The Ecology of Design.

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The Ecology of Design.
DAVID HERTZ AIA ARCHITECT
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A living planet is a rare thing, perhaps the
rarest thing in the universe. Kenneth Brower
Spaceship earth
Earth was formed 4.6 Billion years ago Life
expectancy-unknown.
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Bacteria was formed 3.8 Billion years ago
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For perhaps 500 million years, the Earth, cloaked
in an insulating atmosphere capped by a
protective ozone shield has maintained a
remarkably equitable climate.. until man
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In nature waste equals food and no species are
unemployed
Plants developed- 1.5 Billion years ago
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MASS EXTINCTION 65 MILLION YEARS AGO
Dinosaurs developed-200 Million years ago
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Mammals roamed earth starting-30 Million years ago
Today of 30 million species on Earth, Over
17,000 are killed off each year.
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IF you imagine Earths history in one
hour, Then humans appear Just before
the hour strikes.
Hominids-4 Million Homo Hablis-2
Million Homo Erectus- 1.5 Million Homo
Sapiens-40,000 Only 14,000 years in North
America

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More than two Billion people cook their daily
meals over firewood
Satellite view of fires set by people- over
2-5of the Earths surface burns each year
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Anthropocentric Vs. Biocentric
THE CREATION MYTH
Plato pointing upward and Aristotle hand
towards Earth
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LITHOSPHERE LOSS

• Globally we lose 25 billion tons of fertile
  topsoil every year, the equivalent of all the
  wheat fields in Australia.
• By 2000,one-half to two-thirds of all irrigated
  land will be destroyed and ruined for farming or
  grazing by salt build-up in the soil.
• 3,500 acres of rural land are bulldozed each day
  in the US to create space for new
  buildings,highways and development.

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Who will feed China?

• One out of 5 people on the planet are Chinese
• Present population in China is 1.2 billion
• Population is increasing at a rate of 14 million
  people per year.
• It is projected that there is no possible way
  for worldwide agriculture to support the emerging
  population of China.

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We abuse the land because we regard it as a
commodity belonging to us. When we see the land
as a commodity to which we belong, we may begin
to use it with love and respect. Aldo Leopold.
We need a shift fromCowboy economy to Spaceman
economy.-Economist Kenneth Boulding
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The last century has been a detour- a
petroleum-subsidized spree, that permitted us to
defer good design In favor of quick hit
consumption. We let pollution leak into our
environment the way we stuff monthly bills
into a desk drawer, hoping that somehow Theyll
just go away. Author David Wan
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Just since World War II, the economic output of
industrialized countries has increased forty
times over All of that combustion has
transformed hundreds of billions of tons of
ancient,buried carbon into a great burst of
carbon dioxide gas that has significantly
changed the atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide levels have risen beyond the
highest point in over 160,000 years.
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The United State relies on fossil fuels,
primarily oil, for 76 of its energy.
Experts estimate that there are about 300 billion
tons of recovered oil in the world. We have used
90 billion tons already. Current reserves
stand at 120 billion tons and it is estimated
that another 90 billion tons remain to be
discovered, which would provide the world oil for
50-70 years.
If we were to combust all available coal,gas and
oil, the CO2 concentrations in our atmosphere
would increase 6-10 times over. We would not
survive the journey
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If green house gases continue to increase
roughly at current rates -the so calledbusiness
as usual scenario- global temperatures could
rise more than 8 degrees (F) by the end of the
next century, by best estimate.
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In 1985 Scientist were shocked to discover a hole
in our ozone layer. The ozone layer is only 6.5
miles thick. Each 1 decrease in the ozone layer
could produce a 4 to 6 increase in skin
cancer. A 3 decrease in the ozone would lead
to aprox.400,000 new cases of cataracts annually.
Satellite view over Antarctica on Oct.3,1990
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Stratosphere 30 miles, -225 F at top
Ecosphere Directly maintains its structure using
the energy flow from sun. Contains the biosphere,
atmosphere(including protective ozone layer),
hydrosphere and pedosphere)
If the Earth were the size of an egg, then all
the water,would be just a drop all the air,if
condesed to the density of water,would be a
droplet only one fortieth as bigand all the
arable land would be a not-quite visible speck of
dust.
Ozone 50 F Ultraviolet rays from the sun are
absorbed in the ozone layer. The ozone makes up
only .005 of the total stratosphere, so even
minor depletions can have profound effects.
Troposphere 10 miles, -75 F at top Weather as
experienced on Earth occurs in the troposphere
Biosphere Where plant and animal life
exist Approximately 5 miles below Earths
surface.
Lithosphere Comprised of the crust and upper
mantle extending 60 miles below the Earths
surface. Contains minerals, fossil fuels and soil
chemicals (nutrients) needed to support plant life
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Since 1900, 50 of the worlds tropical rainforest
have been destroyed and are gone
forever. . Brazil incinerated an area of the
rain forest twice the size of California in just
ten years. The destruction continues at 150
acres per minute Or 1.5 football fields per
second.
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90 of ancient US forest have been clear
cut. 80 of Amazon deforestation has taken place
since 1980. Every 9 seconds one acre of
rainforest is felled in Brazil
An area 3 times the size of Switzerland
disappears each year. At a rate of 50 acres each
minute.
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Trees to Timber
We had milled from 4 billion to 44.5
billion Board feet by the second half of the 19th
Century. About one acre of forest is used to
heat a home with 30 coards of wood. Over a
quarter of U.S. lumber was taken by the
railroads by 1900. 20 million acres of forest
was used just to make the 2,500 cross ties
needed for one mile.
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Depredation of species.species are disappearing
faster than they are being identified

