Building a Sustainable Community Bruce Snead Engineering Extension

Building a Sustainable Community Bruce Snead Engineering Extension at Kansas State University 1

Building a Sustainable Community þBuilding a sustainable community through local leadership means effecting change in the best long-term interests of your community. Learn about the opportunities and techniques (policies, programs, planning and participation) which you can use to build a strong future -oriented community. 2

Topics þBorrowing from the Future þWhat is Sustainability? þSustainable Development þOpportunities and Resources 3

Are You an Optimist or Pessimist? þHow many of you believe your þWhat will it take to sustain that children will have a better “quality of life and preserve those special things for your of life” than you have? children? þWhat is it that makes where you live a special place? 4

Borrowing from the Future þ“We’ve gotta do it for the kids. ” - Sam Brownback on the budget and debt. þI think there a lot of similarities in the economics of natural systems. þA baby born today will by age 75 have þproduced 52 tons of garbage þconsumed 43 million gallons of water þused 3375 barrels of oil -Philadelphia Inquirer 5

Bringing Up Baby A US born baby will, over a lifetime, cost the world: Water - 41, 289, 000 gals Wood - 5, 777 CF Coal - 290 tons Fish - 1, 123 lbs Pesticides - 280 lbs Eggs - 18, 046 Vegetables - 13, 652 Coffee - 688 lbs Potatoes - 3, 728 Petroleum - 80, 598 gals Data from US Census and World Resources Institute 6

Borrowing from the Future? þOur 4. 5% of world population consumes 30% of planet’s natural resources, burns 25% of the fossil fuels. þThe US is the 3 rd most populous country with the highest birthrate among developed countries. 7

Warning Signs? þShrinking forests þEroding soils þFalling water tables þCollapsing fisheries þRising temperatures þDying coral reefs þMelting glaciers þDisappearing plant and animal species 8

Different Attitudes about the Future þ“Our resources are not passed þ“I’m spending my kid’s to us by our ancestors but inheritance. ” Bumper Sticker loaned to us by our children. ” Kenyan Proverb 9

Quotes about the Future þ“we are treating the Earth as if it were a business in liquidation. ” Herman Daly þ““Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on. ” Winston Churchill þThe future belongs to those who give the next generation reason to hope. ” Teilhard de Chardin 10

What is Sustainability? þ“Then I say the earth belongs to each. . generation during its course, fully and in its own right, no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence. ” Thomas Jefferson -6/9/1789 11

What is Sustainability? þ“development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. ” UN Brundtland Commission 12

What is Sustainability? þ. . . living on the Earth's income rather than eroding its capital. British Government White Paper, 'This Common Inheritance', 1990 13

Sustainability? þSustainability requires managing all households -- individual, community, national, and global -- in ways that ensure that our economy and society can continue to exist without crippling or destroying the natural environment on which we all depend. 14

Sustainability? 15

Sustainable Development þThat level of human activity that can be continued indefinitely without diminishing the capacity of the biosphere to support life or assimilate waste 16

Growth? þSustainable development is not a “no-growth” movement. þRather, it asks the question what should grow and how should it grow. þPerhaps the question should be “Is this sustainable? ” 17

Sustainable Development þ"Sustainable development involves the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity. Companies aiming for sustainability need to perform not against a single, financial bottom line but against the triple bottom line. ” 18

Transitions þFrom short-term to long-term thinking þFrom a linear flow of resources to a cyclic flow of resources þFrom an economy outside of nature to an economy integrated into nature þFrom keeping score with gross cash flow to keeping score with a whole-system balance sheet (many indicators) 19

Transitions þFrom seeing environmental, social and economic issues as separate and competing, to seeing them as an interconnected whole þFrom hoping growth will eliminate poverty to addressing poverty and its causes directly þFrom fossil fuels to renewable energy þFrom a focus on growth (size) to a focus on development (quality) 20

The Real Challenge - Quality of Life þQuality of life is improved by a shift in public planning from simply accommodating growth to planning for sustainable human activity. 21

Our Choice þThe longer we wait, the greater the risk of having to impose rigid regulations in time of crisis. þThe sooner we change, the more options we will have to create mechanisms of adjustment that are socially acceptable and economically feasible. 22

Questioning Myths and Assumptions þGrowth is everything þNo energy problem þDesign cities to move cars þBetter costs more þWe know how to measure progress þDensity = Congestion þEconomy vs. environment 23

Who’s Doing It þPCSD þSeattle þMilwaukee þSan Jose þAustin þSanta Monica þRacine þChattanooga þRoutt County, CO þBoise/Ada County þValmeyer, IL þNew Jersey þManhattan þSpringfield þNACO, USCM þDOE, EPA 24

How Do Communities Start? þCrisis and Reaction þCitizen Initiatives þMayoral Initiatives þCity Council Initiatives þLegislative Initiatives þGubernatorial Initiatives 25

Current Trends þSustainability applied to: þBuilding and Real Estate Dev’t þEconomic Development þLand-Use Planning þIndustrial Development þTransportation Systems þDisaster Recovery 26

Technology þGIS þNew Tools for Decision Making þSoftware þIndicators Projects 27

Sustainable Economic Development Strategies þUse resources efficiently þMeet local needs using local resources þInvest in an efficient sustainable infrastructure. þProtect and enhance community quality of life. þCreate new businesses that provide services or products that protect or restore the environment. 28

Sustainable Economic Development þPollution Prevention/Waste Minimization þRecycling Based Manufacturing þEnergy Efficiency þRenewable Energy þGreen Business and Environmental Technologies 29

Implementing Sustainability þPersonal choices þLocal decision making and policy implemented by tools and process þExamples and Education þScope of Services þPlanning/Development Guidelines þCapital Budgets 30

Web Resources þwww. usmayors. org/USCM/sustainable þwww. sustainable. org þwww. iclei. org/la 21/onestop þwww. sustainable. doe. gov þsolstice. crest. org 31

Web Resources þhttp: //odin. bi. no/sbc þhttp: //www. iccwbo. org/home/environment/charter. asp þhttp: //sbn. envirolink. org/ þhttp: //www. naturalstep. org/ 32

Web Resources þhttp: //iisd. ca/ þwww. sustainabledevelopment. org/ þwww. sustainablebusiness. com þwww. naturalcapitalism. org/ 33