ECOPROFILE INTERNATIONAL

Global Teach-In: April 25, 2012, Seven Countries, 15+ Cities

Jonathan Feldman — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:54:10 +0200

Seven countries and more than fifteen cities will be coming together to organize a global teach-in on April 25, 2012. The teach-in brings together leading environmental activists, among the most sophisticated trade union activists in North America, top peace champions and grassroots activists in four continents.

The Global Teach-In: Democracy Networks, Green Jobs and Planning, and an Alternative Financial System

Beyond the Economic, Energy & Environnmental Crises

Speakers include:

Lorentz Tovatt, Editor Supermiljöbloggen & Former Wake Up Call) (Sweden)
Oscar Kjellberg, Former Managing Director, JAK Medlemsbank (Sweden)
Jonathan Feldman, Convenor Swedish Green New Deal Conference (Sweden)
Gar Alperovitz, founding Principal of The Democracy Collaborative (US)
Pamela Brown, New School for Social Research (US)
Ellen Hodgson Brown, Chairman and President, Public Banking Institute (US)
Colin Hines, Convenor, Green New Deal (UK)
Bill McKibben, Founder 350.org (US)
Bruce Nixon, Author A Better World is Possible (UK)
Robert Pollin, PERI, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (US)
Joel Rogers, Director, COWS (US)
Alice Slater, New York Director, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (US),
Among others.

On April 25, 2012, more than fifteen cities in seven countries will convene in a virtual town hall and global teach-in to address pressing problems ignored by political establishments in countries ravaged by the economic crisis or concerned by growing environmental decay. These seven countries involved include the U.S.,
the U.K., Sweden, Austria, South Africa, Canada, and Venezuela.

Key cities involved include: Stockholm, Sweden; Boston; San Francisco;
Ann Arbor; Portland, Oregon; London, UK; Birmingham, UK;   Edinburgh, UK; Toronto, Canada; New York City; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Caracas, Venezuela; Vienna, Austria; and Durban, South Africa.

The event will be livestreamed and link labor, environmental, Occupy and other activists as well as leading scholars and political leaders concerned with the economic, environmental and energy supply crisis.

Principals include the United Electrical Workers, the Ontario Federation of Labour, student debt leaders, environmental leaders, peace activists, and others trying to remake the economy from below with alternative banks, utilities, and cooperative firms.

The Global Teach-In is based on the principle that by moving our money and pushing politicians to promote alternative banks and budgetary policies, we can begin a new political cycle from below and above that will promote alternative intermediary institutions: http://www.globalteachin.com/turn-on-tune-in-drop-in-the-new-economy-virtuous-cycle. These alternatives include alternative utilities, cooperatives and mass transit networks.   These democratic or public intermediaries can act as platforms for alternative energy, green jobs and green infrastructure investment. By creating jobs, saving consumers’ money, providing new services, improving environmental conditions and creating a base for popular citizen economic power, we will gain further resources for a green, democratic conversion of the political, economic and media spheres. This cycle shows how we can promote accountability systems, democracy and resources for civil liberties against centralized bureaucracies that are not responsive to public needs.

We will discuss how arms exports and military spending can represent a serious opportunity cost for needed investments in mass transportation and alternative energy.

For more information, consult these links:

The event's general website appears here, http://www.globalteachin.com.

Swedish website: http://www.globalteachin.com/global-teach-in-sverige-html

UK website: http://www.globalteachin.com/global-teach-in-uk-html

Toronto website: http://www.globalteachin.com/global-teach-in-toronto

The promotion video appears here: http://vimeo.com/39371903

Email contact: globalteachin@gmail.com

Where cities and industry meet

Lars Johansson — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 09:21:45 +0200

Perspectives and examples from the research and practice of Industrial Symbiosis presented at the conference Sym City << RETHINK! the 13th of October 2011, Norrköping, Sweden.Industrial settings created increasing nuisance with noise, pollution and health problems in cities in the 20thcentury. The organization of industrial activities outside city boundaries was an answer to the growing problems. Although, economic growth, related extension of production and city boundaries often led to new tensions in the physical planning of the different functions of working and living.

