Making a World of Difference: Connecting the Dots
by Vicki Wolf, December 2005

In 2005 CLEAN focused on exploring ways to build a safer, healthier, more sustainable world. In a series of monthly articles we covered topics ranging from biomimicry to detoxing your life. During our research we talked with talented, dedicated people who demonstrated we can make a world of difference by paying close attention to the natural world around us, the health of people around us and our own health. Taking care to do no harm to the planet or ourselves and noticing early warning signs can lead to better, more creative ways of producing the things we need. We learned that nature offers a great treasure of beautiful creative solutions and elegant systems we can mimic. We found that caring for our planet requires a routine of reusing, recycling and conservation of precious resources so that future generations can enjoy a high quality of life. This last article in the Building a Better World Project for 2005 highlights the inspiring and useful thoughts and information we gathered in the series.

We began by examining the precautionary principle, which states: “When an activity raises threats of harm to the environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.”

Looking back in time at case studies, we found that repeatedly industry ignored early warning signs of danger or harm, often over many years (see “Better Safe than Sorry” ). The result was illness, death and huge sums of money paid in lawsuits. We found that paying attention to early warning signs and looking for safer ways to do things, as suggested by the precautionary principle, often leads to use of better technology. Winifred Hamilton, PhD, director, Environmental Health Section, Baylor College of Medicine, explains that following the precautionary principle can serve the interest of industry and government. “If a city or a company were to use the precautionary principle as a critical part of decision-making, they could come up with products in the long run that are safer and more profitable,” she says. “Lower exposure to legal action and regulation would also benefit organizations that adopt precaution as part of the way they do business,” she adds.

We reported that the City and County of San Francisco have adopted the precautionary principle. The guidelines leaders and citizens of San Francisco are following today make sense for all cities and other organizations that make decisions regarding the health and safety of people and the environment. Guidelines inlcude:

• People have a duty to take anticipatory action to prevent harm
• Proponents of products and services bear responsibility for the safety of those products and services
• Decision makers will examine a full range of alternatives and select alternatives with the least harmful impact on environmental health and human health
• Decisions will be participatory, transparent and informed by the best available science and complete product information
• Decision-makers will consider a full range of costs of products and services, including manufacturing, use and disposal. Economic evaluation will broadly consider long-term costs and savings of environmental policies.

In an article about biomimicry, we explored the beauty, elegance and practical solutions available in nature. Janine Benyus, renowned author and biologist, opened the door to this new science with her book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. She says, “For the first time in history, we have the instruments – the scopes and satellites – to feel the shiver of a neuron in thought or watch in color as a star is born. When we combine this intensified gaze with the sheer amount of scientific knowledge coming into focus, we suddenly have the capacity to mimic nature like never before.”

We discovered how to foster sustainable ways of living by observing and working with nature to develop systems that cooperate with the creative ways nature sustains life (see “Permaculture: designing a better world”). We found this permaculture philosophy can be applied to daily life as well as to landscapes, gardens and farms. The basic principles of permaculture are:

• Take care of the earth
• Take care of the people
• Share the surplus and recycle excess back into the system
• Emphasize optimism and cooperation

Specific examples of permaculture and biomimicry are being practiced in Houston. One example is vegetated roofs, such as the roof of the Reuel A. Stallones Building at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Growing plants on roofs is part of the ecological research gardens and UTHSC’s efforts to have more ecologically sustainable campus. Carl Hacker, PhD, an ecologist and attorney on the faculty at the School of Public Health and director of the project says “Every public building should have a vegetated roof.” It’s one of the ways Hacker believes Houston can begin to alleviate flooding problems and the heat island effect of pavement that covers Houston’s original ecosystem of prairie and forest.

Rives Taylor, architect and consultant for Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), says biomimicry can help solve climate-related building problems. “Nature avoids excesses and overbuilding, taps into the power of limits, and runs on the sun and other natural resources,” says Taylor. “It uses only the energy and resources it needs.”

