tenv

Platinum LEED-ership

By John Taylor; 2008 March 18, 17 Ala, 164 BE

An anonymous reader left the following comment on my latest essay, "meta-democracy IV," along with two quotes from the BIC's PH, an insightful treatise marred by turgid diction.

"Great post! The Prosperity of Humankind document further delineates the imperative of universal access to information and knowledge--not just as recipients but as co-creators of that information/knowledge."

"The tasks entailed in the development of a global society call for levels of capacity far beyond anything the human race has so far been able to muster. Reaching these levels will require an enormous expansion in access to knowledge, on the part of individuals and social organizations alike. Universal education will be an indispensable contributor to this process of capacity building, but the effort will succeed only as human affairs are so reorganized as to enable both individuals and groups in every sector of society to acquire knowledge and apply it to the shaping of human affairs.

"Justice is the one power that can translate the dawning consciousness of humanity's oneness into a collective will through which the necessary structures of global community life can be confidently erected. An age that sees the people of the world increasingly gaining access to information of every kind and to a diversity of ideas will find justice asserting itself as the ruling principle of successful social organization." <http://info.bahai.org/article-1-7-4-1.html>

 Silvie is increasingly frustrated with my life-long failure to become a published writer. Under pressure from her, in January I submitted a link to a Badi' blog essay to a Baha'i publisher. It was the first time I submitted anything to a real, print publisher in at least fifteen years. Here is the rejection letter, which I feel like posting on my wall.

"Thank you for your short essay on Baha'i non-involvement in politics. Given that the essay was written for your blog, we cannot assess it as a possible article ... We encourage you to rethink the essay as an article and to resubmit it. We are attaching a ... style guide."

 The letter was so polite and accommodating that it was almost a positive experience being rejected; now I feel perfectly good about submitting something again to a print publisher and I might well do so, as soon as another fifteen years will have rolled around. Oh, and Silvie, if you read this, it is out of the question that I resubmit, since the chances of my suffering a migraine are raised considerably when I do not put out my daily post on the blog. I would be putting my health at risk. Yesterday I tried holding back and writing something for this editor, and the sense of non-wellbeing was so overwhelming that here I am back at my daily fix this morning. If I were to continue the experiment I would certainly be sunk, especially in this weather.

 I have been neglecting environmentalism, lately, so let us talk about that now. Here is an interesting idea for cheaper and easier solar panels, just make them like the rustling leaves on a tree.

SMITs GROW: Solar and Wind Leaf Photovoltaic Shingles by Emily Pilloton

 <http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/03/01/smits-grow2-project-new-solar-and-wind-solutions/>

At a recent commonwealth meeting with the queen in attendance, <http://mail.google.com/mail/?account_id=BadiJet%40gmail.com&disablechatbrowsercheck=1&ui=1> a Baha'i representative read Shoghi Effendi's famous statement of the Baha'i understanding of environmentalism,

"We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside us and say that once one of these is reformed everything will be improved. Man is organic with the world. His inner life moulds the environment and is itself also deeply affected by it. The one acts upon the other and every abiding change in the life of man is the result of these mutual reactions. (letter, in Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 84) and, “We need a change of heart, a reframing of all our conceptions and a new orientation of our activities. The inward life of man as well as his outward environment have to be reshaped if human salvation is to be secured." (Id.)

Also from England, George Monbiot's latest blog entry features an essay warning of "privatization schemes dressed up as customer choice," called "The Patient Stalkers," on March 11, 2008. Turning over a part of the economy to profit takers is a serious move, and it is significant that those interested parties who would do it must resort to deception in order to get it on the agenda. On the other hand, the fact that their lies are so flimsy and transparent is unsettling, showing that the politicians are already in their pockets, it is just a matter of informing the public of a fait accompli. Monbiot writes:

"So why is it so keen on this reform? Because it assists a quite different agenda. To avoid the political firestorm big business rains on any government that stands in its way, Gordon Brown must make constant concessions. What business wants most is the 40% of the economy controlled by the state. He must find clever and camouflaged means of delivering it that do not prompt us to take to the streets. None of this serves either the customer or the taxpayer. The irony of Brown's reforms is that they are wholly centred on the needs of the providers rather than the patients - as long as the providers are corporations. So do not wait to take to the streets. Little by little, the privatisation of the NHS (the British National Health Service) is happening already, disguised as a crusade for patient power." <http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2008/03/11/the-patient-stalkers/>

Monbiot talks about taking to the streets, and I am not saying that we should not take to the streets when public property is put up for auction. But the thing that would really help would be to learn to consult effectively and implement real democracy, or to speak more accurately, meta-democracy. Although I do not like the whole idea of demonstrations -- their effect is negative, reactive and temporary -- here is an idea for the environmental activist to consider: refuse to set foot in any building that is not LEED certified as environmentally sustainable. (for more, see the Wiki article on LEED at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership_in_Energy_and_Environmental_Design>) Go on pilgrimages to the eighty or so "Platinum" level LEED buildings in the world, starting with the soon-to-be-opened California Academy of Sciences museum slated to be opened later on this year. <http://www.calacademy.org/geninfo/newsroom/releases/2005/Holcim_award.php> This super-green museum building in Golden Gate Park (which I believe was visited by the Master) cost a cool half billion dollars, but the more platinum LEED buildings get made, the cheaper they will get. Needless to say, if the regulatory climate were made more sensible, they would already be cheaper. But activists could give a jump start to this process by paying attention to the good, the LEED platinums, and by protesting the bad, for example by picketing the building lot of every sub-LEED building that is being put up. Sure, it would mean printing an awful lot of pickets, but our survival is at stake.

We can also put pressure in our purchasing decisions. Refuse to consider a house or apartment that is less than LEED platinum. Say LEED platinum prayers, and see the LEED platinum love in the faces of all you consult with, for as the saying goes, we get the politicians we deserve, and we will never deserve LEED platinum leaders until we become LEED platinum citizens. The Master said it all,

"My hope is that in this enlightened century the Divine Light of love will shed its radiance over the whole world, seeking out the responsive heart's intelligence of every human being; that the light of the Sun of Truth will lead politicians to shake off all the claims of prejudice and superstition, and with freed minds to follow the Policy of God: for Divine Politics are mighty, man's politics are feeble! God has created all the world, and bestows His Divine Bounty upon every creature." (Paris Talks, 150)