Furthermore, bringing production activities together in industrial parks created also side effects such as a concentration of environmental pollution and growing commuting problems. During time, national and regional environmental policies together with environmental management in companies generated a better balance in the co-location of industry and cities. Preventive concepts such as Cleaner Production and Industrial Symbiosis put the discussion about the place of industry and living in urban areas on the agenda again.

Sym City Keynote speaker Günther Pauli has stated that Cleaner Production made the physical integration of zero-emissions companies in cities possible and the rigid division of working and living less stressful. Nowadays dialogues about Low Carbon Industrial Parks, zero-emission resource management, closing loops ofresource links in urban areas contribute to re-thinking the integration of Industrial and Urban symbiosis.

Entrepreneurial experiences and research reflections are presented and discussed in this session.

Speakers/Themes:

Introduction to the research and practice of Industrial Symbiosis, Leo Baas, Linköpings Universitet
Urban industrial symbiosis/ Kalundborg, Jörgen Christensen(prel.) (Kalundborg industry)
Critical steps when designing industrial symbiosis, Murat Mirati (f.d. Lunds Universitet)
The Händelö Experience, Mats Eklund/Michael Martin, Linköpings Universitet

MAERSK - BOARD OF DIRECTORS DOES NOT SUPPORT PROPOSALS RE SUSTAINABILITY

Jimmy Flindt — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0200

MAERSK LINE The world’s largest container shipping company and a customer-focused leader in reliable, eco-efficient transport declares on top of their website re SUSTAINABILITY We are committed to developing environmentally sustainable solutions. However, this commitment does not seem to apply for the Board of Directors when it comes to their own headquarter building in Copenhagen or their willingness to invest in the possibilities of using renewable energy (sun and wind) in marine transportation following the latest General Assembley 04-04-2011 point h.

Extract from minutes from General Assembly on Monday 4 April 2011:

h) Deliberation of any proposals submitted by the Board of Directors or by shareholders.

A shareholder has submitted the following three proposals:

i) that the General Meeting recommends that the Board of Directors adopt a more outward-oriented profile, for instance by installing solar cell panels and/or miniature wind generators on the roof of the Company’s building on 50 Esplanaden for production of environmental "green" electricity to cover a majority of the Company’s administration’s own electricity consumption from renewable energy (sun and/or wind) directly from the roof construction of the building itself.

ii) that the General Meeting recommends that the Board of Directors initiate letting the Company’s administration building on 50 Esplanaden be EMAS registered in accordance with regulation (EC) No 761/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2001.

iii) that an amount of DKK 100 million for the year 2011 is allocated/transferred in order to investigate the possibilities of using renewable energy (sun and wind) for propulsion of the Company’s vessels, e.g. for upgrading of an existing vessel or development of an entirely new proto type.

The Board of Directors does not support the shareholder’s proposals.

Summing up the Biosphere Conference EuroMAB 2011

Johan Erlandsson — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0200

It is hard to sum up a week with a lot of content and meeting new people, but it would be a pity not to give it a try, eh? My main focus during the week has been to understand what a biosphere reserve is and how it can contribute to sustainability. What has this ostrich to do with that? Find out below!Earlier this week, I started a new discussion thread titled "What is the Purpose of a Biosphere Reserve?". This has really been the biggest issue for me since I was contacted by the conference management to work as the official media partner in May.

Now the conference is over, and during the week I have met so many stakeholders to biosphere reserves. There have been biosphere professionals from UNESCO, the Swedish biosphere organisation, managers of biosphere reserves from Europe and North America, scientists, municipality representatives, representatives from the regional authorities, primary school principals, local citizens, local business people, animals, plants, bugs, a mountain, a lake and what not...

