The Commerce Commission released Guidelines for Green Marketing and Guidelines for Carbon Claims to help those wanting to use green claims in marketing comply with the Fair Trading Act, see here.
Landcare Research has released a short guide for NZ producers on Eco-labels.
For those interested in the current state of affairs of Eco-labels there is a concise summary prepared by SustainAbility here.
Sunday 25 March 2012
Avoiding Greenwash
Greenwashing annoys plenty of consumers, so they've made some videos to explain to the rest of us:
And staying on the theme of doing-green-things-that-aren't-so-green:
Never underestimate the power of metaphor... because that's what these two lads are doing to show us how silly offsetting our bad actions is in principle!.
When is it Okay to say you are green? is a recent Celsias article on greenwashing in the NZ context.
Behavioural Economics and Behaviour Change
Alana Cornforth published a paper titled Behaviour Change: Insights for Environmental Policy Making from Social Psychology and Behavioural Economics in the Policy Quarterly in 2009.
This is what I would describe as vital reading for anyone who is in the business of persuading others.
Since it is available online I won't repeat it here but to give a bit more of an overview: she explains that neoclassical economics claimed to know how people would behave, but yet again it relies on assumptions that do not hold up in the real world, so it fell upon the new branch of behavioural economics to investigate human nature in decision making. Overall, it is set in the context of getting the masses to care about the(ir) environment.
This is what I would describe as vital reading for anyone who is in the business of persuading others.
Since it is available online I won't repeat it here but to give a bit more of an overview: she explains that neoclassical economics claimed to know how people would behave, but yet again it relies on assumptions that do not hold up in the real world, so it fell upon the new branch of behavioural economics to investigate human nature in decision making. Overall, it is set in the context of getting the masses to care about the(ir) environment.
Limits to Growth
In 1972, Dennis Meadows, Jorgen Randers and Donella Meadows published Limits to Growth, outlining why the economy cannot continue to grow forever in a world of finite resources.
in 2002 they published A Synopsis: Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update. I haven't read the original yet so I can only comment on the more recent document in detail. It is now 40 years since the original book and just last week I came across an interview with Dennis Meadows last week titled 'Is it too late for sustainable development?'.
No wonder he feels jaded, having suffered the fate (one that many scientists can relate to) of doing some important work that then largely went ignored. It just shows how important effective communication is! His book was quite a success; but only some people read books, and only a subset of those read non-fiction books, and only a few on this topic. Many different mediums would yield wider exposure, and now we have 21st century communication as another string in the bow. Social media has released creativity, and so now we get things like this video, which combine the appreciation of rap with economic theory:
Back to the topic...
Scientists are still not giving up though; very recently, thousands of them met in London for the first Planet under Pressure conference, where they came up with the first State of the Planet Declaration. Serious stuff!
Soon we have the Rio+20 meeting coming up. In the lead up, many famous experts are making comments to stimulate the sense of urgency to the leaders who will be discussing our biggest issues there. One of their latest is Our Scarcest Resource is Time. Featured on it is Lester Brown, and I came across a video of him speaking on the 40th anniversary of Limits to Growth where he shares his thoughts:
He speaks about how the combination of all the world's current issues is placing us on a knife edge where an even greater recession could be sparked at any time. I found his example of the Moscow heat wave in 2010 (40 million tons harvest grain lost) in comparison to a hypothetical Chicago heat wave scenario quite sobering (in short, it would be ~4x worse in regards to grain loss). Considering the grain market chaos we had with the former, the latter would be horrendous. The concept of politics of food scarcity (think: restricted imports/exports, land-grabs and manipulative leveraging by governments) makes me fear for my New Zealand (even though at this stage we are still so well off relative to most other countries!). In his opinion, the food economy is the most likely system to break since farmers are dealing with the perfect storm of water shortage (as we are living in demand overshoot), climate change, and unsustainable agriculture methods. The reason it is so dangerous is because "one of the things people expect of their government is food security, if they do not supply this then they lose their legitimacy and this becomes a major source of instability of failing states". He mentions Plan B, which he developed through his Earth Policy Institute, as involving: the cutting of carbon emissions by 80% by 2020 (and he gives some good examples), stabilizing the population at 8 billion by filling the last family planning gaps, eradication of poverty (closely linked to population stabilization), and restoring the natural support systems of earth (e.g. forests, soils, fisheries, etc). He has calculated that doing the last three of these would cost $200b/yr and makes reference to the US military budget of $700b/yr saying "we can avoid the collapse if we want to" if we redefine security from its previous century definition (i.e. war-focussed) to our current principal threats that affect the global village and do what needs to be done to achieve the main objectives. In essence, this talk is simply another call for courageous leadership from the top.
in 2002 they published A Synopsis: Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update. I haven't read the original yet so I can only comment on the more recent document in detail. It is now 40 years since the original book and just last week I came across an interview with Dennis Meadows last week titled 'Is it too late for sustainable development?'.
No wonder he feels jaded, having suffered the fate (one that many scientists can relate to) of doing some important work that then largely went ignored. It just shows how important effective communication is! His book was quite a success; but only some people read books, and only a subset of those read non-fiction books, and only a few on this topic. Many different mediums would yield wider exposure, and now we have 21st century communication as another string in the bow. Social media has released creativity, and so now we get things like this video, which combine the appreciation of rap with economic theory:
Back to the topic...
Scientists are still not giving up though; very recently, thousands of them met in London for the first Planet under Pressure conference, where they came up with the first State of the Planet Declaration. Serious stuff!
Soon we have the Rio+20 meeting coming up. In the lead up, many famous experts are making comments to stimulate the sense of urgency to the leaders who will be discussing our biggest issues there. One of their latest is Our Scarcest Resource is Time. Featured on it is Lester Brown, and I came across a video of him speaking on the 40th anniversary of Limits to Growth where he shares his thoughts:
He speaks about how the combination of all the world's current issues is placing us on a knife edge where an even greater recession could be sparked at any time. I found his example of the Moscow heat wave in 2010 (40 million tons harvest grain lost) in comparison to a hypothetical Chicago heat wave scenario quite sobering (in short, it would be ~4x worse in regards to grain loss). Considering the grain market chaos we had with the former, the latter would be horrendous. The concept of politics of food scarcity (think: restricted imports/exports, land-grabs and manipulative leveraging by governments) makes me fear for my New Zealand (even though at this stage we are still so well off relative to most other countries!). In his opinion, the food economy is the most likely system to break since farmers are dealing with the perfect storm of water shortage (as we are living in demand overshoot), climate change, and unsustainable agriculture methods. The reason it is so dangerous is because "one of the things people expect of their government is food security, if they do not supply this then they lose their legitimacy and this becomes a major source of instability of failing states". He mentions Plan B, which he developed through his Earth Policy Institute, as involving: the cutting of carbon emissions by 80% by 2020 (and he gives some good examples), stabilizing the population at 8 billion by filling the last family planning gaps, eradication of poverty (closely linked to population stabilization), and restoring the natural support systems of earth (e.g. forests, soils, fisheries, etc). He has calculated that doing the last three of these would cost $200b/yr and makes reference to the US military budget of $700b/yr saying "we can avoid the collapse if we want to" if we redefine security from its previous century definition (i.e. war-focussed) to our current principal threats that affect the global village and do what needs to be done to achieve the main objectives. In essence, this talk is simply another call for courageous leadership from the top.
Genuine Progress Index
Here is a really good short video to explain the concept of the Genuine Progress Index (or Indicator):
He's a very good orator, thank goodness - when there are good ideas that's what we need! He speaks very well about why a GPI is important but I'm already converted ... I'm really keen to find out how it's calculated!
I'll check out the GPI Atlantic website soon.
Also worth checking out is the New Economics Foundation.
The UN is encouraging the update of progress indicators that focus on happiness as opposed to economic activity, this article the UN Embraces the Economics of Happiness shows they are quite serious about it, here's the intro:
"Imagine, in short, a world where the metric that guides our decisions is not money, but happiness. That is the future that 650 political, academic, and civic leaders from around the world came together to promote on April 2, 2012. Encouraged by the government of Bhutan, the United Nations held a High Level Meeting for Wellbeing and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm. The meeting marks the launch of a global movement to shift our focus away from measuring and promoting economic growth as a goal in its own right, and toward the goal of measuring—and increasing—human happiness and quality of life."
