Sunday, June 29, 2008
A green economy
Given the complexity of the real economy, “the task of developing new economic models must be an intensely interdisciplinary activity. Any realistic evaluation of the costs of doing business in this economy will require the use of models in which economic systems, or parts, are treated as open systems that mutually interact within the single system of the whole biosphere.”[1]
We must transform our growth economy into a green economy. Only a joint effort by business and government leaders, at the prodding of citizens, will lead to the economic and political changes needed to make our industrial society environmentally sustainable. William McDonough and Michael Braungart, who make their living by creating sustainable products, buildings, and communities, are convinced that this is our future.
“We believe that humans can incorporate the best of technology and culture so that our civilized places reflect a new view. Buildings, systems, neighborhoods, and even whole cities can be entwined with surrounding ecosystems in ways that are mutually enriching. We agree that it is important to leave some natural places to thrive on their own, without undue human interference or habitation. But we also believe that industry can be so safe, effective, enriching, and intelligent that it need not be fenced off from other human activity.”[2]
McDonough and Braungart affirm that we will have an environmentally sustainable and productive economy when people and industries are committed to creating:
· Buildings that, like trees, produce more energy than they consume and purify their own waste water.
· Factories that produce effluents that are drinking water.
· Products that, when their useful life is over, do not become useless waste but can be tossed onto the ground to decompose and become food for plants and animals and nutrients for soil; or, alternately, that can return to industrial cycles to supply high-quality raw materials for new products.
· Billions, even trillions, of dollars’ worth of materials accrued for human and natural purposes each year.
· Transportation that improves the quality of life while delivering goods and services.[3]
[1] Robert Nadeau and Menas Kafatos, The Non-Local Universe, 206.
[2] William McDonough and Michael Braungart, Cradle to Cradle, 87.
[3] Ibid., 90-91.
We must transform our growth economy into a green economy. Only a joint effort by business and government leaders, at the prodding of citizens, will lead to the economic and political changes needed to make our industrial society environmentally sustainable. William McDonough and Michael Braungart, who make their living by creating sustainable products, buildings, and communities, are convinced that this is our future.
“We believe that humans can incorporate the best of technology and culture so that our civilized places reflect a new view. Buildings, systems, neighborhoods, and even whole cities can be entwined with surrounding ecosystems in ways that are mutually enriching. We agree that it is important to leave some natural places to thrive on their own, without undue human interference or habitation. But we also believe that industry can be so safe, effective, enriching, and intelligent that it need not be fenced off from other human activity.”[2]
McDonough and Braungart affirm that we will have an environmentally sustainable and productive economy when people and industries are committed to creating:
· Buildings that, like trees, produce more energy than they consume and purify their own waste water.
· Factories that produce effluents that are drinking water.
· Products that, when their useful life is over, do not become useless waste but can be tossed onto the ground to decompose and become food for plants and animals and nutrients for soil; or, alternately, that can return to industrial cycles to supply high-quality raw materials for new products.
· Billions, even trillions, of dollars’ worth of materials accrued for human and natural purposes each year.
· Transportation that improves the quality of life while delivering goods and services.[3]
[1] Robert Nadeau and Menas Kafatos, The Non-Local Universe, 206.
[2] William McDonough and Michael Braungart, Cradle to Cradle, 87.
[3] Ibid., 90-91.
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