When asking the local citizens and business people what it means to live in a biosphere reserve, they have answered that they do not know, or that a new bicycle path has been made possible by the biosphere reserve. I tried to find that bicyle path as the bike was my transportation around mount Kinnekulle, but all I found was one sign on one of the car roads that was already there. So that was not too impressive.

That a biosphere reserve can highlight an area with unique natural/ecosystem values, conserve it and work with tourism to that area was clear quite early. But what with the sustainable development ambitions, that has been a part of the MAB (Man and the Biosphere) program since 1995?

I have been quite hesitant that this is a relevant approach for the MAB program. Isn't this a little too big an issue for small biosphere reserve administrations? Aren't other local and regional initiatives and organiations better suited to work with sustainable development? Is it not enough for a biosphere reserve to spread the word about the important values of ecosystem services, and to conserve "pockets of resilience"?

But what I have learned during the last days of the conference, is that a biosphere reserve really can become a catalyst, or at least a contribution to the local sustainability work. The 580 biosphere reserves around the world is a diverse bunch. And it is very much up to the locals what the reserve becomes. It can be "just" a place where precious ecosystem functions are conserved. But it really can become that catalyst that speeds up the green transition work.

At least this is my impression after having talked to municipality representatives and the management of the Vänern Archipelago and mount Kinnekulle biosphere reserve. They will, within a year, gather many of the local and regional stakeholders to design a sustainability plan for the area. From what I hear, this plan will include more than more or less symbolic projects that I have heard some examples of during the week.

On my way home from the conference (on my bike, still within the biosphere reserve), I passed an ostrich farm. I had to have a look at these funny animals, no? And I stayed there for an hour, talking to the farmer about the trouble he had encountered during 14 years of ostrich farming. The ostrich spend their days in the free, and the major part of their fodder is locally produced. As opposed to the meat farm just nextdoor, where cows are kept inside year around and most likely given high protein, imported fodder. According to the farmer, he had not had much other than trouble with laws and local authorities. For example, having a local butchery is a very complicated matter, so the ostrich need to be transported a long distance for this. And the rules regarding municipal procurement do not allow to buy from small businesses.

I will really look forward to take part of the sustainability plan that will be developed in the Vänern archipelago and mount Kinnekulle biosphere reserve. Will it include powerful measures to deal with food, transport and energy, the three consumption areas representing a major part of environmental impact? Will future local sustainable businesses be encouraged and supported?

What is the Purpose of a Biosphere Reserve?

Johan Erlandsson — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0200

As I am new to the Man and the Biosphere program, I want to find out what the purpose of biosphere reserves is. I have scanned a few MAB webpages know, listened to a number of key note speakers at the first day of the EuroMAB 2011 conference and interviewed UNESCO programme specialist Meriem Bouamrane. But still it is not crystal clear to me.After having scanned a number of MAB websites and having listened to key note presentations on the first day of EuroMAB 2011 I have registered a number of reasons for having a biosphere reserve:

Having a limited geographic area for environmental scientists to investigate to better understand nature and nature-man interactions.
To protect sensitive ecosystems
As a local initiative to sustainable development
To create high-value recreational areas for local residents
To increase tourism to the reserve (preferrably eco-tourism)

Of course it is possible to have several purposes, but to me this is a bit too disperse to be clear to understand, and I guess it must be a bit troublesome for the (often very small) biosphere reserve organisations to relate to.

UNESCO programme specialist for the MAB program, Mrs. Meriem Boumrane, was kind enough to try to clear this out for me. She explained that in the very beginning, the MAB programme was a research programme, but has over time changed. In 1995, the so called "Seville strategy" was adopted, with sustainable development as the overarching target for the biosphere reserves. The Seville strategy sets out three main functions for a biosphere reserve:

Conservation
Development
Logistic support (which in practice means learning)

Looking at the five reasons I listed earlier, most of them fit into the Seville strategy. From what I have seen of biosphere reserves so far, the focus is definetely on the conservation and learning functions. A unique natural habitat is protected, and visitors are invited to take part of it. The leap to work effectively with sustainable development locally is in my opinion huge, and would for example include projects on energy conservation, renewable energy, eating habits (we need to eat less meat and dairy products), sustainable food production, a less transport-dependent society, sustainable transport, new ways of measuring well-being etc. etc.

