our earth resources, with out damage to the Mother Earth. We don’t think about throwing trash on the ground or the truth behind thanksgiving anymore because it’s easy. We leave lights on and drive cars out of convenience because we cant see the bigger picture anymore. We have let the fascist puritan’s beliefs multiply and divide into the existence that is our reality today. I for one am going to give thanks on this thanks giving for those who have been forgotten but genuinely believed the earth was a sanctuary to be worshiped and protected and died because of those beliefs.

Tara Beach

Eating Local

I think eating local is the first step to ending the industrial food market. Eating local would help the farmers in your area and by buying local you help stop funding major corporations which are putting pressure on local Farmers to lower their prices to conform to the cheap price larger companies offer. Also I would make a bet that Local produce taste much better than then food shipped from a ways away. From 1994 to 2004 Farmers markets have doubled because of people’s dissatisfaction with industrial food corporations. These corporations are shipping food thousands of miles away to be sold covered in pesticides and preservatives to keep the food fresh on the truck or plane ride to the destination. Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon, two writes from Vancouver, B.C., lived for a full year on a”100-Mile diet” eating nothing grown, raised, or processed beyond that self-imposed geographic limit. Although they encountered some vexing challenges along the way (e.g., no wheat, no sugar, no salt), they eat an imaginative and healthy diet. Over the course of the year Alisa and J.B. befriended local farmers and fisherman. Also the two became intimately connected to the geography, climate, and environmental challenges of the North West. I think that everyone should give a go at the “100-Mile diet” you’re not only keeping yourself healthier by not ingesting so many preservatives, but also your keeping your money local and not fueling major food corporations. If you make an exception of wheat, sugar, and salt I think the “100-mile diet” would be much easier. There are farmers markets popping up everywhere. Find out when and where one is and go check it out.

Austin Wright

The UK and India Working Together

The United Kingdom and India have been collaborating together on a path towards a low carbon future. The two countries want to work together to create a plan for India, with heavy investments from the UK, to be on the forefront of a clean energy based economy.

The discussion is led by the UK-India Business Leaders Climate Group (BLCG). Companies from both countries have been contributing in the conversation and the creation of a report. The wind energy mogul, Suzlon, has been a contributor, as well as, HSBC Bank. David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the UK, believes that this low-carbon path for India could create jobs, growth and environmental protection for the ever expanding country.

The BLCG advocates for the beginning of joint projects that demonstrate low-carbon technology. They also want to work together on joint research and development projects. The BLCG is also working to remove barriers of investments on clean energy and finding innovative financing mechanisms.

This idea is not a solution for India by any means. India is the fastest growing nation in the world, expanding at approximately 9% population per year. They are also in the front of the industry and business world. This makes it necessary for India to lead the way to finding a solution for clean energy. With the financial aid from the UK, and cooperation of the businesses in both countries, perhaps a balanced solution can be found.

Conservation International Conference

A Convention of Biological Diversity was recently held in Japan. Many representatives from different countries attended the conversation, though the United States did not attend. The purpose of the conference was to set up a global conservation plan for the next ten years. The collaboration of representatives concerned by this issue are looking for remedies to the increasing problem of the loss of biodiversity in ecosystems.

Biodiversity is the foundation to life on this planet. A healthy and balanced ecosystem provides humans with the resources needed for survival on this planet. It provides clean water and air, prosperous insects for the pollination of crops, healthy soil, and many sources of pharmaceuticals that are so important in sustaining healthy populations around the world. Biodiversity is currently in crisis, with the current rate of species extinction at more than 1000X the rate expected. This is in turn causing problems within the ecosystem and effecting the human population. Currently, more than 1 billion people do not have access to clean water and approximately 2.6 billion people are living without proper sanitation. This problem is only going to escalate as the human population increases. Within 30 years there is expected to be 3 billion more people relying on the earth's resources. This will mean that the food output and the fresh water availability will need to double, only further pressing the natural resources.