• Rainforests account for over 7 of the Earth's
  land surface and are habitat to more than 50 of
  the species on the planet.
• A single tree in the Amazon may harbor 2,000
  species of insects,frogs,lizards,birds and
  attached plants.
• Over 50,000 species have become extinct or
  endangered.
• 70 of plants identified by The National Cancer
  institute as being useful for cancer treatment
  are found only in the rainforest.

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OCEANS

• Oceans encompass 97 by volume of all the Earths
  living space
• and covers 75 of the planets surface
• Nearly half of the worlds population lives
  within 60 miles of the sea.
• Overfishing-demand is projected to outstrip
  supply within a decade.
• Modern fleets use 60 mile lines with over 30,000
  hooks

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GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

• The hottest 12 years ever recorded have all
  occurred since 1980.
• Average global temperature has risen 1 degree F
  in the past 100 years.
• Sea levels have risen 4 to 10 inches over the
  past century.

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Frozen Water

• There exist over 41 million miles of ice on the
  planet

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WATER DRAIN

• Every day our farmers and rangers draw out 20
  billion more gallons of water from the ground
  than are replaced by rainfall
• The Ogalala Aquifer, an underground river beneath
  the great plains larger than any body of fresh
  water on Earth, will dry up within 30-40 years
  at present rates of extraction.
• Paul Hawken- The Ecology of Commerce