From talking to some of the conference participants, the purpose of a biosphere reserve is not crystal clear to them either. Luckily, the conference organisers have identified this too, and right now there is a workshop on the EuroMAB identity in progress. Maybe a workshop on the entire MAB identity would have been preferrable, but I guess that will emerge in the workshop too. Hopefully, I can report back here on the outcomes of that workshop! Until then, why not take a look at the first photos from the conference?
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.185602014829055.56443.158762604179663

Charging Up for the UN Conference on Man and the Biosphere

Johan Erlandsson — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0200

Tomorrow it is finally time to start up the EuroMAB 2011 conference, a Man and the Biosphere conference with North American and European participants. I have earlier briefly presented what a Biosphere Reserve is:
http://ecoprofile.com/thread-2344-Biosphere-Reserves-a-Powerful-Method-for-Local-Transition.html

On the first day of the conference, there will be key note speeches by Meriem Boumrane from Unesco and Eva Smith from the Swedish EPA, amongts others. On Tuesday and Wednesday, focus is on workshop. I am myself mostly interested in the workshops covering biodiversity, social entrepreneurship, ecotourism and food production.

On Thursday, the public is invited to participate in the "BiosFAIR" a fair with 25 exhibitors, mainly presenting biosphere reserves. There will also be a number of seminars.

I hope we will be able to present a good coverage of the conference here at Ecoprofile!

Biosphere Reserves -a Powerful Method for Local Transition?

Johan Erlandsson — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0200

In July 4-8:th, there will be a conference on biosphere reserves in the small village Lundsbrunn, Sweden. Participants from Europe, Russia, North America and Nigeria will meet to further develop the "Man and the Biosphere" (MAB) program. Ecoprofile will co-operate with the conference by communication what biosphere reserves are, and by reporting from the conference. Today we give a brief introduction to the concept of biosphere reserves.The UNESCO MAB programme was formed in 1971, long before terms like sustainable development, Agenda 21 or Transition Towns were invented. This year, the MAB programme celebrate its 40:th anniversary. From the beginning the outlook was strictly scientific. Researchers wanted to find ways to solve environmental problems that had been identified and wanted limited geographic areas to investigate the connections between man and the biosphere. Yet today the outlook is scientific, but there are also ambitions to really contribute to local transition through developed methods for cooperation.

The guiding lights for the programmes are said to be co-operation between actors on different levels of society, that the initiative for forming biosphere reserves should come from local and regional actors and that biodiversity is a part of sustainable development. Today, there are more than 500 biosphere reserves worldwide.

In later articles I will briefly present the Swedish biosphere reserves and the coming conferences. I will also report from the conference, and hopefully other conference participants will contribute here too.

I would like to recommend you to visit the conference web site and consider if you should participate! The final registration date is June 9:th. Registration and programme can be found here:
www.euromab2011.se

MAB programme history:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/man-and-biosphere-programme/mab40/

The European environment state and outlook 2010

Jimmy Flindt — Fri, 27 May 2011 00:00:00 +0200

SOER2010 provides a set of assessments of the current state of Europe's environment, its likely future state, what is being done and what could be done to improve it, how global megatrends might affect future trends... and more.

Following the massive earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011, a number of explosions and fires took place at the reactor buildings of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Japan declared a state of alert and reported leaks of radioactive material. Given the magnitude and the global dimension of the disaster, Japanese authorities and the international community are following the situation very closely. A series of sources provide the public with up-to-date information on the accident's possible impacts on Europe's environment as well as radiation measurements across Europe. More information to be found under the direct reference (link): nuclear accident in Japan - highlights

HOORAY FOR THE HONEY BEE!

