jim merkel: radical simplicity part 1

Sustainable Design – what is it?Radical Simplicity

Radically Simple LivingCan Save:

• TIME

• MONEY

• FOOTPRINTAnd can

a personal and institutional response to:

• War

• Global poverty

• Ecological crisis

• Personal health

• Stress

• Boring trivial work

Humanity’s Consumption

Compared to

Biospheric Production

Quantifying Sustainability

1-800-NASA

Intact Ecosystems

provide Services:

Water Purification

Carbon Sequestration

Climate Regulation

Soil Retention

Wildlife Habitat

Pollination

An Anthropocentric Analysis

“What you people call your natural resources

our people call our relatives.”

Oren Lyons -- Onondaga

A TAIL OF ONE GUY WITH A BIG FOOT PRINT

In the beginning – was this arms

dealer

Who seemed happy selling

top-secret cryptographic

computers

But life at the top began to feel lonely

The horrors of war and the cries of the Earth disturbed his sleep…

He visited the Navajo resisting forced relocation

He witnessed other weenies

with ties courageously

speak out against subsidies to automobile

drivers.

But when he watched the Raging Grannies cross the line to stop a nuclear test in Nevada…

He had no choice as to what side of the line he was going to stand on – for ever.

Unsung heroes unleashed his

tears

The tipping point was:

the Exxon Valdez Oil spill

Tools for Change

Your Money or your Life -- Financial Independence

Savings

interest income

Earnings

Spending

Crossover point

Time

Money

The Journey to Radical simplicity begins…

Fellowship to study Kerala’s quality of Life

Small families – low infant mortality

Cooperative Mind

60% of gov. spending on healthcare and education. More libraries than all of India.

Abundant food – playful people

Open Prison – 280 murderers – guards carry no weapons, there are no fences

“We better treat them nice.

They are all murderers.”

When asked about the philosophy of the treatment of the prisoners, the guard said…

Chendren and Appicherican

of the Kani Tribe of Kerala’s

Western Ghats

Still hunting and gathering

Setting off on a questin the Indian Himalayas – how to reduce consumption in North America

In the rain shadow

ZanskarHimalayas

Crossing pass to Kargia

Zache zola song

Fellow traveler

Rang Bow Gung Gen in the background

Passing chortens while meditating

Mantras

Kargia -- Zanskar

Fossil Fuel Free inspiration from

villagers

See the footprint from this vantage

Returned home to start the Global Living Project

In 1996 – First GLP team

Set out to live equitable among all humanity, all species and future generations

The gleaned bumps & experiences led to…

Radical Simplicity

Ecological FootprintingYour Money or Your Life

Learning from Nature

There is the “Thrill”

Radical Simplicity explores the many sides to sustainability –

And there is the “Nurture”

And then…

just having fossil fuel free fun!

And figuring out how to get small – without magic dust

But also, sustainability in a global context is serious business

“…no longer than a decade, at the most…,” Dr. James Hansen

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Heads the NASA Institute for Space Studies in New York City

Nineteen of the hottest 20 years on record occurred since 1980. -- The Union of Concerned Scientist

• Warming Is “unequivocal”

• Widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level

• Carbon dioxide and methane “exceeds by far the natural range over the last 650,000 years”

IPCC Fourth Assessment

Species are moving poles-ward at about four miles per decade.

“Isotherms” are moving pole-ward at about thirty-five miles per decade.

failing to gain enough weight during the summer to breed

Over 200 species go extinct every day

1000 times faster than natural rate

Iraqi Deaths Related to Shock and Awe

• 654,965 excess deaths related to the war, or 2.5% of the population, through the end of June 2006.

– Published in The Lancet, one of the oldest peer-reviewed medical journals founded in 1823.

Gulf War Deaths

• 205,500 Iraqis died in 1991 from effects of the Gulf war or postwar turmoil (approximates).– Beth Osborne Daponte, Carnegie Mellon University

• The U.S. suffered 148 combat deaths and 145 non-battle deaths during the Gulf War and the buildup to it.

Iraqi Infant Mortality(under 1)

• 40 in 1990 • 102 in 2005

US Prison PopulationHighest in the World

• 1 in 142 US residents now in prison

• Topped 2 million in 2002

– Justice Department

• 714 USA• 532 Russia• 413 South

Africa• 207 Libya• 194 Iran• 116 Canada• 100 Nicaragua• 91 France• 83 Venezuela• 65 Norway• 29 India

Per 100,000

Too Much, Not Enough

• If current trends continue, obesity will become the leading cause of death by next year.

• Surpassing 500,000 deaths annually, rivaling the number of annual deaths from cancer

– Julie L. Gerberding, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Radical Disparity

Wealthiest Billion

$70 per day

Poorest Billion

$0.25 per day

Global Gap = 250:1 and growing

Inter-human equity

The face of poverty

How Much Earth is There?

28 Billion Bio-productive Acres

Divided by

6.3 Billion People

Living Planet Report, 2003 Data