Imagine a future with healthy, energetic, well nourished kids, attending well funded schools with well paid teachers, and with fulfilling careers waiting for those kids as they enter adulthood.
Imagine a future with nature thriving. Imagine a future with people living lifestyles of peace and prosperity.
Imagine a future with less worry about the state of the environment.
Sir Ken Robinson had a great imagination and he had faith in the potential of human beings.
“For most of our time here, we lived harmoniously with the rest of nature. In the last three hundred years we have come to dominate it in many ways. Why is this? What has set human beings apart from the rest of nature? The short answer, I believe, is that human beings have immense natural powers of imagination and creativity.” Sir Ken Robinson – “Finding Your Element.” (p. 23)
Usually when we are talking about the state of the environment we are talking about emergencies and next threats – really scary stuff. The solutions to those threats exist. Through solving them we can create a very different future. We don’t talk about that enough. In this and future articles I will continue to bring you examples like these that bring HOPE. There are lots of them.They are inspiring, creative, innovative, and very often the are more cost effective than doing nothing.
Envision what the world would look like if we take better care of the environment. It’s a cleaner world with bluer skies, cleaner lakes and rivers and oceans and beaches. No litter. Lots of delicious, healthy food for decent prices. Less traffic and more time for rest and enjoyment. More cool animals and plants to see. Jobs based on finding creative ways to be more efficient and make more money while restoring the damage your industry did in the past – endless opportunities to be heroes.
Innovation in the Classroom – NY Sun Works
NY Sun Works – https://nysunworks.org/ – is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing quality sustainability science and climate education to K-12 city schools. NY Sun Works has built over 350 hydronics classrooms in New York City, reaching 140,000 students annually.
The students love these labs. The teachers love them. They are great tools for hands-on, project based learning. Students learn about climate change, technology, agriculture, nutrition and the activities they do in these labs are also used to help them develop their skills in mathematics, writing, digital literacy and beyond.
“Our goal is to integrate these systems into the school day, fostering deeper connections with nature and a sense of joy in the learning process. This empowers students to seek solutions to environmental challenges and equips them with the tools to address climate challenges.”
NY Sun Works has created systems that “cultivate student engagement while fostering curiosity, creativity, and a sense of scientific inquiry.” Their students also end up with better employment opportunities.
Innovation in a Global Industry – The Hypercar
In 1998 the Rocky Mountain Institute(RMI) – www.rmi.org – launched the Hypercar project. Led by Amory Lovins, these brilliant people began to show us how a very different future for transportation could become a reality.
By innovating the design and manufacture of cars using lightweight materials like carbon fiber, we can create a revolution in transportation that would radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and all other pollutants, and save money in the process.
A car whose body and main structural elements is made from carbon fiber would be much lighter than a conventional car. A lighter structure means the car could have a smaller motor, a lighter transmission, smaller brakes, and a lighter suspension. If the car is electric it would need a much smaller battery. All these changes save weight too.
So through one innovation in manufacturing, producing structural grade carbon fiber for the transportation industry, all our cars, buses, trucks, street cars would become half as heavy as they are now, maybe even less.
This would happen quickly as it would be good for the manufacturers too and would require no new regulations or new taxes. All these vehicles going on diets would mean they use much less fuel, and produce less than half the emissions they do now. They’d also be safer in accidents as they wouldn’t hit so hard.
Carbon fiber is being used now. You probably own some. If one brilliant student or engineer can come up with a way to mass produce it cheaply some of our biggest environmental issues will begin to lose their teeth practically overnight.
There is HOPE, and hope is a good thing. We can give kids of all ages opportunities to innovate and partner in the creation of their own, better futures. We can help them to envision the cities, careers, and nations they want to live in. Through building them we can right wrongs and repair inequities in our societies.
Environmental degradation is an education issue. It’s a spiritual issue. It’s a women’s issue. It’s a public health issue. It’s an economic issue. Through the lens of looking for environmental solutions we can work on creating communities and lifestyles we want and bring HOPE to our students and ourselves – endless opportunities to be heroes.
06 Feb. 2025 Steven Greenleaf
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