Jimmy Flindt — Thu, 26 May 2011 00:00:00 +0200

The European Environment Agency (EEA) is an agency of the European Union. Our task is to provide sound, independent information on the environment. We are a major information source for those involved in developing, adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy, and also the general public. Currently, the EEA has 32 member countries. More details can be found on the website eea.europe.eu . We are located in the center of Copenhagen, Denmark, and since recently, we are also home to 80.000 bees on the roof of our building (see: photos). Bees are under threat
‘Bees could be seen as the “sentinels of the environment”. They are very sensitive to what is going on around them. The honeybee is under threat from mites, from viruses and from pollution. Another threat we see is the general weakening of the constitution of the honeybee. Are honeybees not adapted to their environment? Have they become genetically weak because of our breeding practices? Is the “sentinel” showing us the level of contamination in the environment?’
’Remember, at least every third mouthful of human food depends on pollination. The vast majority of this pollination — maybe 80 % — is carried out by the honeybee. We must preserve natural, widespread pollination in order to safeguard our food.’

Paris is buzzing
Bees have been kept on the roof of the Paris Opera house for 25 years. The colony at this most Parisian institution is thriving and produces almost 500 kg of honey every year.
The city bees are flourishing and there are as many as 400 colonies in the city. New hives are now in place in Versailles Palace and at the Grande Palais. Indeed cities provide an abundance of flowering plants and trees in our gardens and parks. And while there is pollution there are much fewer pesticides in cities. Urban bees appear to be doing better than their country cousins in Europe.
The French National Union of Beekeepers started a campaign — ‘Operation Bees’ — in 2005 with the goal of integrating bees into the urban landscape. It seems to be working. The beekeepers union estimates that each Parisian beehive produces a minimum of 50–60 kg of honey per harvest and the death rate of the colonies is 3–5 %. That compares to country bees that produce between 10 and 20 kilograms of honey and experience a death rate of 30–40 %.
Bees are also busy in London. According to the London Beekeepers Association, urban bees appreciate the abundance of flowering plants and trees combined with relatively low pesticide use. This, and the slightly milder weather, means that the bee-keeping season is longer and usually more productive than in rural areas. A perfect example of the potential of our urban ecosystem.

More details can be found on pages 15 and 56 in Signals 2010 report.

Hooray for the Underdog

Rob Dietz — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0200

What's more compelling than an astonishing upset? We seem instinctively drawn to the underdog; we routinely root for the resilient scrapper who refuses to back down. It's why Team USA over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics has been memorialized as the Miracle on Ice. It's why we cheered when Rocky Balboa went toe to toe with Apollo Creed (and subsequently KO'd All the President’s Men, Network, and Taxi Driver at the Oscars). It's why Harry Truman's defeat of Thomas Dewey in 1948 is one of the most famous U.S. Presidential elections. And it's why David and Goliath is one of the most beloved biblical stories.

There are some powerful think tanks promoting “green” ideas around the world, especially when it comes to green growth, green technology, and green jobs. In a stunner, CASSE prevailed over them all as it was named the Best Green Think Tank of 2011 by the sustainability gurus at TreeHugger. Despite a miniscule budget and a skeletal staff that consists almost entirely of dedicated volunteers, the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy overcame odds almost as long as its name.

Perhaps it's not all that shocking of an upset after all. With each passing day, the public is becoming more skeptical of the status quo and more receptive to CASSE's message. Infinite economic growth on a finite planet makes no sense. It's a difficult message to hear and internalize, especially amidst the constant clamor for evermore growth. But acceptance of this message is a prerequisite to making the transition to a steady state economy, and CASSE is the leading organization calling for this transition.

