Page 40 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

Motivating For ces 19

A Rediscovery of Ancient Values
Beginning in the mid-twentieth century, the relationship of humans
to the environment emerged as a popular topic of concern. Some
attribute the origins of this awareness to the 1962 publication of
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson [1]. Many other writers and poli tical
figures have contributed to the rising tide of environmental con-
sciousness. For example, E. F. Schumacher preached a new humanis-
tic economics in Small Is Beautiful [4]. Theodore Roszak decried our
alienation from nature in Where the Wasteland Ends [5]. Barry Com-
moner, in a series of books, argued persuasively for the develop-
ment of new industrial technologies based on an understanding of
ecological principles. Many of those who listened to these voices
grew up to occupy positions of power and leadership. Advocacy
groups such as Environmental Defense Fund and Natural Resources
Defense Council began to develop considerable influence and lobby-
ing power. As environmental awareness blossomed, a sort of opposi-
tion movement sprang up as a “backlash” against environmentalist
dogma [6].
While it sometimes has a fanatical ring, the passion of the envi-
ronmental movement appears to be genuine, born from a prof ound
realization of our intimate connections with the ecosystem that
surrounds us. In fact, environmentalists were simply rediscovering
an ancient mode of thought that can be traced back to the mythical
beliefs of early civilizations. Ancient peoples revered the land and
respected other creatures. Our “western” culture has taken a con-
siderable detour in its cognitive development, thanks to nineteenth
century philosophers such as Isaac Newton and René Descartes.
They viewed the universe as an orderly mechanism that we could
analyze logically and conquer through our intellectual powers. Des-
cartes’ famous utterance, “I think therefore I am,” is perhaps the ulti-
mate denial of our biological origins.
As twentieth-century scientists progressed beyond Newton’s tidy
theories and began to probe the mysteries of quantum physics, they
acquired humility and in some cases became downright mystical.
For example, Fritjof Capra, the physicist-turned-philosopher who
authored the renowned book The Tao of Physics, wrote the following
description of a “systems view” of life:
The earth … is a living system; it functions not just like an
organism but actually seems to be an organism—Gaia, a liv-
ing planetary being. Her properties and activities cannot be
predicted from the sum of her parts; every one of her tissues
is linked to every other tissue and all of them are mutually
interdependent; her many pathways of communication are
highly complex and nonlinear; her form has evolved over bil-
lions of years and continues to evolve [7].