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America owns over 1.3 Billion head of cattle
which belch together 73 Million metric tons of
methane each year. A 435 increase over the last
century.
A single pound of beef represents the
pass-through of 2,500 gallons of water
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More than half of the water consumed in the U.S.
goes to livestock. More than two thirds of
U.S. cropland produces animal feeds. About 40
of the antibiotics used in the United States are
fed to livestock. Grain production and feed
uses over seventy million pounds of pesticides
and twenty-one million tons of petroleum-based
fertilizer per year. One third of North America
is the exclusive domain of cattle. The protein
content of the grains that are force-fed to
cattle would be eight times more efficiently
used if humans ate them directly. Every time an
American eats a Honduran hamburger, we
effectively cut a kitchen-sized swath in the
jungle.
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Every day the world economy burns an amount of
energy the planet required 10,000 days to create.
China with the worlds largest coal production
and use plans to double its coal consumption by
year 2000
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There are over 500 million automobiles on earth
Less than 25 of energy released by gasoline is
converted into motion.
The average tree Absorbs enough carbon dioxide In
its life to offset Driving a car 26,000 miles.
In L.A. the average speed is projected to fall
to 19 mph.by 2010
Autos and trucks consume More than 60 of the
17 million barrels of oil burned in the U.S.
each DAY.
Personal control of a typical 350-horse-power auto
mobile is Equivalent in energy terms to the
power of an Egyptian pharaoh with 3,500 slaves at
his command.
By the year 2030 automobile population is
expected to increase to over one billion!
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Southern California exceeded air health standards
232 days in 1988
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The Earths human population is expected to
reach over 6 billion by the end of this
decade, and 10 billion by the middle of the
coming century.
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Population Explosion in LA.
Population growth in LA is expected to jump by
40 by the year 2020. An extra 6.7 million
people will be added to the region which is
the equivalent of adding two Chicagos. The
city of LA alone will have 4.89 million people.
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WORLD URBAN POPULATION
4
BILLIONS OF PEOPLE
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LESS INDUSTRIALIZED NATIONS
2
1
MORE INDUSTRIALIZED NATIONS
1950 1970 1990 200O
2020
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• Baywatch is the number one rated hour long show
  in the world.
• Baywatch is seen on more 97 of the U.S.
  television market.
• 88 of the 185 U.S. stations air Baywatch
  twice/week.
• Over one billion people (1 in5) watch Baywatch
  each week
• That is more than take weekly communion.
• More than bow towards Mecca

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Live Longer take more

• The average life span has increased more in the
  last century than in the last 5,000 years.
• If our population doubles in the next 50 years as
  predicted,we will usurp 80 of the primary
  production of the planet.
• This is assuming no increases in the standard of
  living.

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TO HAVE OR HAVE NOT

• The U.S. has less than 5 of the world
  population,enjoys 22 of the worlds wealth,and
  emits more than 25 of the worlds greenhouse
  gases.
• Over 1.3 billion people are impoverished i.e..
  They earn less than one US dollar per day.
• Roughly 13 million people die every year of
  causes related to hunger.
• An average of 35,000 deaths per day!

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In AmericaHaste makes waste.

• For every 100 pounds of product we manufacture we
  create at least 3,200 pounds of waste.
• In a decade we transform 500 trillion pounds of
  molecules into non productive solids,liquids and
  gasses.

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THE AMOUNT OF WASTE GENERATED TO MAKE A
SEMICONDUCTOR CHIP IS OVER 100,000 TIMES ITS
WEIGHT
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On an all in basis over 40,000 pounds of raw
material are used to manufacture one 10 pound
lap top computer.
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Take - Make - Waste

• In the U.S. 32 truckloads of waste are created
  for every truckload of goods produced.
• Over 4 million pounds of raw materials is
  disposed from the Lithosphere to provide for the
  annual needs of an average middle class family.

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RECYCLING ALUMINUM CANS IN THE U.S. SAVED MORE
THAN 11 BILLION KILLOWATT HOURS OF
ELECTRICITY -ENOUGH POWER TO SATISFY THE NEEDS OF
NEW YORK CITY FOR 6 MONTHS.
If you discard an aluminum can,you waste as much
energy As you would if you half filled the can
with gasoline And poured it on the ground
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OVERSHOOT

• WE ARE LIVING BEYOND THE PLANETS CARRYING
  CAPACITY TO SUPPORT HUMAN POPULATION.

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The Planet is Ebbing...
BEYOND THE LIMITS

• All living systems are in a chaotic retreat that
  is accelerating.
• The basic design of our entire industrial society
  is both faulty and inadequate for the long term
  voyage.

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More than at any other time in history,mankind
faces a crossroads.One path leads to despair
and utter hopelessnessthe other to total
extinction.Let us pray we have the wisdom to
choose correctly.Humorist-Woody Allen
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SUSTAINABILITY

• Providing for
• the needs of the present
• without detracting from
• the needs of future generations.
• Rio Conference