As TreeHugger notes, when it comes down to advocating for what we humbly submit to readers as the single most important economic concept of the 21st century, CASSE comes out on top. And CASSE is in good company, awards are piling up for people and organizations daring to challenge the orthodoxy of perpetual economic growth:

The New Economic Model, a project of nef (the New Economics Foundation), has been named a 2011 semi-finalist in the Buckminster Fuller Challenge. And nef was the 2010 winner of the TreeHugger award given to CASSE this year.
The Post Carbon Institute won a DoGooder Nonprofit Video Award for its outstanding “300 Years of Fossil Fuels in 300 Seconds.”
Herman Daly won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council for Science and the Environment.
The Global Footprint Network won the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.

These awards help validate the messages being delivered by CASSE, nef, Post Carbon, GFN, and dozens of other organizations. And they increase public awareness of noteworthy efforts. But more importantly, they provide inspiration for us to follow the lead of these organizations. Underdog victories prove that the little guy can win the game. Their stories help us realize that we have the power to accomplish big things.

In this case, the underdogs are all the people who are distressed about the direction humanity is headed. We are the people craving a sane solution to climate chaos, mourning the culture of materialism, searching for solutions to the ongoing assault on nature, and hoping for an end to poverty. It will take unprecedented commitment, hard work and perseverance for us to overcome greed-based corporate agendas, outdated economic institutions, and our own reservations about saying and doing what is necessary.

Now, however, is the time for underdogs of the world to unite in action. As TreeHugger astutely observed, “In all honesty awarding the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy a Best of Green Award this year is as much about promise as past action.” We need to fulfill the promise and find a way to run the economy on something other than endlessly expanding consumption. If you want to join the underdog movement for a sustainable economy, please consider taking some simple actions to raise awareness about the perils of perpetual growth and the positive possibilities of a steady state.

Nicole Foss: Resources May Become a Complete Curse

Johan Erlandsson — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0200

I'm tall, blond and covered in bags. That's how Nicole Foss described herself on the telephone before I met her at the Gothenburg Central Station. Nicole is on a two month European tour to deliver her message about the coming credit- and energy crisis.You may already know who Nicole Foss is, but if not, here is a brief review:

Nicole Foss has a multidisciplinary background and is now compiling all her knowledge into what she calls "the big picture". Her message is that we should prepare ourselves for the coming dramatic finance- and energy crisis. The real estate market is vastly overvalued in Europe, in many cases worse than in the US before their finance crisis became a reality. This, in combination with the end of cheap oil, paves the road for problems of a scale we have not seen since the thirties. We should get rid of our loans and co-operate with neighbors when the government can no longer provide proper services.

SMALL SCALE SOLUTIONS AND NEIGHBOUR CO-OPERATION

I had the privilege to talk to Nicole Foss, before her lecture in Gothenburg, Sweden. The first thing I was curious about was exactly what I am supposed to co-operate about, with my neighbor. She says that all kinds of government service will have problems, there will not be enough money once the bubble has burst and tax revenues drop. We will have to roll up our sleeves and solve most of our daily lives ourselves, from taking away the trash to teaching our kids.

Power supply will not be as flawless as today. The grid needs maintenance and there will not be enough money to do it. Nicole’s advice is to get a battery that can be charged when the grid is up.

Water plants are complicated, and even if there is water in the tap, it may not be risk free to drink it. A filter is recommended.

The school system will disintegrate. We see cuts already, before the crisis. It will become a lot worse. And as the school system is dysfunctional today already, parent can educate their kids at home instead. There is a trend in Great Britain right now, "unschooling" which is about exactly that. Today’s' school do not teach pupils critical thinking, but does only stuff facts into kids' heads.

Cultivation is definitely something to co-operate about. I commented that most people live in cities and that cities can only provide limited food supply, even with advanced technology. Yes, the city will always have to rely on the countryside for food supply, but in real crisis, urban farming may help people to survive.

We discussed the trade-off between efficiency and resilience, about the invulnerability of small scale and the efficiency of large scale. I have had the impression so far that she advocates small scale in every case, but she said that "medium scale" can work as long as it can be managed and that it is not reliant on global transport.

