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1. Our new book is called Sense and Sustainability. It is an attempt to bring a more profound level of discussion about ESD/EE
Or at least challenge a few tin godsOur new book is called Sense and Sustainability. It is an attempt to bring a more profound level of discussion about ESD/EE
Or at least challenge a few tin gods
2. George Lakoff "The mind is inherently embodied.
Thought is mostly unconscious. Abstract concepts are largely metaphorical."
Philosophy in the Flesh Embodied realism. See book notes also
Framing is Understanding How the environment is understood by the American public is crucial: it vastly affects the future of our earth and every living being on it.The technical term for understanding within the cognitive sciences is "framing." We think, mostly unconsciously, in terms of systems of structures called "frames." Each frame is a neural circuit, physically in our brains. We use our systems of frame-circuitry to understand everything, and we reason using frame-internal logics. Frame systems are organized in terms of values, and how we reason reflects our values, and our values determine our sense of identity. In short, framing is a big-deal.All of our language is defined in terms of our frame-circuitry. Words activate that circuitry, and the more we hear the words, the stronger their frames get. But if our language does not fit our frame circuitry, it will not be understood, or will be misunderstood. That is why it matters how we talk about our environment .But the frame circuitry in our brains doesn't change overnight. Just using the language of scientific facts and figures does not mean that the significance -- especially the moral significance -- of those facts and figures will be understood. That moral significance can only be communicated honestly and effectively using the language of value-based frames, preferably frames already there in the minds of the public.
More at
http://tinyurl.com/qzwg7lEmbodied realism. See book notes also
Framing is Understanding How the environment is understood by the American public is crucial: it vastly affects the future of our earth and every living being on it.The technical term for understanding within the cognitive sciences is "framing." We think, mostly unconsciously, in terms of systems of structures called "frames." Each frame is a neural circuit, physically in our brains. We use our systems of frame-circuitry to understand everything, and we reason using frame-internal logics. Frame systems are organized in terms of values, and how we reason reflects our values, and our values determine our sense of identity. In short, framing is a big-deal.All of our language is defined in terms of our frame-circuitry. Words activate that circuitry, and the more we hear the words, the stronger their frames get. But if our language does not fit our frame circuitry, it will not be understood, or will be misunderstood. That is why it matters how we talk about our environment .But the frame circuitry in our brains doesn't change overnight. Just using the language of scientific facts and figures does not mean that the significance -- especially the moral significance -- of those facts and figures will be understood. That moral significance can only be communicated honestly and effectively using the language of value-based frames, preferably frames already there in the minds of the public.
More at
http://tinyurl.com/qzwg7l
3. Lets begin with the situation today. I will take a short tour through the economy but removing most of the detail. I am trying to share what I see as the big picture. The reason for this is that understanding is shaped by our worldviews, the frameworks we habitually use as humans to decide what is important and meaningful and what is to be rejected.
The cognitive scientist George Lakoff says that almost all abstract thought is based around metaphors. So I will be using images a great deal in my presentation, to assist our discussions. Here we have an image of the economy as a spinning firework, in English a catherine wheel economy, burning buried sunshine and producing /consuming more and more energy and materials for ever shorter use times... (read caption: The dominant economic model is one of infinite unsustainable growth that swallows up the earths resources and exports massive amounts of wastes and entropy Lets begin with the situation today. I will take a short tour through the economy but removing most of the detail. I am trying to share what I see as the big picture. The reason for this is that understanding is shaped by our worldviews, the frameworks we habitually use as humans to decide what is important and meaningful and what is to be rejected.
The cognitive scientist George Lakoff says that almost all abstract thought is based around metaphors. So I will be using images a great deal in my presentation, to assist our discussions. Here we have an image of the economy as a spinning firework, in English a catherine wheel economy, burning buried sunshine and producing /consuming more and more energy and materials for ever shorter use times... (read caption: The dominant economic model is one of infinite unsustainable growth that swallows up the earths resources and exports massive amounts of wastes and entropy
4. It seems we have designed for ourselves a linear economy which is principally a waste economy.It is important to get the balance right in our minds. The economy produces waste and a small proportion of useful goods, rather than goods with some waste! The economy assumes there are unlimited resources and sinks for waste. On the other hand it is an economy with some feedback - through prices and markets. As we shall see some people treat the low carbon economy as a problem of replacing the gunpowder of the firework of the catherine wheel economy with something less dirty while others see the issue as a wider predicament. We shall not fall into the trap of seeing it just as an energy supply and/or emissions problem.
