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MRSC has joined with Phil Olbrechts, Attorney, Olbrechts and Associates, PLLC, Pat Dugan, Dugan Consulting Services, Anindita Mitra, founder of CREÄ Affiliates, LLC, and Bob Bengford, Partner, MAKERS, to bring you the "Planning Advisor" article series on planning and growth management issue affecting Washington Local Governments. The "Planning Advisor" will feature a new article each month with timely information and advice you can use.*
The Invisible Player in Climate Change (Part II)
December 2010
By Anindita Mitra, AICP
CREÄ Affiliates, LLC
Preface: Part One (August 2009) of this discussion suggests that the stealth culprit behind the steady increase in global warming is our collective construct of economic progress – the growth of a carbon-based economy. This connection is not often evident in mainstream discussions around climate change. The focus appears to be on addressing the symptoms and outcomes, rather than the root cause of global warming. The dependence on this carbon-based economy has been undermining much of the work being pursued to create sustainable communities; particularly under the umbrella of the triple-bottom line approach to sustainable development. While it is true that a society depends on the economy for the financial means to pursue its ambitions; the manner in which this economy is managed and measured today is in direct conflict with the principles of sustainable development for several important reasons.
The Third Industrial Revolution
First and foremost, the economy as it is set up and measured today, is intrinsically inequitable; and has increased the gap between the rich and the poor by creating a select yet increasingly powerful and wealthy group of “carbon aristocrats”. This wealth is in turn used to lobby politicians and sponsor political campaigns, in effect promoting policies and securing financial incentives that further guarantee the financial stronghold of the same carbon aristocrats. Secondly, this carbon-based economy is being subsidized by future generations who will have to deal with the environmental fallouts of this and past generations’ weakness for non-renewable carbon fuels. This economy pilfers environmental products such as oil, coal, and natural gas, without any consideration for their regeneration or the impact on the environment during their extraction, processing, use or disposal. Lastly, this economy has allowed for sprawling development patterns, energy inefficient buildings, and a car-dependent culture that are detrimental to a community’s prosperity, physical and mental health, civic engagement, and overall sense of well-being.
As was evident in Copenhagen last year, international agreement on carbon limits and collective strategies for reducing carbon dependencies have little universal appeal. This is primarily because, despite evidence to the contrary, most leaders believe that their future depends on a carbon-based economy. Economic advisers worry about the financial fallouts of shifting gears, while politicians worry about offending their campaign financing sources (related to the carbon aristocrats) by pricing carbon emissions. Whether it may be a lack of clarity in policy directives or a full appreciation for the science that warns of the repercussions of continued carbon addiction, carbon reduction is being pitted against a healthy economy. When the strength of a nation’s economy (as measured) determines its international leadership role, countries that are either attempting to secure a place or those that are reluctant to relinquish their role as a global powerhouse, will be recalcitrant to change their carbon economies, unless there are international intellectual agreements to measure the health of economies differently. This may take many years to occur. While leading economists Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen led an international effort (Sarzoski Commission) to renounce the use of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)[i] as an indicator for economic progress, there has been little effort since to find a more humane and value-driven indicator to replace the GDP.
While there are similar efforts to come to concurrence on international agreements that would inform national policies to reduce carbon dependence, none have yielded much notable progress towards carbon abatement.
Instead, it appears that real solutions may already be underway at the international level, but on another forum, the internet. Many believe that the accumulation of activities and programs in this new arena has the potential to completely change the carbon-based economy and is thus being referred to as the third industrial revolution. This revolution, based on communications and information technologies is also silent, just as the carbon-revolution has been; and is occurring despite the persistent obsession with carbon. It might be fair to say that those economies (local and national) that join this process early could be the ones to most gain from this transformation. More democratic, distributed and egalitarian, this revolution promises a future more closely aligned with the values of equity, environmental stewardship and stable economies. Less demand-driven and offering new tools for demand management, this electron-based revolution promises to effectively counter the carbon-based economy if we all do our part to support the necessary technological shift.
Jeremy Rifkin, with The Foundation on Economic Trends, has authored the European Union's Third Industrial Revolution long-term economic sustainability plan. This article broadens the concept of this revolution beyond Rifkin’s focus on energy to underscore the broadly benefic and the socio-cultural and educational reaches of this revolution. Indeed, not to be confused with the “green revolution” in agricultural practices from 1950 to the 1970s, this is best referred to as the Green Industrial Revolution where green celebrates the newness, innovation, carbon-free, ecologically aligned, and extremely lucrative opportunities inherent in this revolution.
At the core of this new industrial framework are the communications and information technologies. Providing the platform for linking people, businesses, educational institutions, jobs, farms and so on, it is a perfect counter solution to the centrally controlled business and social environments that have marked much of modern civilization. Information technology has the ability to collect information that could affect decisions (such as congestion on a highway); can disseminate information that can influence decision making (for instance public opinion on a particular subject); and can provide access to a number of institutions that perhaps in the past were inaccessible due to their location, screening process, and cost among many other possible reasons. For the first time perhaps, access to knowledge and education is not restricted by socio-economic factors. While much work lies ahead in ensuring universal access to the internet, those who have access have indiscriminate access to information, data and news.
This technology therefore has deregulated an important means of controlling and accessing opportunity (and wealth) – availability of information and education.