The conference in Japan stimulated a lot of conversation on the topic of the sustainable use of the earth's resources and how to conserve what there is. The main solution from the conference is to conserve and protect certain areas and habitats from being destroyed. This idea will curve the rate of biodiversity loss and create a safe, protected area for ecosystems to prosper. It was decided that Governments around the world would need to pass laws to protect 25% of land area and 15% of ocean area.

Though the United States claims to be the super power of the world, the focus of the American Government has not been on how to protect and conserve the natural resources of the world. An initiative was started during the Bill Clinton Presidency called the Convention of Biodiversity. This initiative has not been funded or pursued by the current administrations and continues unused.

The Japanese Government has begun an initiative called "Life in Harmony". The Government has budgeted 2 billions dollars and will assist other nations who need aid for the research of conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. This issue is seen as one of the most important to the Japanese Government, thus them holding the conference, and they are willing to help others financially to help with this important issue.

This conference brought together many nations of the world that are concerned by the issue of the sustainability of the earth's natural resources and the biodiversity within ecosystems. With nations working together for the benefit of the earth, solutions are more likely to be found to slow the extinctions of crucial species and conserve the resources that are so important to us as humans.

"Think of the concept of biodiversity as the very fabric of life on earth and each species as a thread. How many threads can we lose before the fabric is in tatters?"

Das Passivhaus

The term passive house (Passivhaus in German) refers to the rigorous, voluntary, Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency in a building, reducing its ecological footprint. It requires the creation of extremely well-insulated, airtight building envelopes and the controlling of other energy uses in the house such as water heating, appliances and lighting.

The Passivhaus movement started in Germany in the early 1990s. According to performance standards set by the Passivhaus Institute in Germany, the building can’t consume more than 15 kilowatt-hours per square meter in heating energy per year (equivalent to 4746 BTU per square foot per year). This typically requires that the wall, roof and floor insulation must be between R40 and R60. The building can’t leak more air than 0.6 times the house volume per hour. An energy recovery ventilator provides a constant, balanced fresh air supply. Basically, if a house fulfills all the Passivhaus requirements, the goal is that fuel costs will be zero and it doesn’t need a furnace anymore.

Although Passivhaus standards are difficult to achieve, I think that setting the bar purposely high is a good thing. So far, setting firm targets for reducing energy standards and switching to renewable energy sources has moved Europe onto the forefront of renewable energy technologies. Most of the innovations today come from Europe, and EU countries are slowly but steadily moving towards fossil fuel independence. The high passive house standards will also most likely act as incentives for builders and architects to reach those standards or even come up with a mainstream solution for a zero-energy house.

As of August 2010, there were approximately 25,000 certified passive houses in Europe, while in the United States there were only 13. As with so many other green innovations and leading-edge building designs as well as with the widespread use of renewable energy, the question is why is the US lagging so far behind? I think you can guess the answer(s) to that. For now, let’s just acknowledge that the technology is here and ready to use. We shouldn’t stop and be satisfied with LEED certifications because we can do better.

Energy Efficiency

In a time when our current energy policies are becoming more inefficient and expensive, it's beneficial to have people such as Amory Lovins active in promoting the use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency. Lovins has been working with trying to spread the importance of renewable energy for years and has written many books about it as well as actively participated in trying to contribute to the movement. 

One of his books, "Winning the oil endgame", he talks of substituting liquids made from biomass or wastes for petroleum fuels. He also talks of substituting natural gas for oil in uses where they are interchangeable, for example, furnaces or boilers. Lovins believes that the generation of energy should be done always at or near the site where the energy is actually used. 

Soft energy paths are the route we should be taking when trying to use renewable energies. Soft energy paths are energy conserving and involve efficient energy use as well as diverse and renewable energy sources. These soft energy paths are based on solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal, etc. One of Lovins biggest concerns is the danger of committing to nuclear energy to meet societies energy needs. Amory Lovins also started the "Negawatt Revolution". Negawatt is a unit in watts in which watts of energy are saved, the opposite of a watt. He believes that people don't want kilowatt hours of electricity, they want to keep things cold or have hot showers, therefore saving energy becomes more efficient. In an interview with Charlie Rose, he uses this similar idea. He talks of digging for "negabarrels" of oil. These negabarrels are the opposite of digging for oil and can be done in major cities. He points out that by using "negabarrels of oil" (saving oil), you can save more oil than Saudi Arabia can produce.