It seems we have designed for ourselves a linear economy which is principally a waste economy.It is important to get the balance right in our minds. The economy produces waste and a small proportion of useful goods, rather than goods with some waste! The economy assumes there are unlimited resources and sinks for waste. On the other hand it is an economy with some feedback - through prices and markets. As we shall see some people treat the low carbon economy as a problem of replacing the gunpowder of the firework of the catherine wheel economy with something less dirty while others see the issue as a wider predicament. We shall not fall into the trap of seeing it just as an energy supply and/or emissions problem.
5. Here is uncle Al Gore in a shot from his film and campaign the Inconvenient Truth. The lines are carbon dioxide and average temperatures over 600, 000 years. And just look where carbon dioxide concentration is now. See the red arrow? Thats about 385 parts per million. Now what do you think is going to happen to temperature? Its going to continue the dance, right?
Incidentally, the top of the red line is the projected levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in 50 years.
Climate change is real and it is already a very big problem that will affect the rest of our lives as well as all generations to come. At one level we know this, even if we dont want to deal with it. The world outside appears to work much as it has done for years...Here is uncle Al Gore in a shot from his film and campaign the Inconvenient Truth. The lines are carbon dioxide and average temperatures over 600, 000 years. And just look where carbon dioxide concentration is now. See the red arrow? Thats about 385 parts per million. Now what do you think is going to happen to temperature? Its going to continue the dance, right?
Incidentally, the top of the red line is the projected levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in 50 years.
Climate change is real and it is already a very big problem that will affect the rest of our lives as well as all generations to come. At one level we know this, even if we dont want to deal with it. The world outside appears to work much as it has done for years...
6. The graph is self explanatory. New discoveries are falling away, or are incredibly expensive to obtain or both ! - in energy as well as money terms - and production cannot keep rising. Since the modern world is built on oil, fed by oil and natural gas, transported by oil, and cooled/warmed by oil and natural gas then this alone is a reason to rethink what we produce, and how we produce it. Like global warming the idea is contested but studies such as the very recent Global Witness report Heads in the Sand make increasingly clear cases for serious trouble ahead - and we are talking 2012-2015. It is not the only reason of course (next)The graph is self explanatory. New discoveries are falling away, or are incredibly expensive to obtain or both ! - in energy as well as money terms - and production cannot keep rising. Since the modern world is built on oil, fed by oil and natural gas, transported by oil, and cooled/warmed by oil and natural gas then this alone is a reason to rethink what we produce, and how we produce it. Like global warming the idea is contested but studies such as the very recent Global Witness report Heads in the Sand make increasingly clear cases for serious trouble ahead - and we are talking 2012-2015. It is not the only reason of course (next)
7. World Energy Outlook 2008 From WEO 2008 - IEA
A lot of wishful thinking in this graph? Note the yet to be developed and discovered sections and the confidence in enhanced oil recovery.From WEO 2008 - IEA
A lot of wishful thinking in this graph? Note the yet to be developed and discovered sections and the confidence in enhanced oil recovery.
8. We are headed for a low carbon economy it seems - climate change meets peak oilWe are headed for a low carbon economy it seems - climate change meets peak oil
9. Systemic stress Change and how it happens in the real world. Some indicators from the New Scientist, Oct 19 2008. Hardly needs comment. Note the slope of the graph. Categories include ozone depletion, paper consumption, species loss, water use, CO2...emissions. As Paul Hawken once commented after displaying a similar graph. What more do you need to know?? It is the multiple signatures of an unsustainable situation, one which is getting worse at an increasing rate. NB the problem is not just carbon.
But what about the shape of the curve. This is a signpost of exponential growth, a runaway feedback driven system and the inevitable result of such a feedback loop is a crash, if it is left structurally untouched.- as illustrated by the financial system in 2008. The level of debt compared to real assets had become extraordinary and a fall back was inevitable. Climate systems have been runaway in the past. As we have seen with finance change can be sudden and dramatic. The past is no guide to the future if we find ourselves on the upslope of exponential curves. (next) Change and how it happens in the real world. Some indicators from the New Scientist, Oct 19 2008. Hardly needs comment. Note the slope of the graph. Categories include ozone depletion, paper consumption, species loss, water use, CO2...emissions. As Paul Hawken once commented after displaying a similar graph. What more do you need to know?? It is the multiple signatures of an unsustainable situation, one which is getting worse at an increasing rate. NB the problem is not just carbon.
