Thoughts on the path to ecological sustainability (and useful quotes at the base of the page).

1. The logo: beyond the 'triple bottom line'

Dear Physics, Chemistry and Biology,
Contrary to your climate change and biodiversity loss claims, we will not negotiate. I remind you that you are an economic externality.  I’m sure that  market forces will fix everything. Oh, and thanks for providing us all with free air, water and soil so far. That’s been handy.
Cheers, the Economy

The logo is my take on the way the ecology and the earth's natural systems fit together with human society and the economy.  Life requires sunlight, clean air, clean water and clean soil. With these preconditions, ecosystems form, providing habitat and home to over 30 million individual species of life. Humanity is one of these species and the economy is a product of our minds. It is used to run the human world - but it can only exist if all other elements of the circle are healthy and present.  As the silly letter above shows - up until this point, the economy could operate successfully with the environment as a separate entity: an 'externality. It is not. Life support systems cannot be an externality. Many of the ecological sustainability solutions will come from clever economic triggers, such as carbon taxes, subsidies for renewables and our purchasing decisions.  So far the economy as the main driver of human affairs has failed every other piece of the circle, including what it means to be human on this earth: a smile between friends does not have economic value, nor does a peaceful family holiday, or a swim in the ocean. Yet they are so meaningful and core to our being.  We need an economy that is about growth: growth of what is good: human and ecological health, connection, diversity and delight.

2. The language of the ecological sustainability industry needs to change

 We currently talk of limits; of ‘not’ polluting, of ‘efficiency,’ of ‘footprint,’ of ‘less’ impact, of ‘regulation’, of ‘controls’.  This thinking results in two myths:

A). That we humans are inherently bad for planet earth
B). That becoming ecologically sustainable will require a sacrifice in our standard of living, and/or it is about costly, ad hoc ‘greenie’ projects that are a hassle while we continue to live as normal.

Conversely, when we talk about the economy we talk of ‘growth’, of ‘increased’ prosperity, of ‘raised’ standards of living.

We need to change the language of ecological sustainability from that of limits to that of ‘growth’, ‘abundance,’ ‘effectiveness’ and ‘delight.’  In ecological systems ‘growth’ is good! A cherry tree produces an ‘abundance’ of fruit and petals! Buildings are being designed that are ecologically ‘effective’: that actually clean the air, water and soil)! Watching the sun shine through the canopy of leaves from the inside of our workspace (or local native birds nesting on the grass roof) fills us with ‘delight.’  Let us leave an ecological legacy to delight in.

‘How do we love all the children of all species for all time?’
- William McDonough and Michael Braungart

3. Biomimicry: Most of the answers will come from nature. We just need to tune in.

Biomimicry is a new science. It is the study of nature's 3.8 billion years of design perfection: many of the answers we need as we create a sustainable future are already in nature.  We have learned so little of what nature has to teach. The wheel is present in the propelling mechanism of ancient bacteria. Every single leaf on every single tree creates energy from the sun at 95% efficiency: we can do up to 30%.  Mother of pearl (50 times stronger than our kiln fired ceramics) self assembles in the ocean.  Throuh biomimicry, a Japanese train engine has been designed in shape like the Kingfisher beak, to travel with greater efficiency through the underground system   Nothing sticks to a lotus leaf: we have now created a paint with the same characteristic. Biomimicry is an exciting science and will hopefully lead to a newfound respect for nature, beyond the aesthetic, emotional, awe inspiring, health, service  and other reasons that nature is so important.

4. Hope?

Let me say this. We have a wonderful opportunity to recreate the way we live on this earth in the next twenty years - starting now. The science is clear - we must eliminate waste and pollution. The writing is on the wall. It requires thoughtful and fast change from global protocols to playgroups to the individual.  The opposite of an ecologically sustainable future is unthinkable. The challenges in creating an ecologically sustainable future are clear and huge. 

And what is that future? Imagine your home or workplace creates excess renewable energy, collects,  treats and celebrates its own water flows, has eliminated the concept of waste and now produces inputs for upcycling into industry or the soil, creates habitat for local native plants and animals, celebrates natural light and air flows, releases oxygen, sequesters carbon and gains insulation from the grass roof.  Walking, cycling and hydrogen fueled public transport are the main forms of transport as our local places are designed for people and connection. The buildings and the people in and around them are completely connected to local place and culture. Goods and services come from an effective and inspired local economy that is about growth - growth of what is good - human and ecological health, connection, diversity and delight. This entire vision is possible now and all elements are happening this minute somewhere across the world.  What dont we like about this? Let's just do it. As Jane Goodall says, there are reasons for hope: we are very clever. There are now more than a million community groups working on solutions; nature is resilient and, her greatest reason for hope, the indomitable human heart.

