“Imagine that you are first in line at a potluck supper. The spread includes not just food and water, but all the materials needed for shelter, clothing, healthcare, and education. How do you know how much to take? How much must you leave for your neighbors behind you – not just the 6.8 billion human beings currently alive on the planet, but our fellow creatures and the yet-to-be-born?”
People often ask what I think of this or that piece of new “green” technology. It’s as if achieving sustainability in our homes is primarily a technical matter — for example, adding the right kind of heat pump or solar panels. I won’t disagree that technology has a role to play. However, this role is relatively small and comes much later in the game, after many other less obvious but more significant steps. [Read more…]
Just about everyone on the planet by now must have a sense that things are getting a bit tight when it comes to resources and the environment. As children, most of us were taught the “Golden Rule” about sharing and not being greedy, but in this complex and interconnected world how do we know what is our fair share? [Read more…]
