Sustainability by Design

1. Sustainability by Design Creating a Common Understanding of Sustainability Jay Moynihan Community Development Education Shawano Countyjay.moynihan@ces.uwex.edu

2. Most common definition of sustainability: "meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Actually, of “sustainable development”, From “Our Common Future”, by the Brundtland Commission, aka UN World Commission on the Environment and Development (1987) Chair Gro HarlemBrundtland

3. "meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Hmmmmmmmmm… What does that mean? …And how?

4. What do we know?

5. Sustainability: • Describes a future state • Science provides a description of the key features of that state • That state is dynamic and adaptable • “Sustainable development” is the process…. • ……of moving towards that state

6. We also know: In nature there are no winners or losers. Only survivors. “Pleistocene of South America”by D. Bogdanov

7. We also know: Our economic and cultural behaviors are totally dependent on the non-human world.

8. We also know: The Economy Jobs! What we spend nearly all of our time thinking about.

9. We also know Culture The Economy Natural Capital & Services

10. We also know: Yesterday’s solutions are often today’s problems. We are now facing the challenges of our species’ success

11. We also know: We are facingThe Perfect Storm Rapid Climate Change “Peak Oil”/Energy Costs(once again, when the economy improves) Fresh Water Scarcity

12. A story In the early 1990’s Paul Hawken was working on his book The Ecology of Commerce, and had hundreds of 3x5 cards pasted all over the walls and ceiling. …The cards were about our problems. Paul got really depressed.

13. All of a sudden he said to himself, Geez, it is a design problem! Luckily, we are good at design!

14. Luckily, science provides us with the broad, general “specs” for sustainability, The parameters within which we are free to design solutions.

16. Add together the 4 laws & principles, and you get: The cyclic principle Waste must not systematically accumulate in nature, and reconstruction of material quality must be at least as large as its dissipation.

17. The Cyclic Principle is not just some cool idea. • It is the most basic rule of long term survival here • It provides the core of our design space • It is at the center of the new economic path and long term job growth in the 21st century Waste must not systematically accumulate in nature, and reconstruction of material quality must be at least as large as its dissipation. Mother Nature

18. What we Know A DesignFramework → The Cyclic Principle System Conditions

19. System Conditions Describe a Sustainable Society They are not negotiable. But The way you satisfy them andthe rate you at which you satisfy them, is. (But remember, nature always bats last.)

20. System ConditionsIn a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing... ...concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth’s crust, ...concentrations of substances produced by society, ...degradation of nature by physical means, …and, in that society, people are not subject toconditions that sytematically undermine... ...their capacity to meet their needs.

21. System ConditionsIn a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing... • concentrations of substances extracted from the earth’s crust e.g. heavy metals, mercury, lead, cadmium; fossil fuels • concentrations of substances produced by society e.g. 70,000+ chemicals; dioxins, PCBs, flame retardants • degradation by physical means e.g. forests, fisheries, farm lands • … and in that society … • people’s needs are met worldwide e.g. air, water, food, shelter, quality of life

22. Change is really the only constant in our universe. Rapid Change = Risk + Opportunity Opportunities…

23. Apollo Alliance Coalition of business, labor, environmental, and community leaders representing over 17M Americans Created in 2004. Inspired by Apollo space program Working to catalyze a clean energy revolution in the U.S. to reduce dependence on foreign oil, cut the carbon emissions that are destabilizing the climate, and expand opportunities for U.S. businesses and workers. Promotes policies and initiatives to speed investment in clean energy technology and energy efficiency, put millions of Americans to work in well-paid, green collar jobs, and make the U.S. a global leader in clean energy products and services. http://apolloalliance.org/

24. Clean Tech: Magnet for Venture Capital • “Green Gold Rush" Global investment in renewable energy surged 60% to $148B in 2007,(UNEP report, July 08) • 2007-2017 Global Projections for Clean Tech(Clean Edge forecast, March 08) • from $77B to $254.5B(4X) • Biofuels (ethanol & biodiesel):from $25.4B to $81.1B • Wind power:from $30.1B to $83.4B • Solar photovoltaics:from a $20.3B to $74B • Fuel cell / distributed hydrogen:from $1.4B to $15.6B

25. Green Retrofits Job Creation “Every $1B capital investment in energy and efficiency would create approximately 9,500 building-retrofit jobs. Such an investment would also create 1,200 jobs from building and installing solar photovoltaic panelsand about 900 wind-energy jobs” "In the jobs-creation sweepstakes, retrofitting buildings runs away with it. That's about 10-to-1 over any other investment." ~ Lester Brown, Earth Policy Institute founder (Nov 08) ~ http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/green_recovery.html

26. Potential Green Jobs in U.S. Study by Global Insight for US Conference of Mayors (Oct 08) 2008: 750,000 green jobs419,000 in Engineering, Legal, Research and Consulting 127,000 Renewable power generation 57,500 in Agriculture and Forestry 2038: 4.2M jobs - 5 times today; fastest growing job segment 1.23M in renewable electricity production 1.50M in alternative transportation fuels1.40M in engineering, legal, research, and consulting 0.81M in commercial and residential Retrofits 2038 Assumptions40% alternative electricity; retrofits reduce electricity demand by 35% in existing buildings; 30% alternate fuels. http://www.globalinsight.com/Highlight/HighlightDetail14474.htm

27. Crisis is Resetting the Economy “If you think this is only a cycle, you’re just wrong. This is a permanent reset. There are going to be elements of the economy that will never be the same, ever.” “The NA companies best positioned to tap that growth will be the ones that double-down on investments in innovation and technology during the downturn. If you keep investing in technology and innovation in the worst of times, your competitive advantage grows." (Jeff Immelt, CEO, General Electric, Feb 09) Tyler Hamilton, The Toronto Star, Feb. 11, 2009

28. And that is just the beginning…. “Green Jobs” The jobs that it will take to essentially redesign the industrial and consumer economy

29. Rapid climate change Declining fresh water resource Decline of fossil fuels Increasing economic disparity Allhands ondeck!

30. Are you up to the job?

31. ToolsfortheJob

32. Systems Thinking Systems Dynamics Triple Bottom Line Industrial Ecology Cradle to Cradle Rapid Climate Change & Energy Strategy Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Green Building Bio-based Production Full Cost Accounting Life Cycle Assessment Ecological Design Biomimetics/Biomimicry www.capacitycenter.org

33. Innovation Political Will Courage Communication Cooperation A sense of urgency A desire for a better life for our children

34. “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” Charles Darwin “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein www.capacitycenter.org