But what about the shape of the curve. This is a signpost of exponential growth, a runaway feedback driven system and the inevitable result of such a feedback loop is a crash, if it is left structurally untouched.- as illustrated by the financial system in 2008. The level of debt compared to real assets had become extraordinary and a fall back was inevitable. Climate systems have been runaway in the past. As we have seen with finance change can be sudden and dramatic. The past is no guide to the future if we find ourselves on the upslope of exponential curves. (next)
10. Change Most real systems are non linear
Feedback matters
Time left for action shortens
Tipping points uncertain But what kind of change are we experiencing? Exponential change is based on feedback: think of compound interest! Note the slope of the graphs on previous slide. We behave as though change were linear and predictable however it almost never is. If we are looking at a non-linear system at work then beware - it shortens the time available for action, gives no clue as to when sudden change can be expected but also teaches that change can be profound, the idea of changed states following going beyond a tipping point. "The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Dr. Albert Bartlett. Perhaps it is something fundamental something we need to be explicit about when discussing a low carbon economy.
But what kind of change are we experiencing? Exponential change is based on feedback: think of compound interest! Note the slope of the graphs on previous slide. We behave as though change were linear and predictable however it almost never is. If we are looking at a non-linear system at work then beware - it shortens the time available for action, gives no clue as to when sudden change can be expected but also teaches that change can be profound, the idea of changed states following going beyond a tipping point. "The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Dr. Albert Bartlett. Perhaps it is something fundamental something we need to be explicit about when discussing a low carbon economy.
12. End of the line? Climate change
Maximum oil output nearby - peak oil
Systemic stress - biodiversity, water , food, materials, population etc
Money is almost all created as debt - this drives economic growth (to pay the interest)
There are several compelling reasons to plan for and debate the possibilities around a Low Carbon economy. The well known one is climate change, the more controversial one is the approach of a maximum output of cheap and easy to obtain oil and a third is the other stresses around our current industrial model: species loss, water availability, materials (especially metals) compounded by rising populations , especially those with somewhat higher incomes. Overarching all of these is the way we tend to see change - like the man who falls from a tall building who calls out so far so good as he passes the 12th floor. There are several compelling reasons to plan for and debate the possibilities around a Low Carbon economy. The well known one is climate change, the more controversial one is the approach of a maximum output of cheap and easy to obtain oil and a third is the other stresses around our current industrial model: species loss, water availability, materials (especially metals) compounded by rising populations , especially those with somewhat higher incomes. Overarching all of these is the way we tend to see change - like the man who falls from a tall building who calls out so far so good as he passes the 12th floor.
13. But we seem to be extraordinarily unconcerned- or we feel powerless- especially as to what to recommend, what to do, what makes the difference.But we seem to be extraordinarily unconcerned- or we feel powerless- especially as to what to recommend, what to do, what makes the difference.
14. 1. Let the Poor Die So which way out? I have a number of characterisations of a sustainable low carbon future, as discussion prompts. They are described in the following slides.
1 Let the Poor Die.
Themes: we are in charge and we can isolate ourselves. Survival of the fittest. Competition for fixed or declining resources means letting the poor die as too many people is the real problem. Wars over petroleum, food and water likely. Earth becomes stable with low population.
Thats number 1 Is it Realistic? Acceptable? Possible? You will discuss it in a moment -(go to next slide NOW)
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Unacceptable to most morally, yet we do not complain much about biofuels taking food from the market... The idea fails because the starving will consume all remaining forest, fish stocks, wildlife and food sources the rich rely on from abroad and human migration would be unstoppable. Only a dystopia. We are far too interdependent, quite apart from the immorality of it.
So which way out? I have a number of characterisations of a sustainable low carbon future, as discussion prompts. They are described in the following slides.
1 Let the Poor Die.
Themes: we are in charge and we can isolate ourselves. Survival of the fittest. Competition for fixed or declining resources means letting the poor die as too many people is the real problem. Wars over petroleum, food and water likely. Earth becomes stable with low population.
