Instead of writing a long-winded essay in which I make tortuous connections between all of Hawken's points and Mcdonough's presentation, I have opted to focus on just three points, and I will make very solid connections to each.
1.)Replace nationally and internationally produced items with products created locally and regionally.
William Mcdonough's project in China resulted in an exemplary model for this point. He moved the farmland to the roofs of the buildings, and by so doing maintained the towns folk's ability to locally produce food. Mcdonough's plan spared the townspeople from dependency on external sources of agricultural products and allowed them to produce their own products which they could help distribute to others.
2.) Create objects of durability and long-term utility whose ultimate use of disposition will not be harmful to future generations.
Mcdonough's project in China once again exemplified this quality. The building plan Mcdonough created for the Chinese town would not only not be harmful to future generations dwelling in the city; it would be beneficial to the city's future inhabitants by providing a sustainable source of food and possible economic income (through exporting agricultural products).
3.) Engage in production process that are human, worthy, dignified and intrinsically satisfying.
This is the most important way that Mcdonough fits Hawken's criteria for a sustainable business. All of Mcdonough's projects follow the trend of an emphasis on sustainability, so they immediately qualify as being worthy. We, as a species, face a gargantuan challenge; the issue of global warming, and any conscious, sustained (pardon the pun) effort to confront this problem also immediately qualifies as being dignified, and, to any normal person, intrinsically satisfying. The idea that Mcdonough is doing this to benefit other people (indeed, the entire species), makes it a very human effort, and a very worthwhile one at that. Mcdonough's work gives hope to those who are cynically-inclined, such as myself. They shine as beacons of light in a world of ecological and intellectual darkness.
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Monday, 6 October 2008
Global Warming and the Second Coming of Jesus.
In the article "Waste Not", we learned about the gargantuan output of rubbish, toxins, and pollutants in recent years. My project is about the religious indoctrination of children, and the harmful effects it can have on society. At first, these two topics seem as unrelated as you can get, but upon close inspection, it is possible to establish a solid connection between the two. For the sake of convenience, I used total carbon emissions as an indicator of waste (the two are closely tied, but it is easier to find evidence regarding carbon emissions than waste output).
For those of you who have ever watched Jesus Camp (a frightfully brilliant documentary by the way), there is a particularly worrying scene in which a home schooled child is discussing global warming with his mother, attempting to prove that it is a lie. He is but one of the 1.1 million other home schooled students, 30% of whom are educated at home to provide religious teaching(1). Religious ideology and sustainability seem to run contradictory to each other, because there is in all religion the belief that there is an afterlife, there is also the quiet yearning for the afterlife. There are some crucially important environmental implications when 25% of Americans believed that Jesus would return in the year 2007(2). I submit that the yearning for the return of Jesus, and the belief that there is another life after this one creates and reinforces the idea that we needn't worry about sustainability, because we won't be here long enough to be concerned with it.
I have found a graph of the total carbon emissions released state by state which can be found at:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/05/30/business/20080601_ENERGY_GRAPHIC.html
I have also found a map of the political affiliations of the states in the same year:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:2004_US_elections_map_electoral_votes.png
As well as a map detailing the bible belt of the U.S.:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:BibleBelt.png
The republican party has a reputation for its conservative and religious affiliations within the United States (it is very difficult to get elected in the U.S. if one does not pander to some religious group or another, for the Christians comprise of approximately 33% of the vote). Notice how 4 out of the top 5 emitters of carbon emissions are republican states, and notice how the most concentrated area of consistently high carbon emitters overlaps with the bible belt. The states guilty of the most carbon emissions seem to be the republican ones. I feel that this indicates that there is a correlation between religiosity and waste output.
In conclusion, I believe that religion, and religious instruction of children plays a major role in the levels of CO2 output in the United States (one of the world's larger CO2 emitters). Religious instruction influences environmental sustainability because the child is not only taught that the current climate crisis is a lie, but also that Jesus will return soon enough, so there is little need to focus on creating a sustainable future. Education and raising awareness is the key to solving global warming, but we must extend this philosophy into the realm of religion in order create the most change possible.
References:
(1)http://nces.ed.gov/nhes/homeschool/
(2)http://www.beliefnet.com/story/208/story_20828_1.html
For those of you who have ever watched Jesus Camp (a frightfully brilliant documentary by the way), there is a particularly worrying scene in which a home schooled child is discussing global warming with his mother, attempting to prove that it is a lie. He is but one of the 1.1 million other home schooled students, 30% of whom are educated at home to provide religious teaching(1). Religious ideology and sustainability seem to run contradictory to each other, because there is in all religion the belief that there is an afterlife, there is also the quiet yearning for the afterlife. There are some crucially important environmental implications when 25% of Americans believed that Jesus would return in the year 2007(2). I submit that the yearning for the return of Jesus, and the belief that there is another life after this one creates and reinforces the idea that we needn't worry about sustainability, because we won't be here long enough to be concerned with it.
I have found a graph of the total carbon emissions released state by state which can be found at:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/05/30/business/20080601_ENERGY_GRAPHIC.html
I have also found a map of the political affiliations of the states in the same year:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:2004_US_elections_map_electoral_votes.png
As well as a map detailing the bible belt of the U.S.:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:BibleBelt.png
The republican party has a reputation for its conservative and religious affiliations within the United States (it is very difficult to get elected in the U.S. if one does not pander to some religious group or another, for the Christians comprise of approximately 33% of the vote). Notice how 4 out of the top 5 emitters of carbon emissions are republican states, and notice how the most concentrated area of consistently high carbon emitters overlaps with the bible belt. The states guilty of the most carbon emissions seem to be the republican ones. I feel that this indicates that there is a correlation between religiosity and waste output.
In conclusion, I believe that religion, and religious instruction of children plays a major role in the levels of CO2 output in the United States (one of the world's larger CO2 emitters). Religious instruction influences environmental sustainability because the child is not only taught that the current climate crisis is a lie, but also that Jesus will return soon enough, so there is little need to focus on creating a sustainable future. Education and raising awareness is the key to solving global warming, but we must extend this philosophy into the realm of religion in order create the most change possible.
References:
(1)http://nces.ed.gov/nhes/homeschool/
(2)http://www.beliefnet.com/story/208/story_20828_1.html
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