He's a very good orator, thank goodness - when there are good ideas that's what we need! He speaks very well about why a GPI is important but I'm already converted ... I'm really keen to find out how it's calculated!
I'll check out the GPI Atlantic website soon.
Also worth checking out is the New Economics Foundation.
The UN is encouraging the update of progress indicators that focus on happiness as opposed to economic activity, this article the UN Embraces the Economics of Happiness shows they are quite serious about it, here's the intro:
"Imagine, in short, a world where the metric that guides our decisions is not money, but happiness. That is the future that 650 political, academic, and civic leaders from around the world came together to promote on April 2, 2012. Encouraged by the government of Bhutan, the United Nations held a High Level Meeting for Wellbeing and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm. The meeting marks the launch of a global movement to shift our focus away from measuring and promoting economic growth as a goal in its own right, and toward the goal of measuring—and increasing—human happiness and quality of life."
The Eurozone Debt Crisis and the History of Economics
Such a depressing topic, for those who like it serious here is a visual representation, and for those that like the edge taken off with humour, here's the skit version:
The history of how our economic system arose and how we haven't fixed it even after we realised its limitations (a very long time ago) is an interesting story I suggest finding on the web. I plan to read and reflect on Chapter 7 Our Economy and the Governance of Our Commons in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability sometime soon and I'll fill in what I learn from that here.
As a quick overall summary off the top of my head at the moment: our economic system doesn't account for the whole picture (e.g. environmental and social costs are usually externalised) and we measure our success based on a statistic that is woefully inadequate and was never intended for its current application; that statistic is GDP (the Gross Domestic Product) or otherwise referred to as GNP (Gross National Product). Simply put, it measures spending. This spending can be on things we consider positive or negative but as long as there is action and we are all spending more this number and representatively our economy grows. However, it is NOT an adequate measure of success because humans define success as positive (and sometime intangible things) such as health, good education, good relationships, and so on. Therefore we need a new measure, a GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator).
The history of how our economic system arose and how we haven't fixed it even after we realised its limitations (a very long time ago) is an interesting story I suggest finding on the web. I plan to read and reflect on Chapter 7 Our Economy and the Governance of Our Commons in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability sometime soon and I'll fill in what I learn from that here.
As a quick overall summary off the top of my head at the moment: our economic system doesn't account for the whole picture (e.g. environmental and social costs are usually externalised) and we measure our success based on a statistic that is woefully inadequate and was never intended for its current application; that statistic is GDP (the Gross Domestic Product) or otherwise referred to as GNP (Gross National Product). Simply put, it measures spending. This spending can be on things we consider positive or negative but as long as there is action and we are all spending more this number and representatively our economy grows. However, it is NOT an adequate measure of success because humans define success as positive (and sometime intangible things) such as health, good education, good relationships, and so on. Therefore we need a new measure, a GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator).
The Mauri Model - a Tangata Whenua perspective on sustainability
The paper A Tangata Whenua Perspective on Sustainability using the Mauri Model: Towards decision making balance with regard to our social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being by Te Kipa Kepa Brian Morgan (Senior Lecturer of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Auckland) which he presented at the International Conference on Sustainability Engineering and Science in 2004 was a really easy and enlightening read.
Every time I come across the Maori story of creation or their concepts of Mauri (the core essence and life force of all things) and Whanaugatanga (belonging to the land) I feel like it makes sense to me. As I read this paper I thought it wouldn't be too hard to reframe some of the content to help get more people on board with the concepts. In the introduction he speaks of the nonsensical decisions sometimes made still with regards to the Resource Management Act 1991. It made me think back to when I was growing up in Whangamata, for many years witnessing snippets of the do-we-get-a-marina debate. I often heard the negative comments from certain parts of the community of how Maori stand in the way of progress. I remember doing a social-studies project on the topic sometime in my very early teens; I already had a great appreciation for nature but felt inadequately aware of the social and economic potential of the project, so I had difficulty forming a conclusion. Today, the marina is up and running and I have been too out of the loop to hear whether the pros and cons eventuated - but I hear the surf bar is still going strong (one of the biggest fears the townspeople had).
The purpose of the paper is to introduce the concept of the Mauri model, which is based on four circles that represent the interdependence of economics (Mauri of whanau) on society (Mauri of community) on culture (Mauri of hapu) on the integrity of the ecosystem (Mauri of the environment). So this thinking is totally the same as the strong sustainability models encountered in earlier blog posts. The idea put forth is to use this model, along with ratings, to be able to make good decisions in regards to resource-use. The conclusions are blunt to point out that economic well-being has recently been our most important criteria and that our appreciation of the importance of the social, cultural and environmental well-being needs to grow even further.
Think about it, it is now 10 years since this paper was presented! With minor tweaks it would be just as relevant to whip it out at any next conference!
Every time I come across the Maori story of creation or their concepts of Mauri (the core essence and life force of all things) and Whanaugatanga (belonging to the land) I feel like it makes sense to me. As I read this paper I thought it wouldn't be too hard to reframe some of the content to help get more people on board with the concepts. In the introduction he speaks of the nonsensical decisions sometimes made still with regards to the Resource Management Act 1991. It made me think back to when I was growing up in Whangamata, for many years witnessing snippets of the do-we-get-a-marina debate. I often heard the negative comments from certain parts of the community of how Maori stand in the way of progress. I remember doing a social-studies project on the topic sometime in my very early teens; I already had a great appreciation for nature but felt inadequately aware of the social and economic potential of the project, so I had difficulty forming a conclusion. Today, the marina is up and running and I have been too out of the loop to hear whether the pros and cons eventuated - but I hear the surf bar is still going strong (one of the biggest fears the townspeople had).
The purpose of the paper is to introduce the concept of the Mauri model, which is based on four circles that represent the interdependence of economics (Mauri of whanau) on society (Mauri of community) on culture (Mauri of hapu) on the integrity of the ecosystem (Mauri of the environment). So this thinking is totally the same as the strong sustainability models encountered in earlier blog posts. The idea put forth is to use this model, along with ratings, to be able to make good decisions in regards to resource-use. The conclusions are blunt to point out that economic well-being has recently been our most important criteria and that our appreciation of the importance of the social, cultural and environmental well-being needs to grow even further.
Think about it, it is now 10 years since this paper was presented! With minor tweaks it would be just as relevant to whip it out at any next conference!
The Social Role of Business
This morning I skimmed through The Social Role of Business, Snapshot 2010: Stories of business engagement in the social space, and Business Guide: Engaging in Corporate Social Responsibility, all published by the NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development.
The theme was on 'businesses can't succeed in societies that fail' and really rallied for business to be included at the table of government and non-governmental organisations when they discuss solutions for social issues. I agree with them, they have the resources and expertise (through a different lens) to really get involved in those discussions... after all, they are usually also the most efficient entities for getting things done! The higher the urgency of changes needed gets the more I tend to want to stress this point. Having gone through the first wave of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (the very tame version of what is really needed) they are also open to real engagement; I think we have mostly all moved past thinking just throwing money at the problem solves things, no?! Really thinking things through, getting at root causes, and having all three sectors of society engaging is our best hope for adopting systems that will head the issues in the right direction.
One of the larger think tanks out there working to combining the three sectors to achieve sustainable development is Forum for the Future.
The theme was on 'businesses can't succeed in societies that fail' and really rallied for business to be included at the table of government and non-governmental organisations when they discuss solutions for social issues. I agree with them, they have the resources and expertise (through a different lens) to really get involved in those discussions... after all, they are usually also the most efficient entities for getting things done! The higher the urgency of changes needed gets the more I tend to want to stress this point. Having gone through the first wave of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (the very tame version of what is really needed) they are also open to real engagement; I think we have mostly all moved past thinking just throwing money at the problem solves things, no?! Really thinking things through, getting at root causes, and having all three sectors of society engaging is our best hope for adopting systems that will head the issues in the right direction.
One of the larger think tanks out there working to combining the three sectors to achieve sustainable development is Forum for the Future.
Saturday 24 March 2012
Using Art to Inspire
Balance by Design is a short 7 minute movie made by Auckland's Martin Hill (communications designer) and Phillipa Jones (writer) to show how and why they make environmental sculptures, which are intended to inspire an industrial design revolution via the use of nature as a model for sustainable design. Here's their Sustainability by Design website. It's good to have a quick look at to see the concept visually but most of what they talk about (the problems and the need) is already mentioned many times over elsewhere. I always like the idea of getting creative artists involved, its such a different perspective... we got to make some sculptures at our first block course in Wanaka - it was great fun to see what arises!