ENERGY SYSTEM TRANSITION

I mentioned some consultancy reports and scientific articles that say that it is technically and financially viable to achieve 100 % renewable energy system until 2050. Nicole first laughed to this fact and said it is not physically possible. After having discussed smart grids for a while, my impression was that she eased up a little bit on that opinion, and instead stressed that there will not be enough money around to achieve such a costly transition, with long distance power transmission and energy storage. Domestic power meters that show momentary power usage is however very useful, it is a robust way to give people the control over their power consumption.

CONFLICTS

Nicole said that the Second World War came after a long period of recession. She do not believe we will have a third world war, but there may well be regional conflicts, maybe in the form of "proxy wars". That means that powerful nations provide smaller nations that have natural resources with weapons, so that the smaller nations fights over resources with the need to direct intervention by the powerful nations. To have natural resources may very well turn out to be a complete curse.

CITY OR COUNTRYSIDE?

Both city and countryside may work in the future, but not urban sprawl.

NOT A SURVIVALIST

Are you a survivalist, I asked Nicole. -No, I will not fence in my farm and will not get guns to defend ourselves. But maybe a rifle for deer hunting.

From the Ecobuild Conference in London: Ending our Love Affair with More

Jacqui Bonnitcha — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Many seminars held at the recent Ecobuild event in London addressed individual behavior and consumption habits. In one of the more lively seminars four commentators from academia and business presented vastly different perspectives on the basis of our 'love affair with more'.It is well understood that effective climate change mitigation requires action on all levels; government, industry and individual. A recent conference in London, Ecobuild- the world’s largest sustainable building event - could be expected to focus on issues relating to the former categories. It was therefore interesting to see that a persistent theme throughout the seminar and lecture series was how we are to change individual behaviour. There was a general agreement that, at least in the built environment, most of the policy tools and industry techniques to drastically reduce our environmental impact are already known. However, a more fundamental issue stands in our way; given these tools, is the general populace capable of changing their consumption habits?

A seminar entitled ‘Ending our Love Affair with More’ dealt directly with this issue of the psychology of consumption and the social institutions that support our debt driven lifestyle. Four speakers presented very different view points on the basis of our consumption habits and how they could be changed.

Clive Hamilton is a university professor and an author of many books including Affluenza and Requiem for a Species – why we resist the truth about climate change. Hamilton argues that our ability to control our consumption urges have been so depleted by advertising and debt driven economic models that the general population is not capable of reducing their impact on the environment on their own. For Hamilton, the solution rides in stronger government which forces this change.

Strongly opposed to Hamilton’s negative view of advertising and the free market was Rita Clifton, head of UK branding consultancy Interbrand and former chairman of Saatchi and Saatchi. While acknowledging that advertising had not always been used for good, Clifton maintains that in order to appeal to the masses the green movement must be more adept with their use advertising tools. These ‘masses’ that currently do not see the need to change their lifestyle or buying patterns, hold the key to both influencing industry and, in a democratic society, ultimately to determine the direction taken by government.

Clarifying the differences between Hamilton and Clifton and presenting a middle ground was professor of philosophy, Anthony Grayling. He argues that both growth and consumption are broad terms which can not be labelled as entirely bad, nor entirely good. Philosophical teachings from times of excess in the past, such as the Romans, can teach us that constant desire for more does not produce happiness. Simplistic equations of ‘more is good’ are not enough. We need to ask what we are ‘growing’ and what we are ‘consuming’ and to what degree.

Ultimately, argues Richard Douthwaite, society will have no choice. The co-founder of the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability and author of The Growth Illusion, believes that our debt laden economic system is intrinsically linked with our ecological ‘overdraught’. Both these systems will undergo radical change in the near future due to energy constraints and this will transform our consumption habits.

What will it take for the majority of Western world, and the wealthy elements of the rapidly developing East, to change our consumption habits? Does the solution lie in strong government, better campaigning or greater understanding of our fundamental needs? Or, as Douthwaite argues, will the change be forced upon us, long before individuals are ready to do it on their own?