"The implicit challenge after returning home from an inspiring conference like the 2007 Greenbuild in Chicago (an annual U.S. Green Building Council event) is to sustain the contagious energy generated by the 25,000 attendees. To be among so many inspired leaders and passionate contributors, and such a wealth of essential information, is a privilege; to share the experience with others, to pass along the message, is a welcome opportunity to serve as a link in a vital chain (see www.greenbuild365.com).
We are party to a critical time in history and witness to the growth of a social movement that will dwarf all preceding it. In his recent book Blessed Unrest, author, entrepreneur, and Greenbuild plenary speaker Paul Hawken describes the groundswell of interest and commitment to the environment as a testament to what is going right in the world. While the evidence of our making environmental headway may be scant at this point in time, the sheer increase in interest and activism is cause for optimism.
As Hawken pointed out, if you look at the science that describes what is happening on earth today and aren't pessimistic, you don't have the correct data. If you meet the people in this unnamed movement and aren't optimistic, you haven't got a heart.
This movement is, as yet, unnamed, because it is, in fact, much larger than the green movement that is most evident. We are witness to a social upheaval that will expand environmental awareness and guide environmental policy, yes, but it will also inspire movement toward social justice: improved worker's rights, economic parity, literacy and more. Our culture, long disconnected from the natural world, has largely forgotten its fundamental importance, while most indigenous cultures have not, but we are awakening from this amnesia.
Reverberating throughout the week at Greenbuild was the idea that social and environmental justice are inextricably linked. If we don't recognize and seize upon the economic and social opportunity inherent in the pursuit of "green" (no pun intended), and if we fail to bring the benefits to all sectors of human society, the entire initiative will fail. That is to say, if green technologies are seen as amenities only for the privileged elite, they will provide little more than distraction as we barrel toward economic and environmental decline.
The environmental movement can be seen as humanity's response to contagious policies killing the earth, while the social justice movement addresses economic and legislated pathogens that destroy families, bodies, cultures and communities. They are two sides to the same coin, Hawken shows, because if you harm one you harm the other.
It is important to remember that this great enterprise represents the interest, passion and action of each one of us tucked away in our homes, offices and communities. Although we may sometimes feel overwhelmed by the immensity of the task at hand, although we are often distracted, it is the many individuals making minute adjustments to habitual behavior at home and at work and within the burgeoning number of non-profits, NGOs, alliances, coalitions, and watchdog groups that powers this movement toward measurable, substantive change.
We are, according to Hawken, like the many cells of an immune system: incapable of succeeding against disease alone, and yet each a vital part of a healthy immune response. This analogy is brilliant for many reasons; it suggests that our planet is a living organism of which we are an integral part (subject to systemic abuse and contagion) and that democracy, autonomy and interconnectivity are key components for health and success.
The immune system depends upon its diversity to maintain resiliency. The implication for medicine is clear: to fend off cancer and infection, we may need to understand how to increase the immune network's connectivity rather than the intensity of the response.
The implication for us is also clear: to succeed against centuries of entrenched, bottom-line-driven tunnel vision toward a holistic view of humanity as an interdependent (and vulnerable) part of a single organism, we must seek out interaction and cooperation between the many players. Hawken has gone to great lengths to understand and articulate the scope of this movement and to further empower our understanding and involvement.
Sandy Wiggins, outgoing chair of the USGBC, said at Greenbuild that, "as each person begins to engage the question of environmental responsibility and action, they are, in fact, stepping on the first wrung of a great ladder of awareness." Paul Hawken has made another significant contribution to empower us to climb higher. Let's all step up.
Clive Pohl is a partner in Pohl Rosa Pohl Architects (www.pohlrosapohl.com) and a LEED-accredited professional.