Cradle to Cradle
I came across William O'Donoghue's TED talk (below) a few years ago, and felt really inspired by the cradle-2-cradle concept; it was probably my first exposure to 'there is no waste in nature' and seeing the value in cyclic systems to address our issues. Closed loop cycles to contain the things that currently accumulate as toxins in our natural systems and technical cycles so we don't lose control when we are working in such complex ways. I don't overly enjoy listening to him speak (his manner) but he can appreciate some really eloquent expressions. For example, he calls 'design' as 'the intent in what we build', or when he describes competition as stemming from the Latin word competare which apparently means strive together; imagine businesses 'training together and then competing'...very relevant, as this is what we will need to do to get ahead fast enough in becoming sustainable. Here is the talk:
He also published a book with Michael Braungart calling for the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design. They describe the current systems as a consequence of the industrial rush, but that "today, with our growing knowledge of the living earth, design can reflect a new spirit". I found a few websites out there that say William O'Donoghue doesn't walk the talk enough, but I also found this irrefutable claim on his website: "In addition to describing the hopeful, nature-inspired design principles that are making
industry both prosperous and sustainable, the book itself is a physical symbol of the changes to come. It is printed on a synthetic 'paper,' made from plastic resins and inorganic fillers, designed to look and feel like top quality paper while also being waterproof and rugged. And the book can be easily recycled in localities with systems to collect polypropylene, like that in yogurt containers. This 'treeless' book points the way toward the day when synthetic books, like many other products, can be used, recycled, and used again without losing any material quality—in cradle to cradle cycles". Gotta say, I like the out of the box thinking.
He also published a book with Michael Braungart calling for the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design. They describe the current systems as a consequence of the industrial rush, but that "today, with our growing knowledge of the living earth, design can reflect a new spirit". I found a few websites out there that say William O'Donoghue doesn't walk the talk enough, but I also found this irrefutable claim on his website: "In addition to describing the hopeful, nature-inspired design principles that are making
industry both prosperous and sustainable, the book itself is a physical symbol of the changes to come. It is printed on a synthetic 'paper,' made from plastic resins and inorganic fillers, designed to look and feel like top quality paper while also being waterproof and rugged. And the book can be easily recycled in localities with systems to collect polypropylene, like that in yogurt containers. This 'treeless' book points the way toward the day when synthetic books, like many other products, can be used, recycled, and used again without losing any material quality—in cradle to cradle cycles". Gotta say, I like the out of the box thinking.
Biomimicry
I think the concept of biomimicry (essentially, basing product and service design on the architecture of what works well in nature) is genius. It is probably what we did at the very first and then in the rush of the industrial era didn't until recently think to utilize again until we called it a fancy name. Last year, an article came out outlining the 14 best inventions using biomimicry. My favourites are the artificial leaf (great simple vision), the robot spider that'll find you in a disaster (cleverness), and the robot bird (awe-factor at how close a machine can look to a live animal).
Janine Benyus, from the Biomimicry Institute in the US, gave two TED talks in 2009 (see below). At the Institute they promote the study and imitation of nature's designs, and bring together scientists, engineers, architects and innovators who can use the information to create more sustainable technologies. They call it Ask Nature. I wonder what is happening in this space here in New Zealand?
Janine Benyus, from the Biomimicry Institute in the US, gave two TED talks in 2009 (see below). At the Institute they promote the study and imitation of nature's designs, and bring together scientists, engineers, architects and innovators who can use the information to create more sustainable technologies. They call it Ask Nature. I wonder what is happening in this space here in New Zealand?
Biomimicry in Action:
12 Sustainable Design Ideas from Nature:
Natures Design
We often talk about ecosystem services. A quick definition of this can be found on the web, but to really grasp the enormity of the topic and how it relates to how we are operating the planet I recommend reading Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken (1999). I read this last year and found it to be a really good summary.
The NZ LOHAS market
In 2005, the Moxie Design Group Ltd (Wellington) commissioned research into New Zealand's LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) market - consumers interested in 'green' products, often also referred to as Conscientious Consumers or Cultural Creatives - and published Understanding the Market for Sustainable Living: the growth in the New Zealand Solutions Seekers demographic. As you can see this group of consumers has been given a new name yet again, one I quite like: Solutions Seekers.
First time round, in 2005, the size of this demographic was measured to be 26%. When the research was repeated in 2007, it had grown to 32% (6% increase), mainly due to a rise in those who are tertiary educated or earning more than $70,000 per annum. These are the groups I'd expect to grow, if they aren't all mostly there yet.
However, whilst it is fantastic that this research is starting to be carried out I was disappointed with the limited scope. It is great to see it was represented by the appropriate age group ratios but out of over 4 million people only 1000 people were surveyed by phone. This might be good enough in market research - I don't know, it's something I'd love to learn more about - but I'd want more specific details if I were to base my business on it. Since this was prepared before a LOHAS forum, it must have been enough to be able to start bringing the New Zealanders into conversation.
FYI, the key conclusions (I'm not at all surprised about) were:
As I come across free-access sustainability reports of NZ companies, I'll list them here:
In Fashion, there is Untouched World; here is their Sustainability Statement.
In transport, there is Urgent Couriers, here is their 2008 report.
First time round, in 2005, the size of this demographic was measured to be 26%. When the research was repeated in 2007, it had grown to 32% (6% increase), mainly due to a rise in those who are tertiary educated or earning more than $70,000 per annum. These are the groups I'd expect to grow, if they aren't all mostly there yet.
However, whilst it is fantastic that this research is starting to be carried out I was disappointed with the limited scope. It is great to see it was represented by the appropriate age group ratios but out of over 4 million people only 1000 people were surveyed by phone. This might be good enough in market research - I don't know, it's something I'd love to learn more about - but I'd want more specific details if I were to base my business on it. Since this was prepared before a LOHAS forum, it must have been enough to be able to start bringing the New Zealanders into conversation.
FYI, the key conclusions (I'm not at all surprised about) were:
Society is feeling the pressure from increased growing awareness of environmental and social issues and people are taking greater action to help themselves and others where they feel they can. This is causing an increase in the overall Solution Seekers group as they endeavour to find ways to support their evolving values and changing lifestyle choices.
It’s no surprise that climate change is currently the biggest driver in society with 83% of New Zealanders aware of the problems that the world faces, such as global warming. They also want to take action to reduce these problems.
But as society struggles to deal with these complex issues they are loosing faith in Government and business to provide the appropriate solutions. With an unclear will from Government and a business mandate geared on profit, they feel our current systems and technologies are to blame for these issues.
With few solutions they can actually purchase or adopt, they are instead looking to past social institutions and lifestyles as an alternative. They are harking back to the ‘good old days’ where individuals were more self reliant.
We’re basically seeing the growth in traditional values as society become more disenfranchised and disillusioned by the repercussions of modern life.
As I come across free-access sustainability reports of NZ companies, I'll list them here:
In Fashion, there is Untouched World; here is their Sustainability Statement.
In transport, there is Urgent Couriers, here is their 2008 report.
Monday 19 March 2012
Ray Anderson, The Ecology of Commerce, and The Next Sustainability Wave
My first experience with a company that really thought outside the box for transformational change, for sustainability and success is Interface Carpets. Their CEO, Ray Anderson, tells the story in many YouTube videos - here is one of them:
One of the resources Ray Anderson often referred to as the first great eye-opener to help him understand the concept of business helping to shape a new more sustainable world was the book The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken (1993). I think I read this book many years ago when I first became interested in this topic.
A similar, more recent book on the topic is The Next Sustainability Wave by Bob Willard (2005). This I haven't read, but it looks like the title is referring to the necessary mass-movement towards sustainability by the business sector - as opposed to the first early adopters - and explains how to sell the transformational thinking concept to business leaders. It sounds like the kind of thing I'll want to read. Bob Willard also has a website advertising resources for sustainability champions, good on him.
This kind of stuff leads to competitions, so a few years ago the Global 100 list was started, naming the 100 most sustainable companies of each year. Anything that helps spur things along!
