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csintexas
millennium club
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 1667
Location: USA
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 Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 6:38 am Post subject: |
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From:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/21/AR2007112101856.html
Going Green? Easy Doesn't Do It
(see link for full text)
By Michael Maniates
Thursday, November 22, 2007; Page A37
Thanksgiving nicely focuses our attention on things of lasting importance: family, friends, community, a rich harvest. None of these blessings come without cost or sacrifice. Today, then, we might consider what we must give of ourselves to preserve such abundance in the face of increasing climatic instability.
One needn't ponder this question in a vacuum. Several best-sellers offer advice about what we must ask of ourselves and one another. Their titles suggest that we needn't break much of a sweat: "It's Easy Being Green," "The Lazy Environmentalist," or even "The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time."....
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Chris Stewart
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lekizz
millennium club
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 1000
Location: UK
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| Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 8:27 am Post subject: |
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Interesting article, all very true. But there lies the dilhema, we either have people who proclaim loudly that wee need to save the planet now, or we have people arguing (like the UK prime minster recently) that all we need to do is to not leave our electrical appliances on standby and everything will be okay.
Changing big things (certainly across the United States, Europe and the World) requires serious campaigning and organisation. Architectureweek, as I understand it, is an online architecture magazine, not an international environmental group with a large militant membership. I don't see it has the resources to put such a demand into action. It is all fine and dandy to call for a month's boycott of architecture projects that don't fit the four leaf standards It sounds very good, but will be another thing to put it into practise. That is why I asked who the partners were in this campaign.
Again, I am not trying to be unnecessarily negative, I am trying to ask the questions that need to be asked. Architectureweek is a super online resource, but maybe the AIA are the people who should be calling this campaign. We should be aiming our demands at existing respected organisations to get off their asses and take the lead.
At least this has got me thinking seriously, I'm trying to work out what the UK's RIBA are doing to (at least) raise awareness of these things. From what I can see at the moment, the answer is "very little". |
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csintexas
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Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 1667
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 9:30 am Post subject: |
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I agree, that is why I call on organizations like LEED to stop dancing around the issue.
If we do not have a clear understanding of where we need to be we will not be able to take the most direct route to achieving this desired outcome.
We don't need strikes, we need to "roll up our sleeves and get to work" as someone else hear said recently. Unfortunately getting to work means completely rethinking the way we do things.
It is possible to do but it will require a tremendous shift in the way we do things.
here is a good video:
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
We need a societal revolution.
"Every person who ever had a plan to do anything, and went and did it, or who laid his plan before others, and won their co-operation to do it with him, without going to external authorities to please do the thing for them, was a direct actionist."
Voltairine de Cleyre, "Direct Action"
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Chris Stewart
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csintexas
millennium club
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 1667
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 9:41 am Post subject: |
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"It is by and because of the direct acts of the forerunners of social change, whether they be of peaceful or warlike nature, that the Human Conscience, the conscience of the mass, becomes aroused to the need for change. It would be very stupid to say that no good results are ever brought about by political action; sometimes good things do come about that way. But never until individual rebellion, followed by mass rebellion, has forced it. Direct action is always the clamorer, the initiator, through which the great sum of indifferentists become aware that oppression is getting intolerable."
Voltairine de Cleyre, "Direct Action"
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Chris Stewart
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Kevin
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 1075
Location: Eugene, Oregon
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| Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 11:41 am Post subject: |
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I for one will be discussing the Planet Earth Partners challenge with AIA leaders and many others at the national AIA convention in Boston next week.
While the AIA has provided important leadership on climate change, as noted and acknowledged in the article, it is still often true that such national organizations need a good push from the grassroots to move forward quickly. And more quickly is just what is needed for climate stabilization!
Everyone can help lead this process by talking with their own firm and local professional chapters.
An easy way to start is have people read the two articles, to get the conversation into a common framework - print them out and pass them around within your firm if necessary. Then start talking about the issues, and see what it would take to join the pledge! |
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djswan
Joined: 17 Aug 2007
Posts: 553
Location: Montana, USA
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