When I first started this blog, I had just seen An Inconvenient Truth; and I was thinking much more seriously about local food as a route to sustainability. The more I learn, the more I understand that link. And how it fits with community design issues.
Depending on who runs the numbers, our globalized food system accounts for 20-33% of carbon emissions. It runs either 2nd or third, but always in the top three with transportation and buildings (their construction, operation, and eventual disposal). So it makes great sense that Al Gore is headlining this Saturday (Sept 27, 2008) at West Coast Green in San Jose, CA.
Gore will probably focus on energy efficiency, renewable materials, and other key links to carbon emissions that green building practices address. Other speakers - and their are an impressive cadre of them appearing over the conference's 3 days - are more likely to hit on nuances of green building's connections to the food system. Sessions on garden design and ecology, greywater systems, and community design draw the link out, and will help attendees think about issues like how to create food security as a factor when we design personal living spaces and community commons.
No comments:
Post a Comment