Blog Action Day 2013 - Human Rights and Social Sustainability

Today is Blog Action Day. This year's theme is human rights.  In the context of our conversation here, human rights is essential to understanding sustainability and taking a strategic approach to creating a sustainable society.

The 4th Sustainability Principle -- that in a sustainable society, people aren't subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their needs -- is essentially a human rights statement.

In thinking about human needs, we use Max-Neef's concept of 10 basic human needs , that are non-hierarchical and constant across time and cultures (although the ways in which these needs are satisfied can vary widely across cultures and between different eras).

The UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a profound statement stemming from the horrors of WWII.  The world saw what systematic violations of human rights could lead to... and it's not sustainable.  At some point, under such conditions of oppression and abuses of power, human societies will break down into conflict.

Below are the 10 basic human needs, with reference to corresponding articles of the UDHR.

• Subsistence                 (article 3, 25)
• Understanding            (article 26) 
• Creativity                    (article 19, 27)
• Freedom                     (article 1, 2, 3, 4, 9)
• Participation               (article 20, 21, 23, 27, 29)
• Idleness                      (article 24) 
• Protection                   (article 5, 6, 7, 12, 14, 27, 30)
• Affection                    (article 16)
• Identity                       (article 15, 23)
• Transcendence           (article 18) 

Stay going.
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Water & Waste

It's Blog Action Day again - and 2010 has a timely theme: water.

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It's a theme that was prominent at the 2010 Climate Leadership Summit of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), which took place this week in Denver.

Keynote speaker James Woolsey, former CIA director, focused his talk on the national security implications of our energy use (as well as the social and environmental implications).  Of course you can't have that conversation without talking about climate disruption and water.

During the business roundtable, moderated by ASU President Michael Crow, water was again a focal point.  Jonathan Lanciani, COO of Organica Water spoke about the need that companies like his have for sustainability-literate graduates.  He also spoke about the serious water challenges our world faces - 2.5 billion people live in "water stressed" areas, global demand continues to grow, and large parts of our energy system (including some clear renewables) are water-intensive.

Organica has an exciting approach - essentially taking the "living machine" concept and creating systems that are small, efficient, and suitable for urban and institutional use.  Waste water goes in the system, and comes out the other end clean, and ready for re-use as grey water (for toilets, irrigation, etc.)

Living organisms do the work - bacteria, microbes, plants, and animals eliminate the need for toxic chemicals and energy-instensive systems.   The systems are aesthetically pleasing, reminiscent of botanical gardens.  And they're odor-free, with upfront costs comparable to traditional systems, and lower operational costs for the life of the system.

Organica's system is just one example of how sustainability constraints can drive innovation - and how we can create economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for everyone by taking a proactive approach to moving towards sustainability.

Stay going.

Blog Action Day 09

Seeing as I always blog about sustainability and a lot about climate change… and the theme of this year’s Blog Action Day is climate change, I thought it would be good to write a post about hypocrisy. Also, I’m flying on a plane as I write this. Hard not to think about hypocrisy.

It’s easy to be hypocritical when it comes to climate change and climate action. Even when you really know about it, and truly internalize the scope, scale, magnitude, and urgency of the crisis.

It’s easy to walk outside on a beautiful peaceful day and forget all about the folks in Africa (and Atlanta) who are suffering from extended droughts and flash floods.

It’s easy to think “2100 is so far away… so is 2050, 2020, and 2012 for that matter.” (ok, it’s hard to still think that about 2012).

And so it’s easy to get in the car and drive, or forget to call the insulation guy again, and fly to California for Bioneers and some meetings and a visit.

So let’s use Blog Action Day 2009 – thousands of bloggers on all types of topics blogging about climate change for the day – as a reminder and a rally cry and an energy boost to acknowledge the hypocrisy all of us in the US live with to one degree or another, and not let it get us down, but drive us to do everything we can to spark meaningful action.

Here are a few immediate things you can do:

1. Find a 350 event near you and participate on Sat. 10/24 – go to www.350.org to find an event
2. Find a contractor who does energy audits in your area and have them come do an analysis on your house or apartment – they’ll break it down by payback periods and in most cases find energy savings that will save more than enough money to cover the cost of the audit.
3. Call your Senators and tell them (again if necessary) you support a strong climate bill and they better be doing all they can to stand up against heavily backed vested interests.
4. See if your college president has signed the Presidents’ Climate Commitment, and if not send him or her a friendly email encouraging them to do so.
5. Add your name to the www.tcktcktck.org petition to support a strong international climate agreement.

All super easy ways you can make a huge difference – keep it up and we can all move through our hypocrisy faster, and in time to avoid the worst impacts of climate disruption.

Happy Blog Action Day, and stay going!