Sustainable Abundance?

For many working in the field of sustainability, it’s easy to point the finger at consumption. The more you consume, the bigger negative impact you have. Oxfam recently reported that Carbon emissions of richest 1 percent more than double the emissions of the poorest half of humanity.  If we all consumed less, far less, we

It’s not that hard to understand

If you are reading this, you are among the admirable people who are trying to keep up with everything that’s going on in the world of sustainability. Thank you for that! We need all of our eyes and ears, all of our heads and hearts working hard to get our messed up world figured out

Value or Values? | The Sequel

In a previous post, I wrote about Value or Values? in the context of deciding what you might do about sustainability issues, including getting an MA in Sustainable Design. In this post, I want to write about Value or Values again, but this time in a bigger context. Designers are imaginative, creative, and pragmatic. Sustainable

Help Shape the Future!

MCAD’s MA in Sustainable Design program is helping shape the first ever Global Congress for Climate Change & Sustainability Professionals. In addition to engaging in the sessions, we’ll be: running a workshop where students and recent grads get a chance to craft compelling and creative presentations on The Future of Sustainability: An Early Career Perspective

What’s your big idea?

“If we continue living as though we are separate from the natural world, we cannot overcome the complex environmental crises we face.” This is the problem that Ashley French, one of our MA in Sustainable Design students, is considering tackling for her thesis project. Like all of our students, she has a big idea and

Take one small step

We’ve been recently reminded of Neil Armstrong’s proclamation “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” as he became the first person to walk on the moon. In later interviews, however, Armstrong said his statement was actually “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”, intending to highlight

Nature is the REAL “Real World”

[This post is based on excerpts from Re-Aligning with Nature: Ecological Thinking for Radical Transformation] The 12June2019 post of this blog proclaimed Sustainability is Impossible in the “Real World”, with the “real world” being based on the assumptions of the Conventional Paradigm: Scarcity, Individualism, Competition, Greed, Resistance, and Fear. Sustainability, viewed through this conventional lens,

Sustainability is Impossible in the “Real World”

[This post is based on excerpts from Re-Aligning with Nature: Ecological Thinking for Radical Transformation] “That’ll never work in the real world!” Many of you who work to create sustainable designs have probably heard something like this before. Maybe all too often, in all too many ways: It won’t work. It won’t sell. It’s too

Two things you ought to know about Carbon

With the holidays upon us, you’ll probably have plenty of social occasions coming up where a nice conversation could devolve into an argument about sustainability. If that happens, have empathy.  Also, be sure that you’re not fighting the wrong fight, turning friends into foes. Distract, divide, and conquer seem to be the (unfortunately successful) go-to

You are brave

Today is election day in the U.S. and hopefully voting day for all of you who have the opportunity to vote!  For some, voting is an act of patriotism, honoring the many very brave women and men that sacrificed so much to make that possible.   Our national anthem reminds us that we are “the

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