Thats number 1 Is it Realistic? Acceptable? Possible? You will discuss it in a moment -(go to next slide NOW)
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Unacceptable to most morally, yet we do not complain much about biofuels taking food from the market... The idea fails because the starving will consume all remaining forest, fish stocks, wildlife and food sources the rich rely on from abroad and human migration would be unstoppable. Only a dystopia. We are far too interdependent, quite apart from the immorality of it.
15. 2. Do with Less 2 Do with Less.
Themes: Economy takes instructions from individuals as consumers. Personal greed and excess has led us here, so if we consume less and only eco products then there will be a better quality of life. Requires education and persuasion. It really requires the top billion earners in the world to agree to less, while letting the others consume more.
Again you will be discussing if this works. Is it Realistic? Acceptable? Possible?)
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Nave and often hypocritical. I will live on very little but use the banking system and benefit from cheap goods, the global economy and enjoy my laptop and the internet. Its sometimes moralising and while consumerism needs challenging doing with less cant lead to sustainability - the economy isnt a simple input output box, there are knock on consequences e.g. around recession, the infrastructure of production and consumption is not so dependent on individual choices and less can be produced in a still wasteful way.2 Do with Less.
Themes: Economy takes instructions from individuals as consumers. Personal greed and excess has led us here, so if we consume less and only eco products then there will be a better quality of life. Requires education and persuasion. It really requires the top billion earners in the world to agree to less, while letting the others consume more.
Again you will be discussing if this works. Is it Realistic? Acceptable? Possible?)
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Nave and often hypocritical. I will live on very little but use the banking system and benefit from cheap goods, the global economy and enjoy my laptop and the internet. Its sometimes moralising and while consumerism needs challenging doing with less cant lead to sustainability - the economy isnt a simple input output box, there are knock on consequences e.g. around recession, the infrastructure of production and consumption is not so dependent on individual choices and less can be produced in a still wasteful way.
16. 3. Green after Gold 3 Green after Gold.
Themes: economic growth provides money for new technologies, lifting poor from poverty, cleaning up the environment. Profit guides investment. Efficiency goes up every year anyway and look at the numbers lifted from poverty in say China...? 300 Million in last 15 yrs?
(ask audience for comment - Possible? Can it be done with ending of cheap energy? )
Problem is that its still a linear economy but now a little less bad, and yet there are not enough resources left to meet demands of emerging populations nor sinks for the existing wastes. It has brought us bumping up against limits with only a rich billion of the population- only 5.5 billion to go? (or is that 7 billion poor by 2050?) Inequality is increasing not decreasing as time goes on too. Green after Gold however is the standard perception of most governments, media and business. A few technological fixes and a lot more efficiency??
Example of challenges. Here is a fuel efficient, cheap car for the masses of India. About 2000 USD. A good idea? Increased efficiency can easily be overwhelmed by increased consumption.3 Green after Gold.
Themes: economic growth provides money for new technologies, lifting poor from poverty, cleaning up the environment. Profit guides investment. Efficiency goes up every year anyway and look at the numbers lifted from poverty in say China...? 300 Million in last 15 yrs?
(ask audience for comment - Possible? Can it be done with ending of cheap energy? )
Problem is that its still a linear economy but now a little less bad, and yet there are not enough resources left to meet demands of emerging populations nor sinks for the existing wastes. It has brought us bumping up against limits with only a rich billion of the population- only 5.5 billion to go? (or is that 7 billion poor by 2050?) Inequality is increasing not decreasing as time goes on too. Green after Gold however is the standard perception of most governments, media and business. A few technological fixes and a lot more efficiency??
Example of challenges. Here is a fuel efficient, cheap car for the masses of India. About 2000 USD. A good idea? Increased efficiency can easily be overwhelmed by increased consumption.
17. 4. Revenge of Gaia 4 Revenge of Gaia.
Theme: We are NOT in charge, and its already too late. The earth is in progress to another hotter state and that means - according to James Lovelock- the end of the kind of civilisation we know and the beginning of a severe contraction, perhaps humanity inhabiting little more than the fringes of the Arctic and one or two other places. Meanwhile the rapid extinction of plants and animals continues reducing our survivability.
