Free of the national power grid? : A critique

An entirely new concept to me, I heard of this at the recent LI Conference. Apparently, there are a rapidly increasing number of people, who in an effort to better their environment and act in a truly responsible manner, are disconnecting their homes from the state power supply. This is either manifesting itself in, the conversion of an already enstated building, or a new build. Interestingly, the latter include a small minority, who are not only building new houses, but also without planning permission and in secret on virgin soil. The argument they give is that, whenever an application is made, the borough refuses it. So it is better to build first, start living green and then after a certain length of time has passed, if they remain undiscovered then they have a right to remain. They obviously feel strongly enough about this to do it despite the law, however, I cant help but wonder how sustainable this really is, to leave your home, rather than converting it and then to build a new home on a green field site often in green belt land, (as it is here that they can most easily hide). Surely the more sustainable option, is a conversion, not just sustainable in terms of the environment but also in terms of social responsibility. A great idea to live off the grid, but what better way to do it, than by proving to your average homeowner that it is both possible and worth while. Hiding away in the country sets no such example to the public, but rather exemplifies green living as an unnatainable myth.

http://www.off-grid.net/ http://www.blogger.com/www.offthegrid.com http://www.wikipedia.com/

LI Conference report, day 2 of 2

A second riveting day has now drawn to a close, and it was in many ways more informative than the first. But particularly because there were less figure's and jargon being bandied about and more simply understood information, giving us a true depiction of our role as Landscape Architects. I guess then, that the best use of this blog, is to finish what I started yesterday and complete the recording of the most impactive comments from today's meeting.

"Landscape = habitat + man"

"The growing season in Scotland, has increased by 33 days this year."

"Hot stuffy cities are going to depend more and more on the cooling and relaxing effects of Britan's coasts."

"If we could increase the planting in cities/towns/housing estates, etc, then we could hold surface heat levels, halting the furthering heating effect, and cooling our cities."

"The sea ice in the Arctic during the last year has shrunk by an unprecedented 1 million kilometeres."

"We cannot be sluggish in our response, we only have 10 years to avoid a dangerous level of change."

"The lighting of one lightbulb absorbs the energy (through poor connections) of thirty effective lightbulbs at the source."

"After today there are no more chances."

"It's so easy to become paralized like rabbits in headlights."

"The very thing that is causing our epidemic is the thing that soothes our conscience concerning it: shopping."

"After the final 'no' there comes a 'yes'. And on that 'yes' the world depends."

"Information like 'if we all used low energy lightbulbs we could shut down two of our country's power stations' will give people a sense of indivdual hope that they CAN make a difference."

"Consumerism has been used as an opiate of the people, feeding our deepest desires and turning us into mass, irresponsible consumers."

"Owning a car has become a rite of passage, and relinquishing this can initially be hurtful, making us feel depleted. But the eventual effect is empowering, as we become more aligned with our ideals and values."

"Let's change the colour of our money."

"What is the wealth of our community?"

"How can we call ourselves successful, when we spend 9.6 years of our lives watching television and living other peoples lives?"

"If you think you can't change, you're always right, as the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones that do it."

"Be the change that you want to see in the world."

"What you say is 1/10 of the total absorbed meaning. The rest is who you portray. If you find that people aren't willing to listen to you, it's because you haven't earned the right to be listened to yet. Living what you are preaching gives empowering and motivating conviction that people will listen to."

"'Return of investment' is a terrible measure. We don't apply the same question to a new car which costs thousands a year in depricieation, so why apply it to something that fulfils an ideal?"

All of these and more, are the cumulative thoughts of Englands Landscape community, and it really does appear to me that without this collaboration, we are going nowhere. There are still too many practices acting in a competitive nature and as rivals. This will never facillitate the kind of multidisciplinary compimentary work that we must have in order to fulfill both what the public require of us and the land. One of our primary goals must be that every peice of work that we do, carries a brazen message of hope, that educates the public as to who we are, what our role is in their lives and where we can lead them. Their confidence must be lead to rest in us, in order for us to make the scale of changes that are needed long term. how can the Landscape and Architecture communities possibly survive if we allow selfish motives to seperate us from eachother and from truthfull pleasure in our work. If all projects are born of the selfish concept of "I must have that project, and I will do what I need (including sacrificing moral and ethical standards), to have it," then all project outcomes are going to be fundamentaly flawed, as they cannot possibly have the full spectrum of opportunity and motive that the world increasingly needs. I feel motivated to strategise my approach to practice and project, and hope that I do justice to the true needs of my fellow citizens during my career. What a FANTASTIC and worthwhile conferance!

LI Conference report, day 1 of 2

Wow! What a day! Information overload. The first day was fantastic and so informative, not just in terms of understanding the multidisciplinary nature of Landscape Architecture and the partnerships and alliances we form, but also what exactly the issues are that we hear continually alluded to without clear definition, and then of course: what we can do about them. On returning home tonight, I had a fascinating conversation with my mother-in-law, outlining her feelings that not all the issues are being honestly portrayed and that the opposite argument is not even being permitted a voice in this country. My response in the light of all of the information, that we have heard today, was that, well yes, that may be the case, but not because people don't care, or are in the game for ulterior motives, as these issues have been born out of genuine concern. Not only this, but even if the opposite argument was proven true, the issues that have been brought to light by the current movement towards greener thinking, are of huge significance anyway, enabling us to better our living condition globally, and why wait for that?! The other thought I had is that for those of us currently in the profession, we now have scope for a form of landscape design that would not have been available to us even thirty years ago. Now we can be more creative, we can be more environmentally and socially environmental, and we actually have funding and support to do it, and the clients want it! COULD IT BE BETTER?!! Similarly one of the quotes from the day was given by Kim Wilkie, when he said that his answer to anyone stating that "the earth is just going through a routine cycle and not to worry about it", is that "well that may be so but if you were told after having a heart attack, that you shouldn't worry, you're just genetically prone to them, you wouldn't say "oh well never mind then", you would do something about it!"

Other memorable quotes from the day:

"Landscapes in limbo" (Landscapes that either don't have the current funding or expressed need for improvement and so remain a void, effectively fulfilling no purpose)

"Leading farmers (who control the vast majority of British land) towards new socially collaborative ways of thinking, is key to progress in land use"

"The first question that should be asked at the beginning of every project, is: What is the true primary need for this land to perform, environmentally, socially, locally and regionally"

"The social function of the designer is not exploited nearly enough"

Paraphrased: "In order to breed hope, people must be organised. Every project must tell the public a needfully responsive and responsible message."

"We need to move from value for money, to values for money"

"Cheap food should not be an indicator of progress, this attitude just shifts responsibility on to others. Unlock this chain, buy good local organic food."

"We need a change in information given to the public. They don't need, or want a complicated and at times contradictory message, what they need is small easy to understand rewarding steps that make up the bigger picture."

Landscape Institute Climate Change Conference Page