Collecting Data and Using It,

  In Donelle H.Meadows Book "Thinking in Systems" on page 89 she says " When systems thinker encounters a problem, the  first thing  he or she does is look for data, time graphs, the history of the system.  That's because long term behavior provides clues to the underlying system structure. And the structure is the key to understanding not just what is happening, but why."

  To me this means, in order to figure out why something is going well or why something is going wrong we really need to look at all the facts.  And furthermore, it makes me question why even sometimes with the positive facts out weighing the negative facts we still seem to ignore certain systems that work.  The one system that we choose to ignore in America that has so much potential is Hemp Production.  I do not understand how we can turn our backs as a nation on something that can clothe, feed, shelter, and so much more.

     Lets get one thing straight, Hemp is not Marijuana, Hemp has no "Drug" properties.  It simply cannot intoxicate a human.  But what it can do has its own power and value.  Hemp seed can be made into a food protein in many forms.  Hemp fiber can make strong durable clothes, clothes that will last three times longer than cotton.  It takes one acre of Hemp 120 days to produce as much usable fiber as 3-4 acres of trees can produce in 7-8 years.  Hemp in the last few years has been made into a concrete type material, that homes can be made from.  And Hemp oil can be used to run cars.  To grow hemp you just need water and sun, it is usually pest resistant so no pesticides need to be used.  It is such an amazing plant with so much potential yet we can not grow it in the US, just import it, which drives up the cost to work with or buy, even though it is only a "weed".  It is a "system" that has worked for 1000's of years, it has founded countries, help discover new lands, and its future is wide open, as long as we let it in.
 

Biomimicry

Biomimicry

Humans are infants in the grand scheme of life.  Our biological elders have been here on earth much longer than we have, and compared to them, we still have everything to learn about sustainability.  –Janine Benyus

*We are a biological organism which means that we are nature.  So not to be confused, when Janine Benyus refers to nature, she means more than human

*Organisms have done everything we humans want to do without guzzling fossil fuels, polluting the planet, or mortgaging their future.

Bacteria arrived 3.8 billion years ago, since then life has learned to fly, circumnavigate the globe, live at the top of mountains, in the bottom of the ocean, light up at night, make miracle materials like skin, horns, hair, and brains.

The wood frog can freeze solid in winter and hop away unharmed in spring, a garden snail builds its own highway of slime, a rhino’s horn heals when cracked, even though it has no living organisms.  These are all miracles of nature.  A rhino did not go to school and learn to heal his horn, a frog didn’t have to learn how to freeze, and a snail does not have to learn how to produce slime.  All of these come natural.  Humans have different types of natural miracles that we do without thinking about that makes us able to survive.  We breathe without thinking about it, when our eyes become dry we blink without thinking about it.  Cardiac and smooth muscle contraction occurs without conscious thought and is necessary for survival.  Examples are the contraction of the heart and peristalsis which pushes food through the digestive system.  A human has a natural brain capacity to do much more than this, and in turn, do more harm to the planet.  But we also have the capacity to do more good, it is up to us on how we use our brains, and to be more aware and learn more on how to live sustainable. 

          I believe the only reason some of humans behavior/actions are detrimental to a natural/sustainable life cycle, is that we humans have the capacity to learn and execute new ideas.  If a wood frog knew a way to survive through the winter without having to be frozen in one single spot, I’m sure it would.  If a gazelle knew how to use fire power, then it would do so on the cheetah before the cheetah killed him.  If other forms of life had the brain power humans have, then they wouldn’t settle for the natural strengths their creator gave them.  Humans have very complex brains that need stimulation.  Our creator gave us such brain capacity so that we can put it to use.  Our creator wants us to learn and create and build.  That is a natural part of life for humans.  I think for humans to go back to basics (caveman life) would be totally unnatural and a slap in the face to our creator.  We weren’t given this supreme potential so that we can sit on rocks and bang sticks together.  God wanted us to go to the moon, he wanted us to travel the world on airplanes, and he wanted us to do all of these things that we do.  That is why he wired us in a way that through time we were able to figure out how to do all of these things.

