Introduction
Issue 17
by
Bob Banner
One of the country's major academic and business sustainable designers is William McDonough (see excerpts from his talk at Bioneers on page 6). And, we have our own local sustainable designer Ken Haggard who gives us a sketch of the historical and practical dimensions of sustainability. Photographer Scott Davidson went out to photograph Ken's home and wrote a brief report of its construction (p12). One particular working definition I am drawn to comes from Richard Douthwaite (p13). Two specific definitions that made an impact on me are: "waste equals food" and there's no such place as "away."
Larry Santoyo (p22) and Bob Banner (p24) explore Sustainability in relation to the environmental movement. Sandi Brockway writes a remarkably resourceful piece about how we can invest not only in socially responsible markets but in sustainable ventures as well.
Ray C. Anderson, the CEO of Interface, who had an epiphany after being turned on by the writings of Paul Hawken and Daniel Quinn (see the review of Anderson's book on page 45), decides it is his mission to transform his company into a sustainable enterprise. On page 40 we reprint a passage from his book about the value of a forest, a viewpoint outside the realm of most CEO's.
As one hopedance listserver confided in me (after I asked the list what their vision was for living sustainably on the Central Coast in the next 10-20 years), "Sorry, there's no such thing as sustainable on the Central Coast. A nice fantasy, though... all this talk and gyration and all I see is the land being covered and spoiled. Your question is a joke!" Granted, if you look at things the way they are, it can appear to be pretty hopeless. Our task is to see systems in transition. Some will die off while others will forge ahead with new possibilities. The intention of this magazine is to bring forward those pioneers whose work shows both courage and tenacity which reflect this transition period.
One such pioneering work is the exciting world of the low-powered microradio movement. The mission statement from the Microradio Empowerment Coalition begins on page 9.
We added three more columns this issue - an offbeat "Brief Bits" (p38), a column dedicated to the SOAR initiative (p39), and a column that will update readers about Y2K (p36).
Carol Pimentel gives us some fun stories about a promising new VS activity called Dump-ster Diving (p26). If the governments can't deal effectively with excessive landfill abuse, then let the people recycle! Larry and Kathryn Santoyo instruct us how to build a water harvesting system to catch rain water (p34).
We have also included nine reviews of excellent books that explore our transition to a more sustainable society.
Bill Denneen includes his Outdoor Events schedule for the summer months (59). Natural builder Ro-bert Bolman from Eugene, Oregon makes his way down the coast to give us an enlightening and entertaining presentation of alternative, sustainable, and earth friendly types of home construction (p2). And don't forget the summer HopeDance Pot Luck Party on July 10 (see page 2 for details and directions). It's also a fun(d)raiser. On page 32 we have included the letter sent to prospective contributors to help HopeDance sustain its purpose.
Sustainability is an all-encompassing subject that includes many elements and dimensions. The September/October issue will focus on the Economic aspect of Sustainability to give a working foundation from which the wild and pioneering idealist minds can venture forth. We welcome your thoughts and ideas.