5. The self teaching ecological sustainability 'phd' book reading list

These are just some of the books that have influenced me. Any bookshop in 2008 will have fifty to one hundred books about ecological sustainaility.  If you havent already, start reading ... imagine trying to get a job in ten years time without understanding ecological sustainability!

The Best: Wisdom (Transformation) Books

The Next Best: Knowledge Books

Useful: Information (Transmission) Books

6. Ecological sustainability education: wisdom v's information

The 'Community Based Social Marketing' mob from Canada have studied the behaviour change impact of 'informational brochures' delivered to a community. Guess what, there is no behaviour change. Zero. As John Cleese once said, 'nothing, not a sausage.' The same goes for the "Sage on Stage" lecture: we retain 5% of what we hear.  Frank Ryan, (founder and principal of Vox Bandicoot and creator of the best community environmental education program in the world, Sustainability Street: buy the Sustainability Street book online, free for communities and students and too cheap for others!) says, "today's information is tomorrow's fish and chip wrapper."  What we need is human scale "Guide Beside" education that inspires, engages, empowers, motivates, excites and captures the heart. Education focussed on people and where they are at. That is built upon relationships, respect and values.  That is participatory, collaborative, open ended and enables everyone to be a teacher and a learner.  Frank Ryan also says that we need experts "on Tap, not on Top"! And last, but not least - it must be fun. Brochures, lectures or adverts in the paper have to try very hard to be fun! Yes, it is more expensive. Yes, it has greater risk. Yes, it requires a solid understanding of education, of communication, of presentation skills and of people. And yes, the result is powerful.

7. Let's drop the 'greenie' tag already

We are all on the path to ecological sustainability. Everyone in every home, workplace, school and community simply must make ecological sustainability a major part of their life.  The opposite is unthinkable.  We each make hundreds of decisions every day that have an impact on water, waste, energy and biodiversity through our food, our homes, our transport, our purchasing and our work.  The days of the token, extra environmental project or person are gone.  It is about survival. It is about the business bottom line. It is core to success. CEOs in suits, mums and dads, truck drivers, students, grandparents, yuppie couples and milk bar managers must pull out all stops to create a sustainable future. So let's get over the old adversarial 'greenie' label and just get on with it.  Next time someone at your workplace tries to raise an ecological sustainability idea – let's not label and marginalise: promote them!

8. The illogical and self defeating "China and India are the problem" argument

 On the release of his Draft Climate Change report Professor Garnaut said the increases in concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the past two centuries, especially in the last half century, generated the climate change now being experienced.  "This is the result of economic activity in the countries including ourselves that are now rich,'' he said.  "The rapid increase in concentrations that are expected over the next several decades and which makes action to avert dangerous climate change urgent is primarily the result of activities in the developing countries that are becoming rich." First world nations therefore have an "historical responsibility", we also have "a greater capacity for change" and "a practical necessity" (as Australia's already harsh climate has the most to lose of any country in the world from Climate Change) in getting others to take the next step.   Australia needs to play a leading role in a new global aggreement. It is essential that China also enters into agreements early on and into the future, India.  Also, consider this: we sell our coal to China.  We then import tonnes of product back from China. Yet we then have the gall to say that China are the problem?

9. Reconnecting with the natural world is crucial to the creation of an ecologically sustainable human society*

Obesity. Television. Computer games. Human constructed city environments.  Buildings with no natural light or air flow. Cars. Food ready made, processed and wrapped in polystyrene. Increasing mental illness, asthma, cancer and other health conditions.  Increasing poverty, homelessness and less full time employment.  A “Gross Domestic Product” that shows our economic wealth rising every year and a “Genuine Progress Indicator” that shows our happiness and wellbeing dropping every year.  Local and global ecological systems showing serious signs of collapse.  Our children are growing up into this world, which is also a world which thinks that nature bites, hurts, is wet, is cold, stings and is ‘unsafe’. 