Taylor worked with UTHSC in the design, specification processes and project management to build the UTHSC School of Nursing and Student Community Center. Many features of the facility imitate sustainable principles found in nature.

For air-conditioning, the School of Nursing is designed to take advantage of the physics of air – hot air rises and cool air stays lower. With a raised floor, low-powered fans and high ceilings, the air is circulated to keep the building at a comfortable temperature while using less energy. Large, double-paneled glass windows with UV coating provide natural lighting and lower energy use. Using natural light rather than artificial light enhances the beauty and comfort of the facility.

The School of Nursing also collects rain water in cisterns to flush commodes and irrigate the small green space around the building. The school is able to store three months of rain water for the dry season.

Both Hacker and Rives believe there is an urgent need to protect nature and fund research to learn from nature.

Some of the good news we reported is that savvy companies are fostering sustainability. Interface, Inc., the world’s largest commercial carpet manufacturer, aspires “to be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire industrial world what sustainability is in all its dimensions: people, process product, place and profits – by 2020 – and in doing so we will become restorative through the power of influence.” Dan Hendrix, president and CEO says, “We at Interface believe that by striving for sustainability we are discovering better ways to make a bigger profit.”

Other companies would do well to set goals similar to those set by Interface:
1. Eliminate waste: eliminating all forms of waste in every area of business
2. Benign emissions: eliminating toxic substances from products, vehicles and facilities
3. Renewable energy: operating facilities with renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, landfill gas, biomass and low impact hydroelectric
4. Closing the loop: redesigning processes and products to close the technical loop using recovered and bio-based materials
5. Resource-efficient transportation: transporting people and products efficiently to reduce waste and emissions
6. Sensitizing stakeholders: creating a culture that integrates sustainability principles and improves people’s lives and livelihoods
7. Redesign commerce: creating a new business model that demonstrates and supports the value of sustainability-based commerce

Patagonia, New Leaf Paper and Whole Foods are other examples of companies that are leading the way in sustainable practices for businesses.

We were encouraged to learn that Andy Lipkis and T.R.E.E.S., a group of volunteers dedicated to restoring the ecology of Los Angeles, could convince that city to develop water-collecting ecosystems throughout the city instead of building large concrete levees to send that much-needed rain water out to sea (See “Restoring Nature in Los Angeles”).

Lipkis suggests that it takes courageous leadership and integration of government agencies and non-government organizations to bring change needed to save the ecology of large cities. “Create a situation room or an emergency command center and bring departments together to look at environmental problems,” Lipkis says.

He also urges citizens to insist that the city take action. “The public must identify where out-dated practices waste funds and demand that wasteful action stop,” Lipkis says.

A theme that was repeated throughout the year from people we interviewed is that, as consumers and as citizens, all people have the power to change the way companies and governments perform. “If companies are doing bad things, such as exploiting workers or polluting the environment, consumers can choose someone else,” says Leslie Lowe, International Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) attorney. “You can’t dump poison on one side of the globe without people knowing about it on the other side within seconds.”

Building a better world requires each person to take action each day and choose to:

• Recycle, reuse and conserve resources (see “Conserve and recycle for a cleaner, sustainable planet” & “What we can do today”)
• When making new purchases, buy sustainable products from companies that carefully use resources and avoid polluting the planet (see “What we can do today” & “Healthy places for children to live, learn and play”)
• Reduce the amount of synthetic chemicals used at home, for personal care and in the lawn and garden (see “Detoxing your life” & “Healthy places for children to live, learn and play”)
• Eat locally grown, organic food (see “Locally grown food: good for you, good for the planet”)
• Find your place in nature and take time to observe how you feel and what you see happening to all the living things there (see “Permaculture: Designing a better world”)
• Actively participate and call on government at all levels to exercise the precautionary principle and find ways to reduce waste, and take better care of the environment and citizens’ health (Find your representative here.)