WWF Living Planet Report 2010
Another easy to read report on how we are living beyond our means and what we could do to avert total collapse. This one focusses mainly on the LPI (Living Planet Index) and other recently developed measurement indicators for ecosystems and resources (such as ecological footprints) based on the premise that "what gets measured gets managed". The overriding message is nicely summarised at the end of the introduction by James Leape, Director General of WWF International: "These challenges further emphasize the importance of decoupling development from growing demands on the natural resources. Put plainly, we have to devise ways of getting as much, and more, from much less. Continuing to consume the Earth's resources more quickly than they can be replenished is destroying the very systems on which we depend. We have to move to managing resources on nature's terms and on nature's scale."
Footprinting products
I've always been fascinated with ways to assess product footprints and life-cycles. Here are two examples of such attempts: The Patagonia Footprint Chronicles and -my favourite- The Good Guide website (and App on my iPhone! although more NZ products need to be included still before it really works here).
Ecological Footprinting
I read Ella Lawton's paper submission on her New Zealand Footprint project. I had another look over the notes I took when she spoke to us during our block course also. As a scientist, I really like the idea of measuring our impacts on the environment because I see how it can give us comfort and reassurance about what we are doing, but I get quite disappointed with the limitations of the approach. I am a holistic thinker, and so it really annoys me when I'm working hard on something and using tools that aren't able to meet my needs completely. On the other hand though, I like problems, and so the chance to help make it better does excite me. Overall, I'm glad someone devised it - measurement tools are important for stewardship and governance! Heres a quick example of how it works from a 'top down' approach:
Amount of bioproductive land (e.g. 11.9 billion hectares) / Amount of people in the world (e.g. 7 billion humans) = 1.7 hectares/person is a 'fair Earth share' on a worldwide view.So, the amount of bioproductive land it takes to run you and your life, is your ecological footprint. This is always a representation of what you are taking from the Earth. Conversely, what you do to give to the earth and its capacity to function, is your ecological handprint
I enjoyed watching the Centre for Sustainable Practice presentation on this topic because I finally understand this topic better, especially how the ecological overshoot is calculated. Here are my notes:
I calculated my ecological footprint using one of the many calculators, I chose this one because I don't have data on my electricity and gas bills, so I'm not sure how accurate it is because its easy to just come out similar to the national average I imagine but it came up with 3.2 earths for my lifestyle. I later found the Project Litefoot calculator also allows for lots of 'average' entries and so it came up with a similar result. It doesn't seem too far fetched because so far the best estimates on New Zealander's average footprints are up around 7.7 hectares per person. If you do have detailed information you can use other calculators for NZ such as here and here. I think that people can only really be expected to substantially lower their footprints when the system they live in (i.e. governance and business) makes it easier for them. It's the chicken and the egg problem at the moment, right?
I also used the tried calculating my ecological handprint, the opposite of the footprint being the actions that one takes to make things better for the environment, and it turned out to be around 21 I think (it's not very precise or anything, but doing it helps your brain understand what is meant by the concept).
The story of ...
Here's a chance to see more of Annie Leonard's short videos on the history and happenings of various industries over time...
Strong Sustainability for New Zealand
This is a document that a large group of New Zealanders worked on only a few years ago to give people a description of what strong sustainability would mean in the context of a nation, as well as some fictional stories to show what might be required to get there. The concept is a really good idea, and employing storytelling makes it quite easy to keep reading a document that long. I'm not sure who the intended audience was, so I'll assume it is for a small group of interested individuals. The idealistic nature is important to this document (it would be very disappointing if it didn't explore sustainability seriously enough) but it's a big leap with some vital and practical steps not articulated. I think to have a more stimulating effect, such a concept would need to be delivered more succinctly with very careful framing for the particular audience(s), and obviously more exposure than quietly sitting on a website requiring payment before download. Since the authors describe their message with so much passion for urgency, I'm surprised it is not freely accessible.
The Stern Review
I am told that the Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change which came out in 2006 carried a lot of weight in convincing more of the global business community that climate change is a real force to be reckoned with - believable to them as it came from economists they trust. I guess since it took that long they could do nothing but be blunt with the analysis and recommendations. They even call climate change "the greatest and widest-ranging market failure ever seen".
The first sentence reads "The scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change presents very serious global risks, and it demands an urgent global response." Welcome to the club, the scientific evidence has been overwhelming for some time... but it just shows how much effective communication in the right frame and the right channels is worth more than the opposite in quantity.
It makes it very clear that climate change threatens the ability for humans to meet their basic needs, and that the transition to avoid this (i.e. a low-carbon economy) will also bring many opportunities. I often find it odd how many businesses/industries baulk at change (and there are plenty doing that at the moment), when change is the only thing that is constant, and innovation is what separates the leaders from the strugglers. After all, they are very clear about the way things are heading: "markets for low-carbon technologies could be worth at least $500bn by 2050".
It is uplifting to see that the authors called for "Greater international co-operation to accelerate technological innovation and diffusion" to reduce the costs in this transition. Businesses are still run by humans, and it is a very strong human trait to band together on the door of global threat - so hearing this from a community that values competition highly shows that they 'get it'.
The main point of their report that: "The benefits of strong, early action considerably outweigh the costs" by addressing the issue with prevention they estimate around 1% annual GDP spending to 2050, as opposed to 5-20% if we would rather clean up the mess.
When reading the recommendations, especially the ones that involve government intervention, I couldn't help but feel disappointed that our NZ government's actions don't live up to (m)any of them. They continue to want to be a part of the dinosaur economy by cutting up our virgin landscape for lignite and are systematically weakening our ETS one review at a time so that is far from showing people the true cost of their actions and consumptions. I continue to hold out hope though, I'd love to see a clean green NZ that leads in this just as it did in many other moral topics.
The first sentence reads "The scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change presents very serious global risks, and it demands an urgent global response." Welcome to the club, the scientific evidence has been overwhelming for some time... but it just shows how much effective communication in the right frame and the right channels is worth more than the opposite in quantity.
It makes it very clear that climate change threatens the ability for humans to meet their basic needs, and that the transition to avoid this (i.e. a low-carbon economy) will also bring many opportunities. I often find it odd how many businesses/industries baulk at change (and there are plenty doing that at the moment), when change is the only thing that is constant, and innovation is what separates the leaders from the strugglers. After all, they are very clear about the way things are heading: "markets for low-carbon technologies could be worth at least $500bn by 2050".
It is uplifting to see that the authors called for "Greater international co-operation to accelerate technological innovation and diffusion" to reduce the costs in this transition. Businesses are still run by humans, and it is a very strong human trait to band together on the door of global threat - so hearing this from a community that values competition highly shows that they 'get it'.
The main point of their report that: "The benefits of strong, early action considerably outweigh the costs" by addressing the issue with prevention they estimate around 1% annual GDP spending to 2050, as opposed to 5-20% if we would rather clean up the mess.
When reading the recommendations, especially the ones that involve government intervention, I couldn't help but feel disappointed that our NZ government's actions don't live up to (m)any of them. They continue to want to be a part of the dinosaur economy by cutting up our virgin landscape for lignite and are systematically weakening our ETS one review at a time so that is far from showing people the true cost of their actions and consumptions. I continue to hold out hope though, I'd love to see a clean green NZ that leads in this just as it did in many other moral topics.
Johan Rockstrom - Planetary Boundaries
Let the environment guide our development is the name of Johan Rockstrom's 2010 TED talk. He succinctly provides a very clear and visual description of the current situation we find ourselves in: firstly, by pointing out how comfortable our climate has been in the last 10,000 years of our development and then by outlining the major pressures we are putting on the planet (which have led to what some scientists are now describing as the 'anthropocene' - a new era where humans are the major driver of planetary system changes). He then introduces the concept of 'thresholds' which could tip the planet into a new state and how scientists are trying to identify these so that we can move towards operating in a safe zone within them. He is optimistic that the current crisis presents a great opportunity for humanity, if simultaneous collaboration can manage to 'bend the curves' of exponentially increasing trends that are leading us towards these thresholds within the next 10-40 years. He is under no delusions about the fact that the biggest challenge will be achieving the shift in mindset required for this.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
In stark contrast to many formal-and-painful-to-read 'reports', the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment 'Living Beyond our Means' was eloquently laid out with succinct and easy to read language, whilst still giving in depth information. It's so refreshing! I imagine they made it so because the information within it is for anyone - anyone has a right to know how deep in the red we are in the natural capital that supports our life. If you are choosing which doom-and-gloom report to read, this one's on the recommended list.