There is now a defined health condition in our young people called “Nature Deficit Disorder” which describes how children are spending less time outdoors, resulting in a wide range of behavioral problems. Indeed, many young people with Attention Deficit Disorder lose the symptoms when in nature. The father of “Biodiversity” E.O Wilson coined the term “Biophilia,” which describes our innate desire to be near and our love of, nature after millions of years of evolution IN nature.  And we are in nature.  Dr Suzuki says that as human beings we are created out of the elements of the earth ...

"There is no environment 'out there' and we are 'over here' needing to manage our relationship with the environment ," he said.  "We are in the environment. We take a breath of air and some of that air stays in us. We are the environment. We cannot draw a line that marks where the air ends and I begin. There is no line. The air is stuck to us and circulating through our bodies. We are air. It is a part of us and it is in us. Air is not a vacuum or empty space but a physical substance. We are embedded in a matrix of air and if you are air and I am air then I am you, we are a part of this single layer that encompasses the planet. We are embedded in that air with the trees, the birds, the worms and the snakes, which are all a part of that web of living things held together by the atmosphere or the air. Every breath we take has millions of atoms that were once in the bodies of Joan of Arc and Jesus Christ. Every breath you take has millions of atoms that were in the bodies of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Every breath you take will suffuse life forms as far as we can see into the future. So air, surely, deserves to be seen as a sacred substance.  We are air. Everything we do to air, we do to ourselves. Every one of us is at least 60% water by weight, we’re just a big blob of water with enough organic thickener added to keep from dribbling away on the floor.  When you take a drink of water you think it is London water.  But in reality the hydrological cycle cartwheels water around the planet and any drink you take, wherever you are, has [some] molecules from every ocean on the planet, the canopy of the Amazon, the steppes of Russia. We are water. Whatever we do to water we do to ourselves. We are the earth because every bit of our food was once alive. In North America over 95% of our food is grown on the land. We are the earth through the food that we consume. We are the earth, and whatever we do to it we do to ourselves. And we are fire because every bit of the energy in our bodies that we need to grow, move or reproduce is sunlight. Sunlight is captured by plants through photosynthesis and we then acquire it by eating the plants or the animals that eat the plants. When we burn that energy we release the sun’s energy back into ourselves. We are created by the four sacred elements, earth, air, fire and water and that is the way that we should frame our approach to ‘environmental problems’.”

We must reconnect. Humble ourselves a bit and realise that we are a part of some pretty amazing interdependant and interconnected and finite natural systems.  Reconnect personally: sit under a tree or by the river a bit. Take our kids to the bush and wonder at it. Let them jump in the muddy puddles and climb on the rocks. Reconnect professionally: we must relearn how to live on this planet using natures operating systems.  This means designing our products, services and way of life around reality (see Biomimicry above).

Environmental education is defined as being “About” the Environment, “For” the environment and “In” the environment.  The “In” may be the most important driver for change. We can be given a million pages of ‘sustainable living tips,’ hear constantly about global ecological breakdown, be bored or agitated by government policy wrangling, but unless we are in the natural world and feeling, engaging, valuing, wondering and imagining – we may not act. 

 "If we all grew our own vegetables I reckon we would not have our major environmental problems as we would all have our hands in the soil and be connected to the seasons and the natural rhythms of life.”

- Peter Cundell, Gardening Australia

*This thinking would not have been possible without five years spent following Frank Ryan of Vox Bandicoot around the country with ears wide open.  

First and foremost: Educate, communicate and teach - at home, at work, in the community, on the bus

2. Communal action - join one of the two million community groups globally and create community wide change 

3. Change the 'lightbulbs' so to speak - change to renewable energy and reduce water and waste and energy -  in the home and at work

4. Influence the policy makers - write letters, vote

And useful quotes for the ecological sustainability journey ...

“What a great time to be alive, because this generation gets to completely change the world.”
- Paul Hawken

“It is not half so important to know as to feel, when introducing a young child to the natural world.”
- Rachel Carson

"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in."

- Rachel Carson

“The most important thing we can pass on to our children is our enthusiasm and our sense of wonder at being in nature and experiencing, engaging in and sharing the natural world with our children.”
- Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods” on Nature Deficit Disorder

"The question is not 'How can we get back to the way it used to be?' The question is 'how can we make life better than it has ever been?'

