Help Me Do My Homework (For a Cause)
by Mairi Beautyman, Berlin, Germany on 04.20.06
What do you think are those revolutionizing moments in the history of sustainable design? With all the recent focus on green construction and green product design, what (who) is changing the world as we know it? These are the questions I'm trying to tackle in...err..5,500 words or less. And who better to help me, then a pool of knowledgeable treehuggers. The essay will be included in a book produced by Tricycle, which manufactures digital carpet samples for companies like Interface (and saves tons of carpet samples from landfill every year). All proceeds for the book go to Architecture for Humanity (AFH), one of our favorite non-profit organizations. AFH helps rebuild towns like Tsunami-ravaged Kirinda, Sri Lanka, pictured. AFH founder Cameron Sinclair was recently in the news. Learn more about Tricycle here. Would really appreciate your thoughts—best case scenario, with facts/links to back them up.
I love this site and all the info. Are there any sites like this for kids? I try to explain alot of this to my daughter but it is hard sometimes. i want to teach her how to think about the future and her childrens future. Thank you, David
Any list of revolutionary sustainable technologies of should include the Ventilated Improved Pit Latrine.
Major reductions in disease for relatively low costs where they are used.
Lesotho Example
New Alchemy Institute, New Alchemy Institute, New Alchemy Institute!
From the late 1960s to the 1990s these intrepid folks proved the concepts that we will all have to adopt in order to survive. John Todd introduced the tilapia to the US. His ecological waste treatment systems, living machines, are elegant and effective and slowly but surely penetrating the marketplace. The Costa Rican spin-off, ANAI, was doing local sustainable development and pioneering ecotourism years before most people. Their Arks and other solar buildings were important proofs of concept.
Read Nancy Jack Todd's book, _A Safe and Sustainable World_ for the history of these remarkable people.
And don't forget the Whole Earth Catalog either.
In terms of watershed moments, I agree with the New Alchemy Institute. I would add natural capitalism and cradle-to-cradle design. The publication of McDonough/Braungart's essay "The Next Industrial Revolution" probably marks the cradle-to-cradle moment. I think it was in the Atlantic magazine.
Also Bill Rees' ecological footprinting.
Few of these have any social aspect, however. Most of them follow the natural capitalism line, that we can consume whatever we want, let's just change materials.
Jane Jacobs suggests that we must reduce our consumption. I think that is the moral choice, or we are just exploiting others. You need something that reflects the morality of sustainable design. Unfortunately, TreeHugger mostly shows less bad design that just kills that planet more slowly. We need regenerative design.
Janine Beynus and the Biomimicry Guild are working with Corporations around the world to bring the promise of Biomimicry to life.
Arup Engineers (London Office) are the most forward thinking engineers on the planet - see the Eastgate Building in Harare, Africa and the Swimming Pavilion design for the Beijing Olympics.
Hey, lets not forget Buckminster Fuller here, or maybe even Rachel Carson who wrote "Silent Spring." The latter is not so much design related, but Bucky Fuller was a pioneer of sustainable design. Also, here in Texas Mr. Pliny Fisk III and the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems is somewhat of an icon. Check out www.cmpbs.org for a list of publications starting in the early 1970s. Hope this helps!
Ironically, how about tricycles? Human powered recumbent ones, I mean. They are the most efficient vehicles on the planet, are also very comfortable, compact, safe, and could be produced about as cheaply as bicycles if they had a good PR campaign. They may not be quite the revolution just yet, but I'd bet that the say will come soon when recumbent trikes take over the world!