We were once passionate about sustainability.But when we thought about it more, we realised that this life wasn’t what we wanted to sustain.

Modern civilisation is operating according to principles that are contrary to the laws of wellness and prosperity. Every living system is in decline. We have wars for oil, wars of terror, wars over religion. We have escalating extremes of wealth and poverty, an AIDS epidemic, 800 million people are starving, 1 Billion lack clean drinking water.

Subsequently, we have no interest in sustaining this life.

Instead we are now passionate advocates for a new world order. This new paradigm has a whole new approach. It first asks the question “What is the best we can be?”. It inspires us to polish up our utopian ideals which have been shamefully hidden in a box under our bed.

This approach stems from a understanding about how everything is interconnected. When I pollute, we are affected. When I clean up my act, we all benefit. Our vested interests ultimately turn out to be the same; prosperity, health, happiness.

This approach encompasses everything. Our soil, air and water health, our mental health, our living systems, our natural resources, our families, our freedoms, our politics, our leadership, our spirituality, our future.

This change is predicated on a massive shift in thinking. We will have to make a transition from singular to multiple thinking. From I thinking to We thinking, from General Public to Active Citizen, from ‘Consumer’ to “Prosumer”. From Learner to Leader.

Is there a way to design something for the long now, rather than the short now?

The Short Now:
Vodafones new campaign invites us to "make the most of now, upgrade your phone. Don’t burn a hole in your wallet!"
But I know where is the hole being burned with this throwaway technology: in the ozone layer, and in the fabric of our culture. Cellphones have built in obsolescence, toxic chemicals, brain tumors, degrade the quality of our communication (get it? txt messages are not the best communication can be) carbon emissions, not to mention the thousands of dollars spent on cellphone bills each year. 
 
The Long now:
Or live a ‘now’ that guarantees a prosperous future. What do communications look like in an ideal world? They don’t cost much, you get to upgrade the features your phone by downloading free software, and it won’t break the day after your warranty expires. You don’t get sick, you aren’t left with a disposal problem at the end of its physical life, and you don't spend a large proportion of your income on making other people very, very, very rich.

Everything Is up for review
We are omitting so many possibilities by clutching onto the way we have done things. We should feel free to review and question everything, and ask – how does this serve us? Could it be done better?

We have developed a bad habit of stopping the design process too soon. To design ethically, a designer has to consider the full cycle and all its impacts. Footprint, brainprint and everything in between.

Wasted.
We will break free from the concept of waste when we understand that “Actually, all pollution is simply an unused resource. Garbage is the only raw material that we're too stupid to use." (- Arthur C. Clarke).

Now that we understand what it takes to truly design, we understand the distinction between design and production. Design is about care, and consideration. It is an art, it is a science of balance, it is a craft, it is a service. It is underpinned by a deep sense of care and responsibility and ecological intelligence.

Designers are architects in a new world order, they are leaders. They sit at the edge, they are wayfinders. They will show us how we can live, interact, and work
in a world without leaving a footprint.

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This is the message that Megan Hosking delivered to the Massey School of Design in a lecture series to welcome the returning students, and help polish their intention for becoming a designer in 2007.

Here are some of the links from the presentation:

Youtube:

Greenpeace’s utopia:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOr6EFoXZMk

The Denial industry   
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIGrkVoa78o

The Oil habit
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLPaVsB8DgA

Mad World
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYFKFU7---M

What would Jesus Drive?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow691tmxIhA

Zero Emissions Travel:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=
Kj0qzF5Y6ZE&mode=related&search=

Website Links :

RE-nourish
www.re-nourish.com

The Mighty ODO
www.themightyodo.com

Massive Change (Bruce Mau)
www.massivechange.com

Next Industrial Revolution:
www.ratical.org/co-globalize/nextIndusRev.html

Ray Anderson, Interface carpets:
www.interfaceinc.com

Cradle to Cradle:
+ Cradle To Cradle: Remaking the
Way We Make Things
+ McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry
+ www.mcdonough.com

Cradle to Cradle certification:
www.hermanmiller.com/CDA/SSA/Category/
0,1564,a10-c2060,00.html

Manure Flooring:
http://www.livescience.com/environment/
070210_ap_manure_floors.html

Electric Bus:
http://inhabitat.com/2007/01/31/
electric-driverless-bus-by-capoco/

Vivavi
http://www.vivavi.com/catalog/
index.php?cPath=31_113_167

Eco Chic Loft:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=treehuggertv

Dwell Design
http://www.dwell.com/homes/gree

Sam Johnson Design
http://www.samjohnsondesign.com/

Tetris Shelves
www.inhabitat.com/2006/05/09/
more-tetris-shelves/

Vento Door
www.inhabitat.com/2006/02/06/vento-door/

Wasteless Ply furniture:
www.inhabitat.com/2006/03/13/
pli-furniture-from-bangdesign/

Shape Shifting Buildings
www.inhabitat.com/2006/09/23/shape-
shifting-buildings/#more-1165

Energy Vampire
www.inhabitat.com/2006/07/11/
kill-vampires-with-the-e-rope

Living Walls:
www.inhabitat.com/entry_1133.php

Solar powered Brick
www.inhabitat.com/2006/11/06/
solar-powered-sun-brick/

Folding Chair
www.glumbert.com/media/foldingchair

Chest of Drawers:
www.moma.org/collection/
printable_view.php?object_id=3578

Other Resources

There are many resources on my website (films, books, you tube) to help you evaluate and understand the problem, as well as links to many of the worlds best resources for sustainability:
www.alto.net.nz/resources/sustainability/

Better by Design
www.betterbydesign.org.nz/

Paul Hawken, author of Natural Capitalism, has written a soon to be released book Blessed Unrest.
He has spent over a decade researching organizations dedicated to restoring the environment and fostering social justice.
From billion-dollar nonprofits to single-person dot.causes, these groups collectively comprise the largest movement on earth, a movement that has no name, leader, or location, and that has gone largely ignored by politicians and the media. Like nature itself, it is organizing from the bottom up, in every city, town, and culture. Everyones doing it. Its so hot right now.
http://www.paulhawken.com

On Paul Hawken's site there his keynote from the 2006 Bioneers.
http://www.paulhawken.com/
paulhawken_frameset.html

On google video there is the William McDonough keynote from 2000 Bioneers.

NZ Idols
http://www.warrenandmahoney.com

Worlds Greenest Building:
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/005999.html

Rapidly renewable resources (bamboo, cork, soy, etc)

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