(ask audience for comment - Realistic? Possible? Dead end? )4 Revenge of Gaia.
Theme: We are NOT in charge, and its already too late. The earth is in progress to another hotter state and that means - according to James Lovelock- the end of the kind of civilisation we know and the beginning of a severe contraction, perhaps humanity inhabiting little more than the fringes of the Arctic and one or two other places. Meanwhile the rapid extinction of plants and animals continues reducing our survivability.
(ask audience for comment - Realistic? Possible? Dead end? )
18. 5. Going Back 5 Going Back.
Themes: The industrial system was doomed to failure so we need to really live in a pre-industrial way , simply but with ingenuity based on understanding the cycles of the seasons and the ancient wisdoms of peasants and farmers around maintaining soils and productivity. Pretty much as a very low impact society and based around agriculture, self sufficiency and perhaps spirituality.
(ask audience for comment - Realistic? Acceptable? Possible?)
Very romantic (perhaps!) but there are far too many people alive today to feed in this way and short of a disaster it is not something many people would choose - quite the opposite. 5 Going Back.
Themes: The industrial system was doomed to failure so we need to really live in a pre-industrial way , simply but with ingenuity based on understanding the cycles of the seasons and the ancient wisdoms of peasants and farmers around maintaining soils and productivity. Pretty much as a very low impact society and based around agriculture, self sufficiency and perhaps spirituality.
(ask audience for comment - Realistic? Acceptable? Possible?)
Very romantic (perhaps!) but there are far too many people alive today to feed in this way and short of a disaster it is not something many people would choose - quite the opposite.
19. A Changed Worldview? If the machine inspired the industrial age, the image of the living system may inspire a genuine postindustrial age, say Peter Senge et al., in Sloan Management Review.
You never change things by fighting against the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete. - Buckminster Fuller
If business as usual is a radical thought in the coming decade what can replace it? Is there a model of a prosperous economy which can be truly sustainable without invoking the options 1-5. Or do we just stick to imagining Green after Gold will work??
As these two quotations suggest we might be exploring a changed framework or worldview, one which offers an insight into sustainability, one which matches reality better and one which has much to say about education as well.
But what does education do now when it examines sustainability? It might be trapped in a rather linear and limited set of concepts - more nice story than anythingIf business as usual is a radical thought in the coming decade what can replace it? Is there a model of a prosperous economy which can be truly sustainable without invoking the options 1-5. Or do we just stick to imagining Green after Gold will work??
As these two quotations suggest we might be exploring a changed framework or worldview, one which offers an insight into sustainability, one which matches reality better and one which has much to say about education as well.
But what does education do now when it examines sustainability? It might be trapped in a rather linear and limited set of concepts - more nice story than anything
20. Spoilers Jevons Paradox
Recycling or downcycling?
Carbon negative?
Prisoners Dilemma
Earth in oUR hands?
Debt and Interest driven
Reassess choices
The educational problems... The educational problems...
21. Efficiency? Without a fundamental rethinking of the structure and the reward system of commerce, narrowly focused eco-efficiency could be a disaster for the environment by overwhelming resource savings with even larger growth in the production of the wrong products, produced by the wrong processes, from the wrong materials, in the wrong place, at the wrong scale and delivered using the wrong business models.
With so many wrongs outweighing one right, more efficient production by itself could become not the servant but the enemy of a durable economy.
InterfaceFlor [manufacturers of flooring] If the use of materials continues to increase it doesnt much matter whether a hectare of Indonesian rainforest provides 500 tables and chairs or 1000 in a year, the forest is still going to go. The analogy McDonough and others use is of heading for Canada from Los Angeles at 100km an hour in a car and then slowing to 5kmh. Its less bad but not good. If the direction you needed was Mexico.If the use of materials continues to increase it doesnt much matter whether a hectare of Indonesian rainforest provides 500 tables and chairs or 1000 in a year, the forest is still going to go. The analogy McDonough and others use is of heading for Canada from Los Angeles at 100km an hour in a car and then slowing to 5kmh. Its less bad but not good. If the direction you needed was Mexico.