HOME
I may or may not have watched this movie before... I think it's my second time and I felt compelled to do what I think I did last time, which is fast forward continuously between watching snippets to get the drift of the overall story. It's definitely got some amazing scenery shots, always from way up high like a god's point of view (or a very highflying bird!), with a very slow narration that either grates me or puts me to sleep. Perhaps if I hadn't already learned a lot of the information before and if I was in the right mood I'd be able to watch it seriously, because it is a very serious movie. It's got a very environmentalist-movement tone, soon after preaching the magnificence of nature it goes on to point out all of the popular problems humans have created within our biosphere, which is seriously depressing. I think it's good someone made this movie, its great to put our history into perspective and for visualization; but we need some others to follow it up quickly!
There was one snippet I really got something from, about 13 minutes in, where birds are being observed and the question is posed "what do we know of the bonds that link them?", which made me think back to one of my classes at University and the way we were taught to measure animal behaviour... and I thought 'reductionist thinking isn't necessarily going to tell us'. When I think back to all the people I've heard of who have made the greatest and most celebrated strides in learning about another species, they were always the ones who immersed themselves in that species life, e.g. Jane Goodall, which is quite a holistic way.
Anyway, if I haven't put you off too much, which wasn't my intention, here you can watch the whole 90 minutes of HOME.
There was one snippet I really got something from, about 13 minutes in, where birds are being observed and the question is posed "what do we know of the bonds that link them?", which made me think back to one of my classes at University and the way we were taught to measure animal behaviour... and I thought 'reductionist thinking isn't necessarily going to tell us'. When I think back to all the people I've heard of who have made the greatest and most celebrated strides in learning about another species, they were always the ones who immersed themselves in that species life, e.g. Jane Goodall, which is quite a holistic way.
Anyway, if I haven't put you off too much, which wasn't my intention, here you can watch the whole 90 minutes of HOME.
NZ Climate Change Effects and Impacts Assessment
The Ministry for the Environment prepared a guidance manual for local government in NZ titled Climate Change Effect and Impacts Assessment (2nd Ed) in May 2008. I read it - well no... I skimmed it, mainly just Chapter 2 on projections of climate for NZ (which is all that would interest anyone I talk to in the near future). So here's the interesting bits:
"New Zealand temperatures are expected to increase by about 1 degree Celsius by 2040, and 2 degrees Celsius by 2090. However, there is a wide range... owing to different emission scenarios"
"The latest results suggest increased westerlies in winter and spring, along with more rainfall in the west of the North and the South Islands and dried conditions in the east and north. Conversely, in summer and autumn, the models suggest decreased frequency of westerly conditions, with drier conditions in the west of the North Island and possible rainfall increases in Gisborne and Hawke's Bay. Other changes expected are: decreased frost risk, increased incidence of high temperatures, increased frequency of extreme daily rainfalls, a possible increase in strong winds, and decreases in average snow cover". The most confident (i.e. 90% chance) predictions related to the air and ocean temperature increases and also sea level increases of at least 18-59 cm rise from 1990 levels to 2100. Just something to be aware of, kind regards to the many scientists that slaved to work this out.
As a side note, I found it interesting that within the executive summary, councils and communities were instructed to give serious consideration to infrastructure developments that will need to cope with climate conditions in 50-100 years time. A bit above and beyond their usual long term plan of 10 years!
"New Zealand temperatures are expected to increase by about 1 degree Celsius by 2040, and 2 degrees Celsius by 2090. However, there is a wide range... owing to different emission scenarios"
"The latest results suggest increased westerlies in winter and spring, along with more rainfall in the west of the North and the South Islands and dried conditions in the east and north. Conversely, in summer and autumn, the models suggest decreased frequency of westerly conditions, with drier conditions in the west of the North Island and possible rainfall increases in Gisborne and Hawke's Bay. Other changes expected are: decreased frost risk, increased incidence of high temperatures, increased frequency of extreme daily rainfalls, a possible increase in strong winds, and decreases in average snow cover". The most confident (i.e. 90% chance) predictions related to the air and ocean temperature increases and also sea level increases of at least 18-59 cm rise from 1990 levels to 2100. Just something to be aware of, kind regards to the many scientists that slaved to work this out.
As a side note, I found it interesting that within the executive summary, councils and communities were instructed to give serious consideration to infrastructure developments that will need to cope with climate conditions in 50-100 years time. A bit above and beyond their usual long term plan of 10 years!
An Inconvenient Truth
I saw this movie many years ago when it came out. It is quite well done, with some story telling and emotive language and humour to make the information content palatable, but that's all irrelevant because it's one of those things that had such an impact that you just need to have seen it if you are at all interested in the climate change topic; period.
Thursday 15 March 2012
The End of Suburbia
I haven't seen the movie yet, but it looks good; very American focussed, but well to the point about how our lifestyles are unsustainable and non-resilient - and how this will not be able to continue for much longer, i.e. we will eventually be operating quite different lives to our current ones. Many people live oblivious to this still, so its good that they make this very obvious. Based on how many futuristic TV shows like 'Star Trek' and even 'The Jetsons' used to exist (that seems to have been a 1980's-90's phase?!) we all used to be quite expectant of that, but since Y2K came and went without flying cars we have become quite protective of our status quo. I wonder if that expectation can be reawakened in the populations that 'have it all-but are still unhappy'? If I ever do see the movie, I will update this blog.
Two converging issues
The two converging issues that have brought about the need for truly sustainable practices are our continually rising human demands and the declining supply of natural resources. Here are my notes:
Saturday 10 March 2012
Matauranga Maori and the future
Matauranga Maori can be defined as "the knowledge, comprehension, or understanding of everything visible and invisible existing in the universe' and is often used synonymously with wisdom. Maori seem to be very holistic thinkers when it comes to everything. I'm a person who gets their kicks from being able to see the forest after looking at just one tree can relate to that. Upon reading "We never separate the sea from the land and the land from the air", I can see how Maori could often feel uneasy during consultation about what to do with a tree, when the forest isn't at all talked about. I think I would too, but I see why our system is the way it is. Learning more about Maori views and ways is something I am very open to. Often, I think we get very caught up in the specific meaning of words; when I listen I am quite willing to consider the different meanings that could be intended than just what it sounds like, and I am happy to acknowledge even if I don't convert to a way of thinking. I am open minded and sceptical at the same time, it comes case by case, but communicating and learning is always a beneficial thing.
I had a quick read of Nga Kaihange Hau - For Maori Future Makers, and I came across a nice quote by Professor James Belich in the Introduction: "Polynesians and the British are two of the most expansive and reproductive peoples human history has ever seen" and it brought the thought to me that it is quite amazing that both were brave enough to venture out into the far south, and both fortunate enough to be rewarded with the chance to live in such a beautiful country for their efforts. So much of the world is already overpopulated with people, or has temperatures not as comfortable as here in New Zealand. Maori and non-Maori are by global standards of colonisation getting along quite well, but there is still hostility, and remembering how long ago many of those wrongs were I find it quite annoying that they are something I have to concern myself with (having played no part personally). It is nice when someone speaks of that which we have in common and is good. There's plenty of wrongs that people have done a long time ago, the most popular topic is how the colonisers wronged Maori, but one of the ones that hardly ever gets mentioned is the wrongs Maori committed to Moriori. So in my view, I'd rather just talk about the future.
Quite fittingly, that brings me on to The Pakeha of the Future by Mitzi Nairn (2011) who wrote a really nice essay which persuades the reader to consider what it was like back around the 1840's when Maori and the colonisers met and negotiated. As an immigrant who is proud to live in and feels at home in New Zealand, just like her, I was very interested in her opinion. I can imagine the picture that she paints, of people coming together and enjoying the learning of eachother... but that is something that broke down between then and now and I have to admit that I don't know enough about the story to even guess why. I feel like it's unlikely I'd get an unbiased account at this stage (one of the main reasons I haven't tried), but I have a new resolve after reading this beautifully crafted essay to investigate the topic sometime; it's hit home that it's kind of vital if I want to master sustainability, especially in this place.
