Ecological Design - Design with the Desert: Conservation and Sustainable Development - page 355

puts it, we must reckon with the fact that human intentions have been warped throughout
the twentieth century by excessive violence and the systematic cultivation of greed, self-
preoccupation, and mass consumerism. A real design revolution will have to transform
human intentions and the larger political, economic, and institutional structure that
permitted ecological degradation in the first place. A second impediment to an ecological
design revolution is simply the scale of change required in the next few decades. All
nations, but starting with the most wealthy, will have to
Improve energy efficiency by a factor of 5-10
Rapidly develop renewable sources of energy
Reduce the amount of materials per unit of output by a factor of 5-10
Preserve biological diversity now being lost everywhere
Restore degraded ecosystems
Redesign transportation systems and urban areas
Institute sustainable practices of agriculture and forestry
Reduce population growth and eventually total population levels
Redistribute resources fairly within and between generations
Develop more accurate indicators of prosperity, well-being, health, and security
We have good reason to think that all of these must be well underway within the next few
decades. Given the scale and extent of the changes required, this is a transition for which
there is no historical precedent. The century ahead will test, not just our ingenuity, but our
foresight, wisdom, and sense of humanity as well.
The success of ecological design will depend on our ability to cultivate a deeper sense
of connection and obligation without which few people will be willing to make even
obvious and rational changes in time to make much difference. We will have to reckon
with the power of denial, both individual and collective, to block change. We must reckon
with the fact that we will never be intelligent enough to understand the full consequences
of our actions, some of which will be paradoxical and some evil. We must learn how to
avoid creating problems for which there is no good solution technological or otherwise 12
such as the creation of long-lived wastes, the loss of species, or toxic waste flowing from
tens of thousands of mines. In short, a real design revolution must aim to foster a deeper
transformation in human intentions and the political and economic institutions that turn
intentions into ecological results. There is no clever shortcut, no end-run around natural
constraints, no magic bullet, and no cheap grace.
20.2 Intention of Design
Designing a civilization that can be sustained ecologically and one that sustains the best in
the human spirit will require us, then, to confront with the wellsprings of intention, which
is to say human nature. Our intentions are the product of many things at least four of which
have implications for our ecological prospects. First, with the certain awareness of our
mortality, we are inescapably religious creatures. The religious impulse in us works like
water flowing up from an artesian spring that will come to the surface one way or another.