22. Is this a misconceived idea? Do we -humanity- hold earth in our hands? Or is it the other way around or at best we hold our own future in our hands? The image here is of parent and child, we are outside the system. How apt, how it mirrors our arrogance.Is this a misconceived idea? Do we -humanity- hold earth in our hands? Or is it the other way around or at best we hold our own future in our hands? The image here is of parent and child, we are outside the system. How apt, how it mirrors our arrogance.
23. We participate in this, we dont own it.We participate in this, we dont own it.
24. Standard game theory, or why if we all... is doomed unless systemic incentives or penalties operateStandard game theory, or why if we all... is doomed unless systemic incentives or penalties operate
25. Learning First-order : adaptive learning , takes place within accepted boundaries leaves basic values and beliefs unchanged.
Second-order: critically reflective learning, when we examine the assumptions according to which we proceed in first-order learning.
Third-order: when this reflective examination leads to a transformative perspective-shift.
(Steven Sterling)
26. Its hardly a new thought but the ecosphere has evolved so that there is very tight cycling of minerals and effective use of current solar energy. Here waste = food. There is no concept of waste other than the continual flow through of energy from the sun and this is in huge surplus anyway - as we discover when the greenhouse effect upsets its regulation!Its hardly a new thought but the ecosphere has evolved so that there is very tight cycling of minerals and effective use of current solar energy. Here waste = food. There is no concept of waste other than the continual flow through of energy from the sun and this is in huge surplus anyway - as we discover when the greenhouse effect upsets its regulation!
27. Lets think of a cherry tree The cherry tree in blossom. Its not efficient in the way we have talked about doing more with less. How many blossom and the fruits of that does it take to grow one replacement tree in fifty years?? Its abundant in its production or blossom, its beautiful in that abundance and yet its very effective, the cherry tree survives. The difference of course is that it belongs to an ecology where waste = food. The cherry tree in blossom. Its not efficient in the way we have talked about doing more with less. How many blossom and the fruits of that does it take to grow one replacement tree in fifty years?? Its abundant in its production or blossom, its beautiful in that abundance and yet its very effective, the cherry tree survives. The difference of course is that it belongs to an ecology where waste = food.
28. THE BIOMASS OF ANTS IS FOUR TIMES GREATER THAN THAT OF HUMANS From Braungart -so why is population of humans seen as a problem. Intriguing notionFrom Braungart -so why is population of humans seen as a problem. Intriguing notion
29. Cherry trees and ants or wildebesst dont have cars of course and other technical materials. So in a waste= food model technical products need designing to be technical nutrients and to circulate away from the living systems. Everything else is designed as a biological nutrient - it can be composted.. Essentially waste has to be designed out, curent sunshine used rather than buried sunshine and biodiversity enhanced (as it leads to more production and resilience - as we shall see)Cherry trees and ants or wildebesst dont have cars of course and other technical materials. So in a waste= food model technical products need designing to be technical nutrients and to circulate away from the living systems. Everything else is designed as a biological nutrient - it can be composted.. Essentially waste has to be designed out, curent sunshine used rather than buried sunshine and biodiversity enhanced (as it leads to more production and resilience - as we shall see)
30. Described as a circular economy or a closed loop economy. It is based on design, products are precycled designed for entering the loop. Non toxic and safe.
Summary
Theme. Inspired and based on how nature works but in a modern industrial context. Waste = food and where the nutrient is technical - like a metal or synthetic molecule it is to be non toxic and returned to the manufacturer. A redesign of the industrial system by eliminating the concept of waste. Throughput doesnt matter so much as its all food and will increase natural and social capital if done well. Powered by renewables as much as possible. Celebrates diversity. As yet not implemented but guiding many companies, local authorities etc. Requires system changes... But so does everything at this junction of human existence .. doesnt it? Described as a circular economy or a closed loop economy. It is based on design, products are precycled designed for entering the loop. Non toxic and safe.
Summary
Theme. Inspired and based on how nature works but in a modern industrial context. Waste = food and where the nutrient is technical - like a metal or synthetic molecule it is to be non toxic and returned to the manufacturer. A redesign of the industrial system by eliminating the concept of waste. Throughput doesnt matter so much as its all food and will increase natural and social capital if done well. Powered by renewables as much as possible. Celebrates diversity. As yet not implemented but guiding many companies, local authorities etc. Requires system changes... But so does everything at this junction of human existence .. doesnt it?
