Alex Steffen (of World Changing) kicks off our 2nd day of ETech 2009 with a great discussion on 'Sustaining the American Family' in an economically and environmentally turbulent time.
People living in many countries got rich by causing climate problems. Unfair to generations that come after us - 'massive inter-generational ponzi scheme' as we profit from their pending ecological problems. We cannot let future generations adopt our bad habits.
People in upper fifth socio-economic status leave FAR larger footprints on the world, sometimes up to 10 times of a less fortunate person. We are the brittle rich and in dire need of reinvention.
Sadly enough, People who are prosperous in the US are remarkably less happy - more social isolation, smaller circles of trust, depression. Our wealth is not serving as us designed. This brings an additional social imperative to usher in change, as it is just plain bad for us socially and psychologically as well.
For our planet to have a chance, we need to re-think the definition of prosperity. This means almost a complete changing of society. Get off coal and cows!
- We need clean energy (low carbon and as clean as we can get - as quickly as we can).
- Sustainable food system - local / sun-food / traceability
- Culture of openness - political transparency, know back stories of our food and products (see Black and Green chocolate)
- True cost taxation - price on CO2 to move forward efficiency improvements to a more sustainable future.
- Smart infrastructure and ability to measure energy use - if we see what we use, we will use less (and save money) and potentially help to level out use of electricity (ie: want to only wash clothes in middle of night when less is being used in my neighborhood)
- Finance for transformation - pay-as-you-go for insurance (dis-incentivize people making poor transportation choices)
- Need more compactness - design for denser communities, let people walk and drive less, save on infrastructure. People that live in larger cities tend to spend less time with their families too.
- Subdivisions are a dying way of life that we cannot afford to sustain now. We have a LOT of room for improvement. Instead of 2 units/acre we can look towards more traditional neighborhood density of 10+ units/acre. Even 40 units/acre is quite reasonable. "Affordable sprawl" is an illusion.
- Need to focus on flows (not stocks) and practice a more adaptive and restorative relationship with the Earth. Harvest rainwater, build buildings without thermostats and plant green walls and roofing. The idea that we use water once is ridiculous - something that our children will not take for granted.
- Remade - we will see more shared goods (car sharing for instance) and buying higher quality goods that will last longer
- Zero waste - we will not throw away anymore, but close the loop with re-use or recycling. This will mean enormous re-design and re-thinking on building/product materials.
- Pre-cyclables - design and products made with the end purpose of being ripped apart, re-used and recycled (pre-fab homes, etc.)
In the end, it's all about breaking down the bullshit and focusing on what actually really makes us happy. Money and stuff doesn't make us happy and we need to get better about sharing our innovation. What's not right, doesn't work. We need a sense of obligation beyond ourselves, or else we will lose our prosperity.
