Monthly Archives: April 2009

Ceres conference post #2

At the Ceres conference, Majora Carter, formerly of Sustainable South Bronx, argued passionately that it is simply not acceptable to build an economy based on the degradation of the environment and the degradation of people. No argument there!

She also offered a new, sustainability-oriented acronym for the OBAMA era: “Officially Behaving As Magnificent Americans”.

Maybe if we could all adopt the mantle of “magnificence” and recognize the “magnificent” qualities of both the environment and each other, the hidden social and environmental costs of our current unsustainable lifestyles would be easier to see. And to act upon.

Ceres conference post #1

In the opening plenary session of the Ceres conference, held last week in San Francisco, Denis Hayes of the Bullitt Foundation quickly got down to business. He outlined three basic points that he views as crucial to prevent utter ecological, social, and economic collapse.

Population control. Basic scientific principles dictate that every ecosystem has a maximum number of individuals it can support. Given current technology, our planet could comfortably support about 2 billion people at a level of quality currently enjoyed by Swedish citizens. The problem? We’re at 6.7 billion—and population is expected to continue growing up to 9 billion.
Substitution of craftsmanship for throughput. This is an elegant argument, one that encompasses product durability as well as human dignity and the intrinsic value of meaningful work. If our economic system could be re-ordered to emphasize quality and endurance, there would be a sharp… More >