Paul Gilding - The Great Disruption

From "On Point" story:

Half a lifetime ago, Australian Paul Gilding was head of Greenpeace International.

Then the lifelong environmentalist went into business.

Now, Gilding is back with a message that the environment, and business, and all our lives are tumbling into a giant change. The tornadoes, wildfire, drought and flood the world is seeing are the trumpet blast, he says.

Climate change is upon us. It’s going to profoundly change the way we live. And much sooner than we think.

He calls it the Great Disruption. He says it’s here.

One of the more important ideas here in terms of transition work is understanding what the next economy will look like and how buildings will fit into the equation.

Paul suggests instead of a "growth" economy, it will be a "steady state" economy.  This idea is not new, actually talked about by early economists of the 1700's.  This idea of a "steady state" can be synonymous with a solar economy.  A solar economy is based on the steady state of solar insolation.

The Ecological House NE will fit into this "steady state" economy.  Inherently, I believe an ecological house will be regenerative as well.  If the design reflects and works with local ecology, it will operate in a regenerative way.   

In the end Gilding says that it's not a matter of making a choice, rather it is an inevitability.  When and how this happens is somewhat of a mystery.  This is why the Ecological House project is so important.  We are on a conservative approach to planning for the next 10 years.