Here is another resource on this topic: http://www.towards2060.org.nz/mua/
I had a quick read of Nga Kaihange Hau - For Maori Future Makers, and I came across a nice quote by Professor James Belich in the Introduction: "Polynesians and the British are two of the most expansive and reproductive peoples human history has ever seen" and it brought the thought to me that it is quite amazing that both were brave enough to venture out into the far south, and both fortunate enough to be rewarded with the chance to live in such a beautiful country for their efforts. So much of the world is already overpopulated with people, or has temperatures not as comfortable as here in New Zealand. Maori and non-Maori are by global standards of colonisation getting along quite well, but there is still hostility, and remembering how long ago many of those wrongs were I find it quite annoying that they are something I have to concern myself with (having played no part personally). It is nice when someone speaks of that which we have in common and is good. There's plenty of wrongs that people have done a long time ago, the most popular topic is how the colonisers wronged Maori, but one of the ones that hardly ever gets mentioned is the wrongs Maori committed to Moriori. So in my view, I'd rather just talk about the future.
Quite fittingly, that brings me on to The Pakeha of the Future by Mitzi Nairn (2011) who wrote a really nice essay which persuades the reader to consider what it was like back around the 1840's when Maori and the colonisers met and negotiated. As an immigrant who is proud to live in and feels at home in New Zealand, just like her, I was very interested in her opinion. I can imagine the picture that she paints, of people coming together and enjoying the learning of eachother... but that is something that broke down between then and now and I have to admit that I don't know enough about the story to even guess why. I feel like it's unlikely I'd get an unbiased account at this stage (one of the main reasons I haven't tried), but I have a new resolve after reading this beautifully crafted essay to investigate the topic sometime; it's hit home that it's kind of vital if I want to master sustainability, especially in this place.
Here is another resource on this topic: http://www.towards2060.org.nz/mua/
Deep Ecology - a new paradigm
I had never come across the concept of deep ecology before reading Capra's chapter in The Web of Life (1996) just now. It has a pretty impressive first sentence "this is about a new scientific understanding of life at all levels of living systems" which would get any biologist jumpy, and it goes back to the part that particularly stuck a chord with me in the previous reading "The more we study the major problems of our time, the more we come to realize that they cannot be understood in isolation. They are systemic problems, which means that they are interconnected and interdependent...these problems must be seen as just different facets of one single crisis, which is largely a crisis of perception...there are solutions to the major problems of our time...but they require a radical shift in our perceptions, our thinking, our values... From the systemic point of view, the only viable solutions are those that are sustainable... This, in a nutshell is the great challenge of our time: to create sustainable communities, i.e. social and cultural environments in which we can satisfy our needs and aspirations without diminishing the chances of future generations."
So first of all, Capra describes how physicists reached a point with their accumulated knowledge early in the 20th century where they had to adapt to a new way of thinking, i.e. underwent a paradigm shift. To then extrapolate it to the larger social arena: "The paradigm that is now receding...has shaped our modern Western society and has significantly influenced the rest of the world. This paradigm consists of a number of entrenched ideas and values, among them the view of the universe as a mechanical system composed of elementary building blocks, the view of the human body as a machine, the view of life in society as a competitive struggle for existence, the belief in unlimited material progress to be achieved through economic and technological growth, and the belief that a society in which the female is everywhere subsumed under the male is one that follows a basic law of nature. All of these assumptions have been fatefully challenged by recent events...and a radical revision of them is now occurring.". Now, I agree with the overall message so far; I agree there is a paradigm shift that is coming in human perception - although still in its infancy numbers-wise, but at least I get what he's referring to, it has happened to me. However, I still see the universe as a system made up of building blocks, and whilst there is more to our body than being a machine it does react very similarly to one in many ways (more information needed), life in a biological context is a struggle for survival but if referring to it in a societal context then I agree it doesn't have to be (currently we are too competitive; some is good but the time is ripe for more cooperation for survival again). I agree we do need to get away from our broken economic model which drives everything, and put our post in the ground in regards to where we stand on valuing females. In some animal species they are dominant, others subordinate, what's ours? Our primate cousins have all sorts of set ups so there's little to conform with. As far as we know, we are the only species that gets to have a meeting about the issue and I'm pretty confident based on our current standing that equality would get the most votes, so lets work towards that.
So this new paradigm...which the author calls deep ecology refers to (spiritual) "awareness that recognizes the fundamental interdependence of all phenomena and the fact that, as individuals and societies, we are all embedded in and ultimately dependent on the cyclical processes of nature" or in other words "It is a woldview that acknowledges the inherent value of non-human life. All living beings are members of ecological communities bound together in a network of interdependencies" as opposed to what could be called the current shallow ecology which is "human-centred. It views humans as above or outside of nature, as the source of all value, and ascribes only instrumental, or 'use', value to nature." This makes a lot of sense to me, both in mind of the discussion on how our economic model can't account for nature and societal measures and the points raised in the empathic civilization.
Capra claims that "When this deep ecological perception becomes part of our daily awareness, a radically new system of ethics emerges" and really hammers into how this will affect where we spend our dollars when it comes to doing science. I find that really interesting, because like many young researchers I have struggled with the idea of whether all the waste generated or especially the animals sacrificed for research are ethically acceptable for answering various of scientific questions. I decided to take it case by case in my situation at the time, but I agree with Capra "it seems most urgent to introduce 'eco-ethical' standards into science" and his next points really helped further my thinking: "values are not peripheral to science but constitute their very basis and driving force. During the Scientific Revolution in the seventeenth century, values were separated from facts...in reality, scientific facts emerge out of an entire constellation of human perceptions, values, and actions - in one word, out of a paradigm - from which they cannot be separated. Although much of the detailed research may not depend explicitly on the scientist's value system, the larger paradigm within which this research is pursued will never be value-free. Scientists, therefore, are responsible for their research not only intellectually but also morally". I couldn't agree more.
He said something else that really resonated: 'If we have deep ecological awareness, or experience, of being part of the web of life, then we will (as opposed to should) be inclined to care for all of living nature". I think this is the driving force in us, our understanding plus our instinct for survival, to strive for goodness.
My favourite part was the end though, where Capra points out that physics is the centre of the old paradigm (funny admission from a physicist), and life sciences are at the core of the new paradigm - no wonder I studied biology! Here's his closing statements for you to ponder: "Even though the paradigm shift in physics is still of special interest because it was the first to occur in modern science, physics has now lost its role as the science providing the most fundamental description of reality. However, this is not generally recognized today. Scientists as well as non-scientists frequently retain the popular belief that 'if you really want to know the ultimate explanation; you have to ask a physicist', which is clearly a Cartesian fallacy. Today, the paradigm shift in science, at its deepest level, implies a shift from physics to the life sciences."
The Future of Progress
This morning I read a book section called The Future of Progress by Helena Norberg-Hodge and Peter Georing, written in 1995 (which is a little while ago now, which is a little scary because the content is truer than ever).
It describes the concept of developmental progress (mainly, the forcing of western ways upon everyone else) - which all of the worlds major governments and institutions believe in as the cure to all world problems - and the method of achieving it, namely, continuous economic growth and technological advance. Yes... I can say I've heard of that before. Then it goes on to point out many reasons why this concept is flawed and how it has contributed to the worlds problems and how it will need to be countered either directly or via alternative solutions.
The chapter took me over an hour to read, because it struck so many chords with me that I kept dashing away scribbling down thoughts or ideas. Here are a few excerpts and some of my responses:
"The natural world is largely absent from the economic models...there is an implied assumption that the Earth has an infinite capacity to supply the resources...and absorb the resulting wastes...this is not true...industrial society is seriously overburdening the biosphere...in effect borrowing from future generations, which will inherit a depleted and degraded Earth" --- This idea I know well, and as a 26 year old feel a part of, and it is exactly why groups like Generation Zero (whose goal is to empower NZ youth to stand up against this injustice, albeit in regards to climate change) are sprouting up. I feel like my generation will be the first to really-really interact with the impacts our entire lives.
"The UN lists Bhutan as one of the world's most impoverished countries, even though almost all of its people have adequate food, clothing and shelter, as well as sophisticated works of art and music - and more time for families and friends than most Westerners...what matters is GDP and per capita income, and on that count the Bhutanese are deemed to be no different from homeless people on urban streets" --- Whilst I knew of the concept I hadn't heard such an example before. Leaving out the social category in how we measure things is really quite illogical! Perhaps this is how many of us will feel one day about the next paragraph also...
