the parable of the totaled saab
DESCRIPTION
a talk contrasting cultural aspects of sustainability with technological and ecological, given at ignite columbus 1, november 2008TRANSCRIPT
the parable of the totaled saablessons on sustainability
ignite columbus 1
Flickr photo by mattdesmond
Two years ago I crashed my ‘92 Saab 900
ACCIDENT
RETURN HOME
5 hrs, 250 mi
headlamps: $1000 body realignment : $2000(labour)new bumper: $300new hood: $500total repair cost: $3800
nada value: $5000
+ almost seized engine + 6 months = nada value: $2650total repair cost: $3800
two senses of 'totaled’too costly to fix (american)too hard to fix (indian)
the many senses of
sus·tain (sə-stān') tr.v. sus·tained, sus·tain·ing, sus·tains To keep in existence; maintain.To supply with necessities or nourishment; provide for.To support from below; keep from falling or sinking; prop.To support the spirits, vitality, or resolution of; encourage.To bear up under; withstand: can't sustain the blistering heat.To experience or suffer: sustained a fatal injury.To affirm the validity of: The judge has sustained the prosecutor's objection.To prove or corroborate; confirm.To keep up (a joke or assumed role, for example) competently.
[Middle English sustenen, from Old French sustenir, from Latin sustinēre : sub-, from below; see sub- + tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.] sus·tain'a·bil'i·ty n., sus·tain'a·ble adj., sus·tain'er n., sus·tain'ment n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
sus·tain·a·ble (sə-stā'nə-bəl)adj. 1. Capable of being sustained. 2. Capable of being continued with minimal long-term effect on the environment: sustainable agriculture.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
sustainabilitynounthe property of being sustainable
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
so what totaled my car?
sustainability is cultural
sustainability depends on continuous maintenance
sustainability depends on continuous production
sustainability is infrastructural
it wasn't the economics
spare parts
sustainability depends on scale
it wasn't rarity
independence
sustainability is a knowledge practice
sustainability depends on collaboration
sustainability is creative
is culturaldepends on continuous maintenancedepends on continuous productionis infrastructuraldepends on scaleis a knowledge practicedepends on collaborationis creative