- Richard louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods” on Nature Deficit Disorder

“Logic will get you from point A to point B. Imagination will get you everywhere”
- Albert Einstein

“Imagination is more important than knowledge”
- Albert Einstein

“The real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes”
- Marcel Proust

“What do you mean a job in television? They will never be any jobs in television!”
- Sir David Attenborough’s Grandmother

“Heavier than air flying machines are impossible”
- Lord Byron, 1895

“The total global market for computers will be 52 units”
- IBM, 1952

“Imagine designing a tree: Design something that sequesters carbon, creates oxygen, fixes nitrogen, distils water, accrues solar energy as fuel, makes complex sugars and food, creates microclimates, changes colour with the seasons and self replicates. Why don’t we knock that down and write on it!”
- William McDonough, Cradle to Cradle

“The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
- Albert Einstein

Glance at the sun.
See the moon and the stars.
Gaze at the beauty of earth’s greenings.
Now, think.
- Hildegard von Bingen

“We see a world of abundance, not limits. In the midst of a great deal of talk about reducing the human ecological footprint, we offer a different vision. What if humans designed products and systems that celebrate an abundance of human creativity, culture, and productivity? That are so intelligent and safe, our species leaves an ecological footprint to delight in, not lament?”
- William McDonough, Cradle to Cradle

“How can we support and perpetuate the rights of all living things to share in a world of abundance? How can we love the children of all species--not just our own--for all time? Imagine what a world of prosperity and health in the future would look like, and begin designing for it right now.”
- William McDonough, Cradle to Cradle

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
- Margaret Mead

“We shall not cease from explorations
 And the end of all our exploring 

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.”
- 
T. S. Eliot

“If you do not change direction, you will end up where you are going”
    - Lao Tzu

“If you can dream it, you can make it so.”
- Thoreau

“I for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they’ll create their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action.”
- Malcolm X

“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.”
-John Cage

“By logic and reason we die hourly. By imagination we live.”
-John Butler Yeats

“Only in the last moment in history has the delusion arisen that people can flourish apart from the rest of the living world.”
- E.O. Wilson

“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
-Arundhati Roy

“When you go out there into the wilderness you don’t get away from it all, you get back to it all.
You come home to what’s important. You come home to yourself.”
- Peter Dombrovskis

“They knew what to do, the old people. They lived with nature all the time. They
knew when the seasons was coming, and where to get the different sorts of food for
the different seasons. They knew all about things. That’s how they survived, they
knew nature”
Uncle Banjo Clarke

“We cannot throw ‘away’ anymore.  Away has gone away”
- William McDonough, Cradle to Cradle

"Life creates conditions conducive to life. It cleans air, builds soil, cleans water, creates the complex mix of gases that we need to live. Like the rest of life on earth, we must find a way to do the amazing things that we do, while taking care of the place that will look after our offspring.

To meet our needs, while making of this place an Eden."

- Janine Benyus, Author of Biomimicry 

“Doing it nature’s way” has the potential to change the way we grow food, make materials, harness energy, heal ourselves, store information, and conduct business.
In a biomemitic world, we would manufacture the way plants and animals do, using sun and simple compounds to produce totally biodegradable fibers, ceramics, plastics, and chemicals. Our farms, modeled on prairies, would be self-fertilizing and pest-resistant. To find new drugs or crops, we would consult animals and insects that have used plants for millions of years to keep themselves healthy and nourished. Even computing would take its cue from nature, with software that “evolves” solutions, and hardware that uses the lock-and-key paradigm to compute by touch.
In each case, nature would provide the models: solar cells copied from leaves, steely fibers woven spider-style, shatterproof ceramics drawn from mother-of-pearl, cancer cures compliments of chimpanzees, perennial grains inspired by tallgrass, computers that signal like cells, and a closed-loop economy that takes its lessons from redwoods, coral reefs, and oak-hickory forests. 
The biomimics are discovering what works in the natural world, and more important, what lasts. After 3.8 billion years of research and development, failures are fossils, and what surrounds us is the secret to survival. The more our world looks and functions like this natural world, the more likely we are to be accepted on this home that is ours, but not ours alone.”
- Janine Benyus, Biomimicry

 
“It is likely that the recent speed of global economic growth has increased the risk that the world is rapidly moving into an era of large scale climate change.”
- Professor Ross Garnaut

"Do not suffer your vanity by pouring everything you know onto people. Put their just a spark and if there is good flammable stuff, it will catch fire"

- Anatole France 

"To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act."

- Anatole France

 

"To know is nothing at all. To imagine is everything"

- Anatole France

 

"The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards."

- Anatole France

 

“You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; in just the same way, you learn to love by loving.”

- Anatole France