http://www.publicradio.org/columns/sustainability/doubletakes/ en Copyright 2008 Wed, 19 Sep 2007 14:00:56 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Architect and educator Bill McDonough is one of the leaders of a growing global movement to re-think each step of the process, from the source of the raw materials to the design of the final project. The goal is to bring people closer to a sustainable relationship with the Earth. In the 1980s, McDonough designed the first "green" office building for the Environmental Defense Fund in New York. More recently, he completed a redesign of the River Rouge car factory for Ford, a hundred-acre industrial plant in Dearborn, Mich., which now has the world's largest "living roof" made of grass and plants that soak in the sun and rain, helping to mitigate the industrial pollution below. In a June 12, 2004, interview on Weekend America, McDonough talked about his passion for design and how it relates to the health of the Earth itself. "I'm not really that interested in sustainability," he said. "What's your relationship to your wife? If you say 'sustainable,' I'll say 'I'm sorry.' Just being sustainable doesn't necessarily mean we're being productive and prosperous, that the world becomes a better place. It simply maintains existing systems." McDonough and German chemist Michael Braungart are also the authors of Cradle to Cradle, a self-described "manifesto calling for the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design." At the heart of the book is the notion of the inherent intelligence of natural systems, like the nutrient cycle in forests and solar energy, and how understanding those systems — instead of shielding against them, as traditional design typically does — can inform the way we live and even industrial systems and regional planning. McDonough, recognized as a global leader on sustainability issues and eco-friendly designs for everything from homes to entire cities, said the root principles of efficient, responsible design can be a catalyst for change for the whole human species: "It's about design quality — How can I make a great design if it makes you sick or destroys the planet? I would rather design a life-support system for people who are celebrating their existence than a work-support system for people who don't have a life."]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/sustainability/doubletakes/2007/09/building_for_life_1.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/sustainability/doubletakes/2007/09/building_for_life_1.html Wed, 19 Sep 2007 14:00:56 -0600 Astrid Alauda "Sex is good, but not as good as fresh, sweet corn." — Garrison Keillor Food is perhaps the most immediate and tangible reminder of our connection to the Earth. We all eat, and everything we put into our mouths begins with a fragile negotiation between the elements — water and sunlight, mostly — and a tender shoot of life looking to grow. For most of human history, that connection was part of everyday life, in the animals we hunted, fished and raised, and the plants we gathered and grew. But the industrialization of food has changed that for most of us. The processing, packaging and marketing of what we eat has in many ways severed that age-old connection. But now, there's a growing global movement to re-establish that bond. Take author Barbara Kingsolver, who spent a year growing her own food in southern Virginia and chronicled her experiences in the best-selling Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. She spoke recently with Speaking of Faith host Krista Tippett. Kingsolver's return to the farm lays bare some of the quandaries of modern American life: Where does our food come from? Is it really nourishing, and what are the environmental consequences of our choices? What is the true cost of the energy and resources needed to grow, process, and distribute the food we blithely throw into our shopping carts? As Kingsolver tells Tippett, her Quixotic year-long experiment in eating led to some revealing conclusions. "So much of our food travels great distances to reach us [...] — while at the same time, we're turning our backs on the farmers who may be struggling to survive in our own region. "Sometimes you have to push yourself into a new way of thinking," Kingsolver said. "There's this enormous comfort in belonging to a cycle, and seeing food not as a product or a process." Kingsolver isn't alone — followers of the Slow Food movement are transforming the way more and more people around the world eat. They are striving to buy locally or grow their own food and prepare meals from scratch using only natural ingredients. Perhaps by reconnecting with the sources of our food, we can have a greater appreciation of the Earth in balance. Digging Into the Archives: • Oct. 8, 2002 : Minnesota Public Radio: Slow Food slow to catch on • Dec. 27, 2005 : Minnesota Public Radio: Local food touted as healthy alternative • Aug. 14, 2006: Minnesota Public Radio: Localvores and 'the hunger for connection' Posted by: David Banks, Sustainability Web Producer ]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/sustainability/doubletakes/2007/09/reconnecting_with_real_food.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/sustainability/doubletakes/2007/09/reconnecting_with_real_food.html Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:55:16 -0600 As many as 25 people died, most of them elderly shut-ins, from heat stroke and other heat-related complications. Overtaxed power transformers exploded and cut off electricity (and air conditioning) to large swaths of sweltering inland areas. Even some with power weren't spared. One elderly coupled perished together after telling neighbors they planned to turn off their air conditioner to keep their electricity bill down. In a sad irony, the state of California has kept on a cap on electricity costs for that very reason, so no one should need to make a Solomon's choice between staying cool and staying out of debt. But as Marketplace's Stacey Vanek-Smith reported on Aug. 30, 2007, the state caps themselves may have played a role in depriving others the power to run their air-conditioners. The heat triggered record electricity demand, but the caps kept the price of that power artificially low — consumers had no incentive to cut back on the A.C. when they really didn't need it. With so many toggle switches flicked to "on," parts of the grid just couldn't keep up, plunging thousands into darkness... and oppressive heat. In this case, the power of market forces might have prompted consumers to save enough electricity to keep everybody's lights and A.C. humming. It's Econ 101: higher bills encourage people to dial the thermostat to a warmer, but still tolerable setting. Less energy use means less wear and tear on the grid and fewer potentially lethal black-outs. It's as easy as pouring a glass of iced tea, finding a shady spot, and sweating a little to save a few bucks. Now it looks like we're heading into another hotter-than-average weekend and perhaps anther surge of electricity use. Ironically, as our planet gets warmer because of climate change, the best thing we can do in times like these may be to embrace the heat in the short run, in the hopes that things might cool off in the long run. Rather than cranking up the A.C. during the next heat wave, perhaps we should dial it down to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the far-flung power stations that keep California running. And the market could help coax us toward that goal too if states like California let the price of electricity float during peak energy demand. It may sound like an extreme solution. But hey, in California, we like it that way. Digging Into the Archives: • Sept. 2, 2007: Food prices could ride heat wave up, up, up • Sept. 2, 2007: Natural gas prices ride along with heat wave • Special report — 2006 heat wave: Summer heat, summer drought Posted by: David Banks, Sustainability Web Producer]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/sustainability/doubletakes/2007/09/california_extreme.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/sustainability/doubletakes/2007/09/california_extreme.html Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:08:33 -0600