31. Able project - Wakefield. Waste = food. Able project - Wakefield. Waste = food.
32. Think Chair - designed for disassembly. A very popular chair so not some experiment by Steelcase. They will arranged for your chair to be repaired, or repurposed when you have finished with itThink Chair - designed for disassembly. A very popular chair so not some experiment by Steelcase. They will arranged for your chair to be repaired, or repurposed when you have finished with it
33. InterfaceFlor - a multinational aiming to be a low carbon high value closed loop company. All this can be done at a profit, though not without effort!InterfaceFlor - a multinational aiming to be a low carbon high value closed loop company. All this can be done at a profit, though not without effort!
34. creating a closed loop economy The how to involves a transforming type of change. Its a whole presentation in itself but a quick sketch here. Its not easy and requires leadership. Here, courtesy of Zeri (Zero Energy Research and Initiatives) are some aspects of this redesign of the economy. First and foremost changing the rules so the full cost of energy materials and waste is reflected in the price. Many subsidies today make environmental and social exploitation worse. Other features include clean production, take back by manufacturers and the role of educated consumers. The result should be abundance by design. As Michael Braungart noted
Learn from the ants. Nutrients are good for the biosphere as well as for the technosphere, like a cars brake pads, like food, even detergents can be designed to be good for the biosphere. And consumer goods like washing machines, TV sets or computers can become positive for the technosphere.The how to involves a transforming type of change. Its a whole presentation in itself but a quick sketch here. Its not easy and requires leadership. Here, courtesy of Zeri (Zero Energy Research and Initiatives) are some aspects of this redesign of the economy. First and foremost changing the rules so the full cost of energy materials and waste is reflected in the price. Many subsidies today make environmental and social exploitation worse. Other features include clean production, take back by manufacturers and the role of educated consumers. The result should be abundance by design. As Michael Braungart noted
Learn from the ants. Nutrients are good for the biosphere as well as for the technosphere, like a cars brake pads, like food, even detergents can be designed to be good for the biosphere. And consumer goods like washing machines, TV sets or computers can become positive for the technosphere.
35. See Janine Benyus- BiomimicrySee Janine Benyus- Biomimicry
36. But have you ever noticed how things in nature are often so clean?
How does nature manage this? You dont see janitors out there in the woods, dusting off the trees!
What if we learned to clean like leaves do, for example? Any idea how leaves clean themselves? [students may respond that leaves are so smooth that water rolls right off of them]. They seem so smooth that water just rolls of them, right? Well, lets take a closer lookBut have you ever noticed how things in nature are often so clean?
How does nature manage this? You dont see janitors out there in the woods, dusting off the trees!
What if we learned to clean like leaves do, for example? Any idea how leaves clean themselves? [students may respond that leaves are so smooth that water rolls right off of them]. They seem so smooth that water just rolls of them, right? Well, lets take a closer look
37. Lotus detail This is the surface of the lotus leaf you saw in the previous photo magnified many times. Its not its smoothness at all that keeps it clean. In fact, tiny, tiny bumps on the leafs surface are what causes it to remain clean. These bumps cause water to ball up (because the surface tension of the droplets which pulls the water together -- is greater than the adhesion possible on the bumpy surface of the leaf*). The balls of water then roll along the leaf using an abundant, free energy source gravity pulling off dirt particles as they go.
Just imagine how we might be able to apply this leaf technology to our world and reduce the need to use toxic cleansers.
*[You can go into more detail here, and discuss how the bumps reduce the leaf surface area for the water to contact with, which reduces the hydrostatic force of the water droplet to the leaf and allows the internal cohesive force of water instead to create a droplet]
This is the surface of the lotus leaf you saw in the previous photo magnified many times. Its not its smoothness at all that keeps it clean. In fact, tiny, tiny bumps on the leafs surface are what causes it to remain clean. These bumps cause water to ball up (because the surface tension of the droplets which pulls the water together -- is greater than the adhesion possible on the bumpy surface of the leaf*). The balls of water then roll along the leaf using an abundant, free energy source gravity pulling off dirt particles as they go.
Just imagine how we might be able to apply this leaf technology to our world and reduce the need to use toxic cleansers.
