Earth to Earth by Martin Hill

Author:Martin Hill [Hill, Martin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781449406332
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC
Published: 2007-03-25T16:00:00+00:00

PETER PRICE-THOMAS, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE NATURAL STEP U.K.

PETER PRICE-THOMAS WORKS FOR AN INTERNATIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION THE NATURAL STEP (TNS), OF WHICH FORUM FOR THE FUTURE IS THE U.K. LICENSE HOLDER. PETER WORKS WITH FORUM BUSINESS PARTNERS AND THE WIDER CORPORATE SECTOR—USING THE NATURAL STEP’S APPROACH—TO HELP THEM STRATEGICALLY ADDRESS ISSUES OF SUSTAINABILITY. BEFORE JOINING THE FORUM, PETER WAS THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TNS U.S. HE HAS WORKED ON SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES IN NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, AND ASIA—INCLUDING WORK WITH CORPORATIONS, STATE AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, AND MULTILATERAL AGENCIES. PETER IS A FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR, AND HAS A MASTER’S DEGREE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE FROM YALE UNIVERSITY AND AN M.A. IN GEOGRAPHY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.

It is often said that the most sustainable building is the one that is never built: one that does not take any land, nor use any materials; a building that does not use any energy, nor create any waste. And yet, this building is unsustainable in one key aspect: it does not provide for human need. The basic human need of shelter has been with us for millennia and will continue to be with us as long as human life on this planet exists. It is a need not only for some, but for all, and a view of sustainability that does not cater for these needs is far from sustainable.

In these times of increasing global population and consumption it is tempting to try to protect areas from development, to cordon them off for conservation, to say, “We mustn’t use any more resources.” But humans whose needs are not met are no respecters of such arbitrary limits. No longer can we carry on with business as usual in one place and seek solely to “offset” our negative impacts by setting aside another. Rather, we should seek to develop in such a way that is restorative to the social and natural systems that surround us. Only when we have maximized the positive impact of our development and minimized the negative should we seek to “pay the balance” by offsetting elsewhere.

So how, then, does one go about building in a restorative manner? Firstly, identify the need or service that is to be met, be it one of shelter for a house, or education for a school, or patient health in a hospital. Then envision what success would look like. How could you provide that service in such a way as not to overwhelm nature or society? Design the service provision in such a way that it maximizes the positive and reduces the negative? Do you actually need to build a structure to achieve it? If you do, design it with the end of use in mind, so that all the materials can be readily reused; build on a plot that has already been taken from nature, with materials that aren’t virgin; power the building using free distributed energy from the sun or wind; insulate well; and, most of all, always think of the service that is being provided.

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