Lets flash forward 150 years to a classroom near you teaching our future children. Today’s topic is: “Sustainability.”
How will this topic be taught? Will future generations view the early 21st century as a movement, a revolution, or a shift in philosophy? Today we all are aware and understand that a change is taking place. It is an exciting time. So, how will our actions be remembered?
Is it a Movement?
Will the construction left by sustainable development be viewed the same as the City Beautiful movement of the 1890’s and 1900’s? Will today’s William McDonoughs of the world be studied with the same respect as the iconic planner Daniel Burnham and landscape architect Frederick Olmstead?
Is it a Revolution?
Will we view it as a shift in political ideas and possibly label it “The Carbon Revolution,” in the same way we later defined the social-economic Industrial Revolution? Maybe it will be defined as a new revolution where protection of our environment becomes as important a consideration as social and economic issues.
Is it a Philosophy?
Will the ideas of “Green” be compared to American Transcendentalism during the mid 1800’s? Writers like Emerson, Hawthorne and Thoreau incorporated the idea of nature into a deeply rooted religious New England culture. Will Green be our new spiritual way?
What text will students of the future study to understand the historic roots of sustainability?
Will it be Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring? Or Paul Hawkins Natural Capitalism? Maybe the true academicians will argue that ecologist and environmentalist Aldo Leopold first addressed the forgotten connection to ecology in 1949 with the writing of the Sand County Almanac.
However the 21st century is labeled, as we design our infrastructure we must not design for now, but design for those who will be studying us.
21st century sustainability change must be in terms of 21st century cooperation and will be viewed in that light. The way will be led by groups around the world in colaboration. The 20th century notion of dominating regions must give way to a growing valuation of each person. Ron Paul is showing the way for 21st century cooperation in the US and others will rise up in other countries. That nursery will allow susainability to grow and will allow a multidimensionality to community.
I wonder what it says that all the potential “textbooks” are from the last century (with only one of them from the last decade). What about “An Inconvenient Truth”? Or “An Omnivore’s Dilemma”? I’d like to think that we won’t be defined by Rachel Carson forever.
I would argue that if it were not for the works of the previous text, Gore et al would have never had the opportunity to be part of the “Green” tipping point. Was “Inconvenient Truth” an important writing. Very much so! Did it begin the Green movement. I would tend to say No.
I guess not, but what does it say about the previous writings if they were written 50 years ago but the movement is just really getting going now? Maybe those weren’t as influential as we think they were to the masses.
1 Vote for Movement:
Frank Mruk, the associate dean for the School of Architecture and Design at NY Institute of Technology, compares the new cross-disciplinary approach to Green Design with:
“past movements, like Beaux-Arts at the turn of the last century and modernism during the Industrial Revolution.”
He “describes the green movement as a “paradigm shift” in design, décor and lifestyle.” All this from the Solar Decathlon article in this week’s del.icio.us round-up.