*[You can go into more detail here, and discuss how the bumps reduce the leaf surface area for the water to contact with, which reduces the hydrostatic force of the water droplet to the leaf and allows the internal cohesive force of water instead to create a droplet]
38. Old new (they mimicked) The good news is, thats exactly whats starting to happen. Biologists have discovered the secret of the success of lotus leaves. And paint manufactures have mimicked the texture of lotus leaves and infused their paints with it; you can literally just roll on a self-cleaning surface. Another application is in fabric finishes, which use the lotus effect to protect fabrics from stains, and reduce the amount of fluoropolymers needed for this purpose. As a persistent organic chemical, meaning it breaks down very slowly in the environment, there has been long-standing concern that fluoropolymers are harmful to people and the environment, so this bio-inspired innovation is a very welcome development.The good news is, thats exactly whats starting to happen. Biologists have discovered the secret of the success of lotus leaves. And paint manufactures have mimicked the texture of lotus leaves and infused their paints with it; you can literally just roll on a self-cleaning surface. Another application is in fabric finishes, which use the lotus effect to protect fabrics from stains, and reduce the amount of fluoropolymers needed for this purpose. As a persistent organic chemical, meaning it breaks down very slowly in the environment, there has been long-standing concern that fluoropolymers are harmful to people and the environment, so this bio-inspired innovation is a very welcome development.
39. Mussel inspired glue for wood photo
If you've ever tried to pick a mussel off a rock or pier piling, you've likely noticed that they sure know how to stick to something. Columbia Forest Products looked at the natural adhesive abilities of the blue mussel and came up with a way to use soy-based formaldehyde-free technology in the construction of hardwood plywood products.
Photo of wood via Columbia Forest Products; photo of mussels via fragpotMussel inspired glue for wood photo
If you've ever tried to pick a mussel off a rock or pier piling, you've likely noticed that they sure know how to stick to something. Columbia Forest Products looked at the natural adhesive abilities of the blue mussel and came up with a way to use soy-based formaldehyde-free technology in the construction of hardwood plywood products.
Photo of wood via Columbia Forest Products; photo of mussels via fragpot
40. But as a reminder of education block on thinking... A typical map of what connecting with nature is supposed to be about- yet it misses the Learning from Nature almost entirely!But as a reminder of education block on thinking... A typical map of what connecting with nature is supposed to be about- yet it misses the Learning from Nature almost entirely!
41. And education? Can educational process continue to be dominated by a linear and fragmentary approach in a world increasingly operating in recognition of systems, connection and feedback?
How we teach will need to reflect a changing worldview if it is not to become disconnected
Do we have an obligation to accelerate such change? Surely education needs to lead??
42. Here is the waste hierarchy. Currently education is often about the lower levels, and action orientated - personal responsibility or school procurement, but if sustainability requires rethinking and redesign, surely we can claim a position at the pinnacle? At the top? And isnt this the best thing we can possibly do? I am obviously enthusiastic. Let me say why.Here is the waste hierarchy. Currently education is often about the lower levels, and action orientated - personal responsibility or school procurement, but if sustainability requires rethinking and redesign, surely we can claim a position at the pinnacle? At the top? And isnt this the best thing we can possibly do? I am obviously enthusiastic. Let me say why.
43. A conversation too far? One result of formal education is that students graduate without knowing how to think in whole systems, how to find connections, how to ask big questions, and how to separate the trivial from the important. Now more than ever, however; we need people who think broadly and who understand systems, connections, patterns and root causes.
David Orr Earth in Mind
One paradox for schools is that at present success in schools creates people who can claim a bigger share of resources and therefore schools contribute directly to the accelerating destruction of the world. And yet we do not teach about other equally modern design philosophies, students are left with trade-offs. Try and do less harm... We need people who can think differently more than we need a litter free yard or a meat free Thursday.One paradox for schools is that at present success in schools creates people who can claim a bigger share of resources and therefore schools contribute directly to the accelerating destruction of the world. And yet we do not teach about other equally modern design philosophies, students are left with trade-offs. Try and do less harm... We need people who can think differently more than we need a litter free yard or a meat free Thursday.
45. PS.Discussing Radical Change For some a strange choice as a source for the last quote, but he was right about this- he seems to have used his own advice in the revival of market capitalism. We do need ideas ahead of time!For some a strange choice as a source for the last quote, but he was right about this- he seems to have used his own advice in the revival of market capitalism. We do need ideas ahead of time!