Deforestation

I think that it may, in some ways be hard to consider deforestation to have effects on sustainability because when people think of trees they don't realize all of the things trees are used for. Not only us as humans need them but hundreds of thousands of species rely on the rain forests for shelter and food, it is their home. What most people don't realize is that our forests have been rapidly decreasing due to to and misuse/abuse of Mother Earths trees. While reading about deforestation I came across a sweet book I was able to read online called Vital Forest Graphics. I thought this book offered some really good information about Deforestation in the past, present, and some things people can do to help rebuild our forests and stop deforestation. “Conserving forests has become a key weapon in the fight to reduce carbon emissions and slow climate change.” (VFG, 56)

Along with the conservation of many forests around the world, people are also doing their part to reestablish forested areas. “In 1999, China launched the ‘Grain for Green’ programme to promote recovery of vegetation cover, watershed management and poverty alleviation ... The programme now covers 25 provinces in over 1,600 counties (autonomous regions and municipalities) and involves 15 million households and 60 million farmers. From 1999 to 2002, 7.7 million hectares of land was converted into forest, including 3.72 million hectares of farm land turned forest and 3.98 million hectares of plantations established on barren hills.” This program is considered to be “the largest participatory community forest project in China, possibly in the world.” (VFG, 61) I believe that people are realizing how preserving our forests is becoming a key part of sustaining a healthy Earth and more people should be taking part in communities similar to the Grain for Green in China because these types of programs are the only chance this planet has for survival.

NHPR.org - Bacteria Power: Energy Minute

NHPR.org - Bacteria Power: Energy Minute

Bacteria Power: Energy Minute

By Jon Greenberg on Tuesday, May 19, 2009

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Hungry bacteria can cut energy bills by thousands of dollars a month.

I’m Jon Greenberg with this energy minute.

Treating wastewater takes a lot of power. But both the City of Nashua and Stonyfield Farm have struck a deal with bacteria to clean up their wastewater at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.

They both built massive tanks called digesters. Inside these tanks, water and bacteria mix it up, breaking down solids. Now, the bacteria won’t do their thing if it’s too cold. Fortunately, as they clean the water, they produce a gas. Lisa Drake at Stonyfield says you can use that gas to run heaters under the tank.

DRAKE: So it keeps them nice and warm and keeps them happy and productive and that’s basically how it works.

This approach has already paid for itself at Stonyfield and saves Nashua about a million dollars a year on its electric bills. In Germany, they built a more advanced system that drives a 250 kilowatt power plant. They run the digester, heat buildings and still have juice left over to feed back into the electric grid.

With this energy minute, I’m Jon Greenberg.

We are too many

Whenever my friends and I are discussing the fate of our planet (which happens quite often), we come to the same conclusion: one of the root problems our planet is facing is the population explosion of the human race. At the beginning of the 19^th century, world population was only about 1 billion. By 1960, it reached 3 billion and doubled to about 6 billion during the next four decades. Currently, the world population is about 6.7 billion. Although the growth rate declined since then due to a global increase in education levels and standards of living, we are expected to reach 10 billion by the year 2050.

American biologist and ecologist Paul Ehrlich has warned us over and over again about unlimited population growth and limited resources. He developed the formula I=PAT: Human Impact (I) on the environment equals the product of population (P), affluence (A: consumption per capita) and technology (T: environmental impact per unit of consumption), which is mentioned in Tom Wessel’s “The Myth of Progress” but most ecologists focus more on affluence and technology. Understandably, population control is a sensitive and very emotional issue that impacts not only economics and the environment but also sociology, philosophy, family, politics, ethnic and national pride, religion, sexuality, and individual rights.

Many western countries accuse the “under-developed and under-educated world” for the overpopulation. And, indeed, there is a strong inverse correlation between education and birthrate. The western countries all are seeing a decline in their population growth rate. But, according to Paul Ehrlich, “The key to understanding overpopulation is not population density but the numbers of people in an area relative to its resources and the capacity of the environment to sustain human activities. […] It also depends on how those people behave. When this is considered, an entirely different picture emerges: the main population problem is in wealthy countries.” Our behavior has caused the biggest environmental crisis this planet has ever seen and it is our responsibility to act first.