"The economic paradigm goes hand in hand with modern science and technology; together they form the driving force behind industrial society. Science gains its understanding of the world largely by isolating and studying small pieces out of the interconnected continuum of nature. This approach has had undeniable success...however, the ability of scientists to predict the consequences of their actions is limited to the narrow parameters implicit in the scientific method...science has come to dominate all other systems of knowledge. Traditions of non-Western cultures and the experience and intuition of individuals are accepted only to the extent that they can be verified by scientific observation....the focus of scientific inquiry is getting narrower by the year, while its manipulations of the natural world deepen." --- As a scientist, I am of course very aware of the specialisation aspect, but I hadn't really thought about the other side of the coin (i.e. the flaws) of this in a while. I know from my experience that Cancer research for example is in dire need for a systems approach, but I won't go off on a tangent. Despite this flaw, I really respect the scientific method, it has given us so much power to learn! Also, it is only a tool, and science is bigger than that in my mind. Science also evolves and we get to use it as our thinking evolves. It isn't currently designed to understand things that it can't yet measure, and it's up to us to decide if we want to give attention to those things. I guess the moral I see there is that scientists should always stay humble too and not be blinkered by only one filter by finding balance through diverse activities and interactions. I have heard great scientists say this before, now I get why a little better.
There's a few good paragraphs on how the industrialised nations have expanded into the developing nations with their own ideas and ways of doing things (and for their own gain), and how this has destabilized self-sufficiency and sustainability there, e.g. via infrastructure development and urbanisation, breaking down local economies, media images, introducing western as opposed to locally-relevant education, and the uptake of industrial agriculture methods, etc. --- I find it quite sad that the developing nations are not just losing their way of doing things but more-so that they are aiming to adopt what industrialised nations already have. If everyone is the same, we are less resilient and less interesting! I am a naturally curious person, and love to learn, to think that there is knowledge out there being lost is highly annoying! Just to clarify though, I'm not advocating for a conservation where everything stays the same - everything evolves always - but it would be nice if other cultures got to evolve mainly based on their roots and then seeing where they go based on the topics where humanity agrees e.g. common values.
"Many regions...where the way of life is still based on traditional and ecologically-sensitive patterns, contain the seed for their own sustainable future. Recreating strong local economies and vibrant human-scale communities is a much bigger challenge in the highly urbanised." --- I can see why one might think so, but I'm not sure if I agree - perhaps it's because I like a challenge! I think it is just as possible to bring about real change in the highly urbanised, but it will of course look very different. Also, I don't think we have the time for counter-development in the rural parts to build up and show the urbanised how great it is; the change needs to happen in the urban environment at the same time that we tackle the outlying towns.
I agree with the authors that those in the developing nations need to know that the cities don't necessarily hold the life portrayed on billboards and that the individuals in industrialised nations know what destruction is happening in other parts of the world to bring them a lot of the not-necessarily-satisfying goods they spend their money on. There is a note in there that states "The educated....who enjoy the privilege in the current world order have a special responsibility for implementing change. They have many more resources at their disposal and greater influence than the marginalised...who are often struggling just to survive...democracies also tend to be more responsive to citizen pressure", well I can't really argue with that. The authors and I are westerners, and we do know a fair bit about what makes westerners tick - just the other day I heard a long-time sustainability manager say that the way to get people on board is via the normalisation of sustainable practice and the resulting peer pressure. If we know how, we have a greater chance of success also.
A lot of effort has been put into countering development which I think has contributed to the large perception that the environmental movement is very negative and whiny. Whilst both is helpful I'd say the alternative solutions are highly required, especially in education, and may even be easier to tackle since they are new creations. We'll see.
Since this has been such a long post and I want to lighten the mood but stay on topic, here's a short video:
It describes the concept of developmental progress (mainly, the forcing of western ways upon everyone else) - which all of the worlds major governments and institutions believe in as the cure to all world problems - and the method of achieving it, namely, continuous economic growth and technological advance. Yes... I can say I've heard of that before. Then it goes on to point out many reasons why this concept is flawed and how it has contributed to the worlds problems and how it will need to be countered either directly or via alternative solutions.
The chapter took me over an hour to read, because it struck so many chords with me that I kept dashing away scribbling down thoughts or ideas. Here are a few excerpts and some of my responses:
"The natural world is largely absent from the economic models...there is an implied assumption that the Earth has an infinite capacity to supply the resources...and absorb the resulting wastes...this is not true...industrial society is seriously overburdening the biosphere...in effect borrowing from future generations, which will inherit a depleted and degraded Earth" --- This idea I know well, and as a 26 year old feel a part of, and it is exactly why groups like Generation Zero (whose goal is to empower NZ youth to stand up against this injustice, albeit in regards to climate change) are sprouting up. I feel like my generation will be the first to really-really interact with the impacts our entire lives.
"The UN lists Bhutan as one of the world's most impoverished countries, even though almost all of its people have adequate food, clothing and shelter, as well as sophisticated works of art and music - and more time for families and friends than most Westerners...what matters is GDP and per capita income, and on that count the Bhutanese are deemed to be no different from homeless people on urban streets" --- Whilst I knew of the concept I hadn't heard such an example before. Leaving out the social category in how we measure things is really quite illogical! Perhaps this is how many of us will feel one day about the next paragraph also...
"The economic paradigm goes hand in hand with modern science and technology; together they form the driving force behind industrial society. Science gains its understanding of the world largely by isolating and studying small pieces out of the interconnected continuum of nature. This approach has had undeniable success...however, the ability of scientists to predict the consequences of their actions is limited to the narrow parameters implicit in the scientific method...science has come to dominate all other systems of knowledge. Traditions of non-Western cultures and the experience and intuition of individuals are accepted only to the extent that they can be verified by scientific observation....the focus of scientific inquiry is getting narrower by the year, while its manipulations of the natural world deepen." --- As a scientist, I am of course very aware of the specialisation aspect, but I hadn't really thought about the other side of the coin (i.e. the flaws) of this in a while. I know from my experience that Cancer research for example is in dire need for a systems approach, but I won't go off on a tangent. Despite this flaw, I really respect the scientific method, it has given us so much power to learn! Also, it is only a tool, and science is bigger than that in my mind. Science also evolves and we get to use it as our thinking evolves. It isn't currently designed to understand things that it can't yet measure, and it's up to us to decide if we want to give attention to those things. I guess the moral I see there is that scientists should always stay humble too and not be blinkered by only one filter by finding balance through diverse activities and interactions. I have heard great scientists say this before, now I get why a little better.
There's a few good paragraphs on how the industrialised nations have expanded into the developing nations with their own ideas and ways of doing things (and for their own gain), and how this has destabilized self-sufficiency and sustainability there, e.g. via infrastructure development and urbanisation, breaking down local economies, media images, introducing western as opposed to locally-relevant education, and the uptake of industrial agriculture methods, etc. --- I find it quite sad that the developing nations are not just losing their way of doing things but more-so that they are aiming to adopt what industrialised nations already have. If everyone is the same, we are less resilient and less interesting! I am a naturally curious person, and love to learn, to think that there is knowledge out there being lost is highly annoying! Just to clarify though, I'm not advocating for a conservation where everything stays the same - everything evolves always - but it would be nice if other cultures got to evolve mainly based on their roots and then seeing where they go based on the topics where humanity agrees e.g. common values.
"Many regions...where the way of life is still based on traditional and ecologically-sensitive patterns, contain the seed for their own sustainable future. Recreating strong local economies and vibrant human-scale communities is a much bigger challenge in the highly urbanised." --- I can see why one might think so, but I'm not sure if I agree - perhaps it's because I like a challenge! I think it is just as possible to bring about real change in the highly urbanised, but it will of course look very different. Also, I don't think we have the time for counter-development in the rural parts to build up and show the urbanised how great it is; the change needs to happen in the urban environment at the same time that we tackle the outlying towns.
I agree with the authors that those in the developing nations need to know that the cities don't necessarily hold the life portrayed on billboards and that the individuals in industrialised nations know what destruction is happening in other parts of the world to bring them a lot of the not-necessarily-satisfying goods they spend their money on. There is a note in there that states "The educated....who enjoy the privilege in the current world order have a special responsibility for implementing change. They have many more resources at their disposal and greater influence than the marginalised...who are often struggling just to survive...democracies also tend to be more responsive to citizen pressure", well I can't really argue with that. The authors and I are westerners, and we do know a fair bit about what makes westerners tick - just the other day I heard a long-time sustainability manager say that the way to get people on board is via the normalisation of sustainable practice and the resulting peer pressure. If we know how, we have a greater chance of success also.
