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November 20, 2006
Greenbuild closing plenary address
The closing address was made by Jeffrey Sachs, the director of Columbia University's Earth Institute http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/. He was a principal author of the UN's Millenium Project.
Sachs drew the Greenbuild attendees into the mission of eradicating extreme poverty, pointing out the relative simplicity of this mission (given some fairly modest investment by the rich world) and the importance of sustainable development to solidify the poverty program.
One of the most obvious contribution of sustainable development in the rich and developing world is that it will go a long way toward slowing - and eventually stopping - climate change. Climate change threatens the rich world, as well as the developing world. Coastal cities will be threatened by rising sea level, agriculture will be upset, etc. But Sachs feels that, as usual, the heaviest burden will fall on those living in extreme poverty.
Failure of meager crops and desertification are forces that will force those barely hanging on over the edge into starvation.
I have only one quibble with an excellent and inspiring speech. I believe Sachs offered too much hope for technology to get us out of the mess we're in. Of course, technological solutions - solar power, etc - will be of paramount importance to living more sustainably. But he missed an opportunity to drive home the message that most everyone in the world, and particularly in the rich world, and particularly in the US must change life choices to reduce resource consumption. Maybe I missed it, or maybe he considered it to be implicit, but it needs to be said, repeatedly.
We are not going to slow, and eventually arrest, climate change unless we consume less.
Posted by aquacura.com at November 20, 2006 08:08 PM