Marvelous Magic Mushrooms

Mcdonough and Braungart propose a radical shift in the way we think about design. An industrial revolution moving from a "cradle to grave" approach towards a more sustainable "cradle to cradle" method. Ideally following nature's "upcycle" wherein, the idea of waste is non existent, with all parts able to be re used in any form to benefit the whole.

A prime example of this idea of design being "a signal of intention" is evidenced by Far West Fungi in California. They are growing mushrooms in brick shaped containers, and after harvesting the edible mushrooms they dry the thin, white, rootlike material known as mycelium. After being dried the mycelium, which is already shaped and tightly packed due to the growing containers, takes on the form of a "super brick." These bricks are non toxic,fireproof, and mold and water resistant. They also trap heat better than traditional fiberglass insulation, and are stronger, pound for pound, than concrete. Not only is this a no waste building material, but to grow the mycelium corn husks are used as fungi food. This is important because neither humans nor other animals can eat the husks making them essentially a waste byproduct of corn. While this is a fledgling idea, and not yet a full scale production, other companies have begun marketing "mycoproducts." Ecovative, a New York based company, has a mycelium alternative to styrofoam used in packaging. After use the product can be put in your garden for compost.

Mcdonough and Braungart propose that we design "products and systems that celebrate an abundance of human creativity, culture and productivity" and leave an "ecological footprint to delight in." I think that the examples of Far West Fungi and Ecovative embody these design ideals and are great examples of a step in the right direction.

Cycles

Life as we know it is based around cycles.

The cycle starting with photosynthesis uses sun light as energy to convert CO2 +H2O into Sugars and O2. Then humans and other living organisms use Sugars and O2 in respiration to produce energy, H2O and CO2. When a tree falls in the forest bacteria and fungi are already on the scene and start feeding off and breaking down the plant material. Leaving the elements and nutrients in a simplified form, ready for the next young tree. All of these systems work together. They cannot be isolated from one another. They build together, like a storm gathering momentum as it progresses and constantly being affected by every aspect of anything. Resulting in the mind-numbing complexity and diversity of our universe.

Cycles are sustainable because there is no waste. The by-product of one step is the raw materials of the next step. The nestedness and synergy between cycles provides diversity and redundancy. Diversity and redundancy can be thought of as other small scale cycles that are constantly fixing the imbalances in the world. Acting as a sort of buffer zone from drastic change. Designing our world with the natural world as a model we can expect these same benefits. Imagine a world were whenever something has been used up it is transformed into something else. No waste.

Blog # 1 Complexity/Sustainability

Ben Daubenspeck

Blog #1

9/27/10

Complexity/Sustainability

When I hear “complex”, I think of something challenging such as math, getting a new couch into a 3^rd story apartment. But nature gives the word complex a whole new meaning. The word “challenging” flies out the window and “fascinating” takes it place. Tom Wessels talks of complex systems when referring to our bodies. He paints a vivid picture in my mind when he tells how, “during out development we witnessed one cell growing into more than 30 trillion cells”. Then he goes on to say how the 30 trillion cells consist of 254 different types. It baffles me when I think about this stuff because I am someone who likes to make sense of everything, and human existence and the complexity of nature makes no sense to me. I just chalk it all up as a miracle and don’t look very far into it because like I said, the complexity of our bodies, the environment, co-existence, etc, all of that leaves me speechless. Co-evolution is another extremely truly amazing part of life. Wessels says that each species’ plays its own ecological role, meaning that every single species plays an important role in the life cycle. Co-evolution is species adapting to one another, all with the common goal of survival. He mentions the bee and the spider, and how over time the spider has learned to avoid being caught, while the bee has learned tricks on how to lure the spider out in the day time.

