on May 9th, 2007
The Deep Principles of Ecodesign
Peter Harper has been a key figure in ‘alternative technology’ circles since the 1970s. He loves to examine all aspects of ’sustainability’, often reaching insights which contradict the ‘green concensus’. He says,
“‘Alternative technology’ suggests hardware ‘magic bullets’ which will solve environmental problems. But it rarely works out so neatly. Very often, the best answers are ‘alternative to technology’.
“Consider solar water-heating collectors.
“The concerned citizen imagines that a simple, cheap device on the roof will provide endless hot water. But the collector has to be part of a system of pumps, tanks, sensors, control gear, heat exchangers, pipework etc. It is surrounded by a web of social and legal forces. The prospective owner may not care whether it really does very much, they simply want to earn ‘greenie’ points. Most of the time, the system will only pre-heat the cold water, and save a little bit of gas or electricity in the conventional system. It may cost £3000 for the whole system, but only save £50 per year. The impact on the environment of building the system may be more significant than the energy savings in use. The best way to spend your money is probably unglamorous: pipe and tank lagging, spray and press taps, low-flow shower heads etc.
“It is nearly always more cost effective to improve the efficiency with which energy is targeted to its purpose, than it is to develop new sources. This is usually also simpler, quicker and has less environmental impact. And the principle applies in other spheres apart from energy.
“Efficiency is at least half the answer to the problem of sustainability, perhaps more.
“But of course, in the end this won’t help if there is constantly rising demand for more stuff and more energy. A programme of simpler slower living will come to seem more and more attractive in the mad whirlwind twenty first century.
“Quality of life is what we all really want yet we only seem to be able to aproach it through the vicarious medium of a material standard of living. We need rather complex packages of technical solutions, habits and skills, and most crucially of all, rethought aspirations.
“Sounds a bit like permaculture to me.”
(Ed: I will report back from Patrick Whitefields Permaculture Design Course at the end of June!)
I was impressed by ‘its not easy going green’ on tv as they work things out for themselves i.e. homemade water heater using solar with copper pipes, and ‘hippos’ in the w.c. cistern to cut back on water waste, also reusing rather than discarding and buying new.