A lot of effort has been put into countering development which I think has contributed to the large perception that the environmental movement is very negative and whiny. Whilst both is helpful I'd say the alternative solutions are highly required, especially in education, and may even be easier to tackle since they are new creations. We'll see.
Since this has been such a long post and I want to lighten the mood but stay on topic, here's a short video:
Sustainability explained in 2 minutes
A quick 2-minute summary of what I am studying and why I am studying it... self explanatory.
Thursday 8 March 2012
The Empathic Civilisation
The Empathic Civilisation talk explains the scientific discovery of mirror neurons which give us the capability to imagine what others might be feeling when they experience something (as if it was us that were experiencing it), i.e. the ability to empathise. It seems that acquiring this skill was advantageous for us humans - social creatures that we are! Evolution has made it possible and selected for this capability, but it is something that develops (as we develop our brain by learning about the world) during childhood. People often wonder if humans are born good or bad, and whether they are shaped more by nature versus nurture; I believe the discussions are complex because its likely to be neutral and both. My impression at this point (as a current non-parent) is that as long as a child's physiology (and therefore psychology) is sound (i.e. is not missing vital hormones or so on), and it is raised with calmness and love and gets to learn empathy towards our biosphere, you end up with quite a nice homo empathicus. It is put forth in the video that "empathy in humans is what could save us". On reflection, I'm sure my empathy is well developed, and thus I'm not surprised that I'm drawn to spending my time on helping us "evolve our empathy to extend to the entire human race and our evolutionary family".
The Story of Stuff
The Story of Stuff is a video that I heard of a long time ago, but never thought to search YouTube for, and therefore didn't see until now. I think it is brilliant! Everyone should see it. I'll be watching it again many times. Annie Leonard does a great job of presenting (I recently did a presenting to camera course and would be quite stoked to do it like her) and the cartooning really helps the mind be engaged for the whole time! I felt it brought a lot of things I knew and put them into a big-picture package. It freaks me out how big the problem is, and how much damage has been done, but considering I'd like to teach my children about nature one day I'd like for those statistics not to be much worse than they are now! I'd be so embarrassed if they were - not that it's my fault, but I'd still be apologetic in the same way you can be sad for anyone else on anything that's unfortunate for them. I can accept how it is now, and am optimistic. The challenge of reversing these unacceptable trends is something that excites me, and the wide variety of industries and processes where sustainable practice is required is another bonus, because it means that I can live a life of variety (which my broad interest base requires) whilst always working towards the same purpose.
Social Media and its power
I watched the Social Media Revolution 2 (Refresh) video... on how world communication has changed due to social media. I pretty much grew up with it, so I do get it, but it seems that it is always capable of more than even I can imagine... the sheer extent of these statistics blows even my mind. It has power, which can be used for good or evil, but overall the good outweighs the bad. Anyone who underestimates it is a fool, I bet it'll go on to do things we haven't even thought of yet. In our ever-faster changing world it will evolve, but the concept will do very well for a long long time. We are social creatures. It was made for us.
Falling in love with Wanaka
First step, a 5 day block course in Wanaka to get to know the Centre for Sustainable Practice and the other students. Here are some excerpts from the reflective notes I jotted down during the week:
I really liked our creative reflections exercises; I noticed that it's been a long time since I've attempted to be creative! We introduced ourselves to each other quite a few times and in different ways, whilst I was always open I could tell that the telling of life events wasn't helping others get to know me as much as specific stories. It's often easy to bumble around on logical stuff, when just jumping in with a particular aspect of yourself can give a much more accurate representation. I come away thinking: I need to practice describing myself and expressing myself in the way I wish to be known, thereby not limiting it to my current situation as my definition.
On day 2 we visited some local sites and also learned more about some of the larger projects a few other students already have in mind, that was really inspiring! I went for a run after class and ended up on top of Mt Iron and got a fantastic view over the whole region, a breathtaking sight! I feel very connected to this place already (the idea of what kaitiakitanga is based on comes to mind). A lot of the space looks like a blank canvas still, full of potential. There's a lot of space like that out there in the world. It made me think that my next important steps will be to keep refining my interests so that I can commit to my first brush strokes.
My favourite and most memorable experience of the week was going for a swim in the lake. It was comfortably warm (once in) and so crystal clear! The rocks sparkled as if made of every metal and rock type and the mountains provided a calm horizon. It sparked more thoughts of: this is worth protecting and fighting for - dedicating my time to (purpose)! and this course is what I want to be doing right now (it allows for so much autonomy)! and I want to get really good at this (mastery)! with lots of evidence by the end of the year to have a good base to continue doing this work that I am learning over and over and over.
I really liked our creative reflections exercises; I noticed that it's been a long time since I've attempted to be creative! We introduced ourselves to each other quite a few times and in different ways, whilst I was always open I could tell that the telling of life events wasn't helping others get to know me as much as specific stories. It's often easy to bumble around on logical stuff, when just jumping in with a particular aspect of yourself can give a much more accurate representation. I come away thinking: I need to practice describing myself and expressing myself in the way I wish to be known, thereby not limiting it to my current situation as my definition. 
My favourite and most memorable experience of the week was going for a swim in the lake. It was comfortably warm (once in) and so crystal clear! The rocks sparkled as if made of every metal and rock type and the mountains provided a calm horizon. It sparked more thoughts of: this is worth protecting and fighting for - dedicating my time to (purpose)! and this course is what I want to be doing right now (it allows for so much autonomy)! and I want to get really good at this (mastery)! with lots of evidence by the end of the year to have a good base to continue doing this work that I am learning over and over and over. Friday 2 March 2012
Learning is my spice of life
I am so excited to finally start this blog! I set it up just over one year ago with the intention of having a place to put my thoughts, to respond to the crazy and mind boggling information that I come across on the web... but time passed and I was gripped with that first a-bit-fearful type of writers block ... nevermind that now, things have changed, I have grown, and I can't wait to get started.
A quick background introduction for you the reader: I was born to a fantastic german couple who brought me along with them to 'clean-green-New Zealand' when I was 8 years old to live 'the better lifestyle'. It was a great idea, I grew up surrounded by nature and was very hands on with anything. Jumping ahead many years, I graduated with a Master of Science (Technology) in molecular biology from the University of Waikato and then took up a Research Technician position at the Auckland Cancer Society Research with Prof. Bill Wilson investigating therapeutic drug synergy in a preclinical setting. Eventually, I moved on to become his P.A. and Operations Assistant for the Centre, where I am currently leading a variety of efficiency improvement projects.
For the past few years I have been spending many hours on the ever expanding web, just curious to learn as much about the world as I could. I was looking for something that really stimulates me and where I could see opportunites and niches to get involved; sustainability won out, and now it's early 2012 and I am enrolled at Otago Polytechnic's Centre for Sustainable Practice doing a Graduate Diploma. So happy to be learning again, and about a topic I love! "In awe...every day" is my blog where I get to record and share my learning experience; my journey to sustainability.
A quick background introduction for you the reader: I was born to a fantastic german couple who brought me along with them to 'clean-green-New Zealand' when I was 8 years old to live 'the better lifestyle'. It was a great idea, I grew up surrounded by nature and was very hands on with anything. Jumping ahead many years, I graduated with a Master of Science (Technology) in molecular biology from the University of Waikato and then took up a Research Technician position at the Auckland Cancer Society Research with Prof. Bill Wilson investigating therapeutic drug synergy in a preclinical setting. Eventually, I moved on to become his P.A. and Operations Assistant for the Centre, where I am currently leading a variety of efficiency improvement projects.
For the past few years I have been spending many hours on the ever expanding web, just curious to learn as much about the world as I could. I was looking for something that really stimulates me and where I could see opportunites and niches to get involved; sustainability won out, and now it's early 2012 and I am enrolled at Otago Polytechnic's Centre for Sustainable Practice doing a Graduate Diploma. So happy to be learning again, and about a topic I love! "In awe...every day" is my blog where I get to record and share my learning experience; my journey to sustainability.
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