With all of these miracles taking place in all forms of life, we are starting to realize our impact as human beings, and how every little thing we do plays a role in the size of our footprint. Over time we have established a very large footprint, and recently we have been concerning ourselves with way to reduce our impact on the earth due to our realizations of the damage we are causing. People are wanting to live more sustainable life styles, mostly meaning that they are looking for way to go green. More people are driving hybrid cars today than ever before, mainly for the reason of saving money on gas, but at the same time they are reducing the size of their foot print compared to someone driving a truck. Also you see more and more people recycling, and looking for “green” labels when shopping. I bought the energy efficient light bulbs for my apartment for example. They are more expensive, but they are proven to use less electricity, in turn lowering my electric bill. So as you can see, a lot of people go green just to save some money, but it is great because at the same time they are reducing their impact and living more sustainable lives, weather they realize it or not. Maybe they are just trying to maintain their budget, but I think that they are being more sustainable at the same time. Going green is typically more expensive at first, but in the long run it proves to be worth it both in the environment and in your wallet.

Green Revolution

I have always been concerned with being more sustainable, and after take Moving Toward Sustainability, I am even more aware of the impact that my everyday actions make on the Earth. I now have the knowledge to a sustainable individual and I feel like its my duty to inform people that are ignorant to the Green Movement about what they can do. It will take the help from everybody to fix what we have done to this Earth, and I think that transcendence is just as important as recycling and energy conservation. All throughout history there have been revolutions against the many atrocities that the government, as well as humans in general, have committed. The most recent in the United States being the protests against the Vietnam War, millions of American's came together to advocate for peace and love. The most pressing issue in the United States, and all over the world, is how much, and how rapidly, we are polluting the Earth. More and more people are realizing that action needs to be taken to fix this, but the people that really need to be convinced to go Green are our political leaders. As unfortunate as it is, politicians control everything, with out their support we can't get anywhere. This is why I propose a revolution. It takes the power of millions of people, with the same goal, to overcome great social obstacles such as this. For the whole Earth to become Green, we need the strength that comes from a outright revolution.

How can we stop obesity?

Obesity is a rising problem in America, it is actually called an epidemic. People have been asking why obesity is such a problem for a long time, but the real question we should be asking is how can we stop the problem in its tracks and keep people from becoming obese. No one wants to be obese, but so many people are. Why? There are so many reasons why people over eat, but I believe that the biggest reason is the fact that people are uneducated. Ignorance kills. Not only do people not receive enough information about healthy eating habits, but the information they do receive is wrong. We are constantly bombarded with commercials advocating for the unhealthiest of places, McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King. It is ingrained in people's minds that all these fatty foods are too tasty to resist, and that a Big Mac equals good food.

If we were to just eat foods that came purely from the Earth, nothing processed whatsoever and free of any additives, there would be no such thing as obesity. The Earth gave us an abundance of good food, everything we need to live and prosper. People used to eat just when they were hungry, just to survive. Now there is so much food available that people no longer eat to live, but eat for pleasure. There is of course nothing wrong with getting pleasure from food, but most of the food that people get pleasure from are very unhealthy and very fattening. We need to begin educating people right from the start, in elementary schools, that everything you put into your body becomes your body.

Last Chapters

I love reading Dave Suzuki's Green Guide for the simple fact that it gives you information and outlets to find further information to change things in your personal life. The goal of zero waste is a time consuming one that requires attention to detail to read the tiny print on labels provided by major corporations being one example with the goal of seeing through the bought out term "environmentally friendly." The websites mentioned through out the book for further awareness are very helpful. He highlights simple ways to cut one's carbon footprint such as composting, reusing, repairing, and recycling, but is sure to make the connection that without government laws mandating these paths towards zero waste and major corporations leading by example, more people will not get on board. Leading perfectly into McDonough's sixth chapter using the Ford company as an example of reinventive thinking towards biomimcry methods.

The focus on one of America's major automobile assembly corporations changing the typical paradigm of "don't ask, don't tell" into an open, creative thinking zone in order to keep the employees best interests at heart while still making profits is a great example for many corporations that are feeling trapt by the pressures to escape economic downfall. If corporations are being bailed out by banks, creating more debt, it should be painfully obvious that new methods must be put underway and their employees may love them for it in the end. People, as living creatures desire sunlight, fresh air, and social interaction to feel good about their lives. In incorporating this in their new building, Ford is seeing positive feedback rolling in. Makes sense! I'm finally inspired by Cradle to Cradle instead of told that my personal contribution isn't enough. The dwelling into how corporations can change their methods by looking into what is making each product, not just the product itself and choosing other materials seems like a realistic step in the right direction. I'm thinking this book should be sent to every major corporation in the world.

