In the coming months, Celsias.com in cooperation with HB Media will be launching Celsias.co.nz, a hub for the professional sustainability community nationwide in New Zealand.  We’re currently helping pull together contributors and content for the project.  If you or your organisation would like the routine opportunity to share what’s on in your area of interest, send an email to info@celsias.com with your contact details and what you’d like to share.  Celsias is open to organisations, local and national government, non-profits, community groups, business, consultants, and informed individuals.  We hope to involve you in this great online community in the months ahead. 

(originally appearing on Celsias.com)

For those interested in the "sustainability space" (interpret how you wish), you might find the thoughts of John Thackara quite refreshing.  He runs an international conference and knowledge network called Doors of Perception which sets new agendas for design.  John is also the author of the book "In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex World".  Personally, I think the man is a genius.

Both his newsletters and blog feature a headrush of inspiring material (warning, take in small doses!).  In a somewhat recent post   he delves into many of the same issues that we cover here on Celsias.  For some food for thought, I've taken the liberty of posing a few excerpts here.  Consider it mid-week mind exercise.  Enjoy, and I'd be curious to hear your reactions and thoughts around these issues:

] Introduction: measuring what matters

“These are my principles. If you don’t like them, I have others”. Groucho Marx could also have been talking about environmental standards. Our world is awash in eco information, but starved of meaning. Hundreds of organisations churn out a flood of reports, graphs, studies, punditry – and lists.

So many lists! I'm supposed to be an expert on sustainability, but it still gives me a headache trying to keep track of the Triple Bottom Line; the Three Main Components (and Four System Conditions) of The Natural Step; One Planet Living's Ten Guiding Principles; the World Wildlife Fund's Three Forms of Solidarity; the Copenhagen Agenda's Ten Principles for Sustainable City Governance; the Framework of Eight Doorways of the Sustainable Schools Network; the 12 Indicators To Follow of the Earth Policy Institute; the 11 Indicators of a Sustainable City (developed by Montreal); and the Ten Hanover Principles promulgated by Bill McDonough.

Each list is the result of deep thought by smart and dedicated people - and there are doubtless other important to-do lists out there that I've missed. But can we please agree: enough already?

The pervasive tendency of politicians to dissemble adds to the uncertainty. Vague promises to use "as few natural resources as possible," "reduce waste to a minimum" or deliver the "greenest Olympics planned so far" amplifies our feelings of anxiety that not enough is being done - and that what is being done, is not being done fast enough.

How do we measure "sustainable"? What is the benchmark? How far is it from here, to there? And how long do we have to get there?

In the transition towards a more balanced economy and society, we probably do have to take numbers and metrics seriously. And if a well-engineered new economic system is needed, we probably need it to be more like a German car than an Italian one.

But this is not to say that numbers are all that matters. On the contrary, we a new synthesis of metrics and aesthetics. The what *and* the why are equally important.

(continues...)

While there's a lot of hype around "green" jobs, careers, economies, etc., there's the case for stopping and doing something RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE... presuming you haven't been downsized in the crap economy.  Revamping your current company or organisation from the inside is a great way to make a difference in the world, and thankfully there is now a guide to doing it.  Called "Making Your Impact at Work", this handy little (FREE!) book puts together a lot of useful tips, resources, and case studies of people who have made it happen.  According to the Net Impact website, it "is designed to empower current and aspiring social intrapreneurs to find ways to integrate sustainability into their day jobs."  Take it to work baby! 

Also appearing on Celsias.com, check out this hot off the press interview with David Holmgren: 
 

[Chris Tobias, Editor of Celsias] David, I just wanted to take a moment first to thank you for living such an inspiring, creative, and explorative life.  I've been very interested in permaculture for the last few years, and I'm keen to discuss many of the themes that have emerged in your latest book, Future Scenarios: How Communities to Adapt to Peak Oil and Climate Change.

The book is really great concise reference.  Thank you for not providing another 500 page thesis on either climate change or peak oil.  Your treatment is really thoughtful and well analysed.  Digging into the material, what I found really enlightening was your take on the challenges of climate change and peak oil to be ones that can have particularly positive results. 

Most people view these factors in a very "gloom and doom/the world is going to end" sort of way.  Perhaps you can elaborate on some of your thoughts from the book?

[David Holmgren] Permaculture arose out of the limits of resources and unsustainability of society 30 years ago.  People could have come to permaculture for a variety of reasons over the years.  Since the 1970s, Bill Mollison and I have been very touched by Club of Rome, the ongoing oil crisis, environmental impact issues, global food crisis, and how we narrowly averted catastrophes on so many occasions. 

A lot of these issues dating back to the 70's were largely swept under the carpet in 1980s and it no longer became acceptable to talk about "limits to growth".  Later climate change became the galvanizing issue for the environmental movement, rather than just running out of resources.  For me, over that long term, getting a better understanding that these things are taking place has meant I restructured what I believe in.  I've changed my focus around the more positive outcomes will result from these inevitable shifts. 

It works on two levels.  One can change their own life in taking these issues as  "Normal" (e.g. a world of scarce resources), become more self sufficient, and start doing things with nature rather than focusing on technological solutions.  Through that process, you gradually become more comfortable with those realities becoming the norm.  So actually the things we have been talking about, such as food being grown more locally for example, will become both economically and environmentally necessary.  These trends make me comfortable. 

Looking at the numbers, even if we were living with a 10^th of the resources we have now, we would be better off than many of our recent ancestors, and maybe even relatives several generations ago.  There is the opportunity to bring back many patterns of human behavior that have served us well for centuries.  While the changes ahead of us could be quite challenging, some many good things can come out of it. 

For example, the sense of community: decreased mobility and high energy cost will lead to people talking to their neighbours again... even if it is because they can't get away from it!  Challenges will mean that people have to look out for each other.  Real community isn't a "utopian" thing, it is a really basic thing... it is a normal human state.

(continues)

A rather funny and insightful video on the state of the world and the human condition.

We have a column on Results Only Work Environment out in Issue 21 of the award-winning Idealog Magazine this month.  Check it out!

First, Getting Green Done from Greenbiz discussion how to get companies past the barriers to better business practices.  Some good food for thought in there.  Also, check out how to better mobilise initiatives to improve branding and take advantage of new opportunities by Tamara Giltsoff on PSFK.  One particularly useful thought for companies to keep in mind:

"...educate your audience around specific issues (best related to the impact of your sector – water, energy, energy consumption, transportation etc.), present an alternative vision for the future, invest in it, create new markets by becoming part of the solution and then own the market."

Finally!  Some images from an earth building workshop I attended a short while ago, facilitated by the renowned New Zealand architect, Graeme North.  Check out the process here in images as we built an experimental structure using cob, mud brick, bamboo, and lightweight concrete. 

It was a fantastic workshop and really inspiring to get hands-on with readily available, natural, local materials.  The building project (complete to the final picture you see at the end) took two teams working over 16 days.  I was involved in the first group that got the foundation layers put in, as well as a good portion of the walls and roof.  The second group took over with the structure and improved on the rest.  Not bad for a bunch of novices. 

The final structure will likely be used as a storage shed on the property, and be monitored over time to see how the combinations of materials have weathered the NZ elements.  We encountered a few difficulties due to rain and wind, but it was amazing to see what a beating the materials took, and how well they cured in spite of the conditions.  In better weather and with a bit of practice, it would seem likely that a larger structure could go up much faster than what we experienced.  Thanks Graeme for your expertise and showing us which end was up!