Moreover, it allows for dialogue and debate around important issues. If at one time, a population was “told” what to believe, now this determination is made at the individual level, driven by personal values, motivation, and individual efforts to search the internet and libraries for the “truth”. Moreover, there are countless opportunities to provide feedback and participate in the development of new knowledge. Wikipedia, the demise of many newspapers, the growth of online education tools and institutions are indications of this new media for learning, exchanging information and collecting facts.
Another opportunity it presents is a new economy that is no longer place based, infrastructure intensive or capital intensive. Amazon, Craigslist, eBay among many other sites have transformed the concept of retail. Other services such as LivingSocial and Groupon are changing purchase habits by creating demand through volume purchase offerings. No longer limited to facts offered by local big box salespeople, there are innumerable sites for collecting comparative data on merchandise and others that list comparative prices. Furthermore, there are always new retail stores cropping up on the internet. If done well, these small ventures offer an alternative to big box shopping. Online retail offers opportunities for wealth creation that is not placed based, and in many respects evens the playing field for small towns and large cities. Again, it reduces the socio-economic factors that have over the years limited access to wealth generation. While many economists decry the impact of big box retail on local businesses and wealth, online retail provides the next generation of retailing that could help revive the small local business sector.
If the internet has transformed access to information and retailing, another role for the communications and information technology sectors in leading change is in the energy sector. Again, by providing connections, information and remote control abilities, for the first time the electronic grid offers a real alternative to inefficient centralized power generation. For once, modern technology is not only making it possible for building owners to improve their building’s energy efficiency but to also generate their own electricity and heat/cooling. This will have far reaching impacts on those controlling the energy sector and determining our fuel dependencies, and pricing. Through remote metering, data on energy use can also be communicated back to building owners to minimize energy inefficiencies and wastage. The challenge will be for traditional utilities to redefine and re-purpose their services in light of this new economy.
Another transformation that deserves mention here is the transportation sector. By creating internet social groups around transportation choices (car pooling or van pooling), allowing for telecommuting, and providing real time information on congestion levels or transit schedules, information technology is offering real tools for demand management over demand-driven transportation planning. In areas that are largely clean energy based, electric vehicles offer another practical alternative to traditional cars, if their charging is managed during off-peak hours. Where electricity is non-renewable and dirty, these cars have the potential to negatively amplify carbon emissions.
This generation is in a period of tremendous flux, growth and progress. New tools and technologies become available almost daily, that can fundamentally change our approach to city design and infrastructure planning, yet we find that we are still mired in trying to fit old solutions to a vastly different world. If the cities and economies of the future are no longer dictated by controlled banking systems, centralized retailing, energy and transportation solutions, imagine the possibilities for lifestyles that are more sustainable, family friendly, humane and above all egalitarian. What an opportunity.
It is not surprising to see many pioneers of this “green economy” gradually rising in the ranks of the world’s wealthiest. They are the first proof that our concepts of wealth, power and control are changing rapidly. It is now our responsibility to see that this new industrial revolution continues its promised path of spreading wealth and knowledge and avoids the same controlling policies that marked the carbon-age of the past 200 years.
[i] Stiglitz, Joseph E., and Amartya Sen. Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress
Pat Dugan has a unique combination of experience in both planning and public finance, spanning 35 years. As a planner, he has been a planning director in two cities (Auburn and Burien), and two regional planning agencies in Oregon and Washington; and was a planning manager in Goleta, California. In public finance, Pat has served as the chief financial officer in four public agencies including the Cities of Auburn and Lynnwood, and the Snohomish County Public Works Department. He has written extensively on financing capital facility programs and on public finance for planners. Pat now offers planning and public finance consulting services and in his own firm, Dugan Consulting Services in Everett and can be reached at consult.dugan@verizon.net.
Anindita Mitra, AICP is the Founder of CREÄ Affiliates, LLC a planning and urban design consultancy that focuses on creating awareness of unsustainable practices, and offers a platform for affected parties to openly communicate and collaborate to arrive at creative sustainable solutions. She is also one of the Co-Chairs of the Climate and Sustainability Initiative of the Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association. Anindita's current interests include the development of sustainable master plans and streetscape designs; establishing sustainable community indicators and their integration into comprehensive plans and governance; identifying creative solutions directing communities towards energy-independence; preparing communities for the challenges potentially brought upon by the Climate Change phenomenon; and advancing the integration of transit and non-motorized travel solutions into community land use planning. She has worked throughout the United States for both the public and private sectors.
Phil Olbrechts is a member of Olbrechts and Associates, PLLC. His practice focus is upon land use, real property and municipal law. He currently serves as hearing examiner for eight municipalities and city attorney for three cities. He represents both public and private parties and has made hundreds of presentations and on land use law throughout the State of Washington.
Bob Bengford, AICP, is a Partner with MAKERS architecture, planning and urban design firm. Bob's community design work encompasses all transects, from urban downtowns and transit-oriented development to rural area planning. Since joining MAKERS 13 years ago, Bob's specialty has been helping communities craft usable development regulations and design guidelines. The combination of growing up in a sprawling Orange County (CA) track home subdivision, reviewing development plans against antiquated and inconsistent codes in rural Bonner County (ID), and working with a great mentor at MAKERS (John Owen) have helped Bob recognize the critical importance of good development regulations and design guidelines in shaping vital and healthy communities. As a resident of Bellevue, Bob has been active in various community planning issues. He's also an active four-season bicycle commuter, hiker, gardener, and urban explorer.
*The Articles appearing in the "Planning Advisor" column represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Municipal Research & Services Center.