This week I was particularly interested in Jim Motvalli's essay, Reinventing the Wheel. This essay talked about the partnership between consumer demand, government policy, and environmental concern as related to transportation. Motvalli proposes realistic alternatives to the unsustainable transportation practices in the U.S., which include driving oil-dependent vehicles, and spending more time on highways than any other country. He recognizes that Americans enjoy the privileges and conveniences that accompany owning personal vehicles, and he doesn't suggest that Americans can or should completely relinquish their dependence. He talks a lot about hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell cars. I believe he wrote this essay sometime around 2004 when giant SUVs like Hummers were extremely popular. Also, the hybrid and electric car movement was just beginning. In a matter of years, the popularity of more energy efficient cars has risen dramatically. All of the major car companies have now realized that cars that are better for the environment are better for business. Ultimately, the U.S. is a capitalist society and consumers can drive better business practices because for many companies it is all about the bottom line: profit.

Educated consumers can make choices to buy more sustainable products, whether it be cars or light bulbs. This will create competition for companies to make more sustainable products to put in the market. I think it is important to note the example of the fabric company that McDonough and Braungart consulted to make more sustainable products. Not only did they end up with a nearly wasteless product that did not pollute the environment, the company ended up making more profit while having healthier, happier workers that did not have to work in toxic conditions. I hope that more and more companies realize that designing more sustainable products can profit them economically as well as benefit their employees and the environment. I also hope that consumers continue to make smart choices about what they buy, because I think that is the first step that will cause companies to change their practices. Eventually companies may make sustainable choices for more than economic reasons, but for now let's do our part as consumers to start the ball rolling.

"Natural Capitalism"

"Natural Capitalism" as a middle ground sounds great. Being environmentally conscious doesn't mean going back to living like cave men. Personally that is an extreme my mind immediately jumps to. Adapting some minimalist tendencies may do us all some good, but using the awesome knowledge we posses to creatively design ways to enforce a new industrial revolution leading to a more sustainable future is positively inspiring! Products of everyday life that are produced by companies with a zero waste operation that enhance not only the lives of us humans, but the lives of the creatures in our environment that are being "annihilated." This task can sound very daunting considering the sacrifices that may have to be made in order to pull it off, but Paul Hawken gives me hope. "'How many of you spend too much time with your children or know someone who does?' Nobody raised a hand." The proof that our communities and families even have lost their connection to one another is depicted in this question. An overall theme I have taken from the reading pushing everything else aside is: appreciating and forming better connections w/ each other and looking at long term benefits are key to changing the paradigm of American culture today. I'd say that's happening with many organizations globally right now.

As far as Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins (amazingly appropriate last names) claim on the "capitalism" we quote today not being true capitalism, I am of totally ignorance. I guess over the years I've just coupled my pessimistic thoughts (ahem, realism some would say) of this culture w/ the term, putting a western spin on it. Financial Capitalism: An economic system based on a free market, open competition, profit motive and private ownership of the means of production. Capitalism encourages private investment and business, compared to a government-controlled economy. Investors in these private companies (i.e. shareholders) also own the firms and are known as capitalists. Ah! Now that that is clear, the Lovins have a point.

The most shocking revelation for me during the last part of this reading came w/ Jim Motavalli's dwelling into Hydrogen energy for new methods of transportation and such. Last I knew, Hydrogen wasn't a sustainable alternative to oil because it is produced from coal and nuclear energy, which are frowned upon now, and storing it is somewhat apprehensive. Reading it can be cultivated from wind and solar recyclable energies as well was exciting! The fuel-cell working as a battery lasting obscenely long gives a stepping stone to a non oil dependent method of transportation. If the experts can expand on this and major corporations start pushing it in our faces there may be big changes in our lifetime!

Paul Hawken Inspires