“CLIMATE CHANGE, A SYMPTOM OF DEEPER SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL PROBLEMS“

We know that ecological sustainability alone is not effective and will not achieve its aims as long as we do not take into account economic and social matters. But we also know that the most important factor in a long term view is ‘Nature:’ without it Human survival is perhaps impossible (or at least not so much enjoyable). So how can ecological, societal and economic sustainability be realized? How to revitalize the local economy, eliminate carbon emissions, restore local agriculture, food supply and forestry, and create a new, sustainable base for economic and community development? David Orr, Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics has great experience on this matter. His full-spectrum sustainability theory has been the inspiration of the Oberlin College, an all-encompassing joint venture by the town and College to create a thriving, sustainable and environmentally friendly community. Colleges and campus are very important in David’s vision. In an influential article in the Chronicle of Higher Education 2000, Orr proposed the goal of carbon neutrality for colleges and universities.

• I don’t think that we know yet what the calibration or harmonization of human actions with the limits of the ecosphere will require of us in terms of population, consumption, and technology.

• But climate change is a symptom of deeper social, economic, and political problems, notably inequity and massive dereliction and moral abdication by political leaders almost everywhere.

• The Lewis Center was the first entirely solar-powered, zero-discharge building on a College or university campus… …its most important feature was the engagement with students who participated in the design of the building and in its subsequent evolution over nearly twenty years.

• The Oberlin Project was a 4-8 year effort—not a permanent organization—to catalyze sustainable development in a small town of ~9,000 people. It is a grassroots initiative in the heart of the U.S. “rustbelt” showing that sustainable development, renewable energy, local foods, and economic renewal are possible and that organized citizens can lead the way.

• It’s important that young people acquire the skills and aptitudes to improve the world through ecological design, regenerative agriculture, urban planning, and the transition to a solar-powered world. Imagine all schools powered by sunlight, emitting no waste products, and growing a portion of their food on school grounds!

• I can’t say exactly how you might learn from our experience, but I do know that Italy has much to offer in the transition to a sustainable, fair, and beautiful world.

Question 1 | Sustainability now…

Question 2 | The most important ecological crises

Thank you for your answer. But among the many current ecological crisis (climate change, biodiversity loss, water pollution, unsustainable fishing and so on), what is in your opinion the most important one? In your view how should a really sustainable economic system be?

Question 3 | The effects of impending climate change on the banking industry

Let’s now talk about some of the several interesting projects you have carried on. One of these was made in 1989 and concerned the effects of impending climate change on the banking industry. Could you explain to us the results of this study and if they are still true now?

In 1989 then Governor Bill Clinton and I organized a two-day conference for bankers and climate scientists. The idea, originally from Amory Lovins, was to explore the relationship between the stability and profitability of bank lending and customers’ adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy. That event was twenty-five years ahead of its time in noting that lending to customers paying exorbitant costs for energy reduced their ability to repay their loans and hence a higher likelihood of default. The idea was valid then and even more so now as energy efficiency has steadily improved and costs of solar electricity and wind power have fallen. We’ve entered a new energy era of sunlight, superior technology, and better design. The message, alas, has not entirely penetrated the darker fossil-fuel realms.

Question 4 | Green Building

The Lewis Center was the first entirely solar-powered, zero-discharge building on a College or university campus. Designed and built in the 1990’s it remains a landmark of design, generating 130-140% of its annual energy use from sunlight and purifying all of its wastewater on site in a John Todd designed “living machine.” But its most important feature was the engagement with students who participated in the design of the building and in its subsequent evolution over nearly twenty years. Ecological design became part of the curriculum and the heart of a pedagogy of applied hope at a comprehensible scale.

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Question 5 | The Oberlin Project

The Oberlin Project was an Oberlin College initiative in collaboration with the City and community. It was intended to be a 4-8 year effort—not a permanent organization—to catalyze sustainable development in a small town of ~9,000 people. Our goals included speeding the transition to renewable energy, growing the local food economy, introducing sustainability into the curriculum of the local schools, and local economic development. We met or exceeded each of these. The accomplishments included the adoption of a City Climate policy, the elimination of ~85% of the CO2 emissions from the local utility, the construction of an 11-acre solar array, community-wide dashboards reporting on energy and water use, construction of a model affordable solar house built closely to Passiv Haus standards, an expanded local foods market, a new solar-powered Hotel & Conference Center; and ~$100 million investment in downtown redevelopment centred on a Green Arts District. It is a grassroots initiative in the heart of the U.S. “rustbelt” showing that sustainable development, renewable energy, local foods, and economic renewal are possible and that organized citizens can lead the way.

Question 6 | Education in green places…

The ecological disorder all around us reflects a prior disorder in the way we think. That makes the environment the issue in education. And by what we include or exclude in education we teach young people that they are part of or apart from the natural world. That said, it’s important that young people understand ecology and its economic, political, social, and moral implications. It is equally important that they acquire the skills and aptitudes to improve the world and the human prospect through ecological design, regenerative agriculture, urban planning, and the transition to a solar-powered world. Imagine all schools powered by sunlight, emitting no waste products, and growing a portion of their food on school grounds!

Question 7 | Sustainability in Italy

What do you think about Italy? What are the main factors to consider on the matter of sustainability in Italy and how can we take advantage of your studies?

The conversation about sustainability began in Italy with Roman engineering, the moral grounding of St. Benedict and St. Francis, the design intelligence of Leonardo and Michelangelo, the architecture of Brunelleschi, Palladio, Alberti, and the dawn of modern science of Galileo. It is embodied in the management of land the timeless beauty of the Tuscany hills and the lessons of water management in the evolution of Venice. As a student of politics, I think Machiavelli also has a great deal to say about the competent conduct of our public (and global affairs) in a more constrained world. I can’t say exactly how you might learn from our experience, but I do know that Italy has much to offer in the transition to a sustainable, fair, and beautiful world.

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Thanks go to Ennio Baratella Gruber, Grazia Giordano (writer and co-editor at Long Term Economy), Geetha Plackal (Long Term Economy collaborator; GGA India) and Stephen Saunders (Long Term Economy collaborator).