Canada
as a Conserver Society
The
following material is from the 1977 Science Council of Canada report
Canada as a Conserver Society: Resource Uncertainties and the Need for New
Technologies,
by a committee whose chair was Dr. Ursula Franklin.
“The concept of a conserver society arises from a deep concern for the
future, and the realization that decisions taken today, in such areas as
energy and resources, may have irreversible and possibly destructive impacts
in the medium to long term. The necessity for a conserver society follows
from our perception of the world as a finite host to humanity and from our
recognition of increasing global independence.”
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On the importance of a policy of Economy of Design – doing more with
less, and using technology with a longer planning horizon (instead
of doing away with technology or industry):
-
“Houses and buildings can be more economically designed to make
use of natural advantages. They can be oriented to gain heat from
the sun in winter or from the ground via a heat pump; or they can
be designed to enhance natural air flow so as to reduce the need
for air conditioning.”
Strategies also include “installing better insulation, and
shielding the north side from winter winds… automatic control
devices…” and local or urban solar greenhouses to save on
heating, transportation and spoilage expenses.
-
“As inhabitants of a “consumer society,” most Canadians have lived
through a period when materials seemed plentiful, energy cheap,
and growth in size and quantity, whether of cities, automobiles,
monuments, or lawnmowers, was the natural order of things. Status,
of individuals or societies, was measured by conspicuous
consumption, and economic prosperity was demonstrated by what you
could afford to throw away. Designers, engineers, architects
tended to be caught up in it too, placing the emphasis on the
“more” and forgetting “with less… Now, as we become aware of
constraints and uncertainties in the future, we question our
implicit assumption that “bigger is better.”
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“Under present circumstances of uncertainty in fuel supplies and
risk in planning very large capital-intensive expansions, the
action of assisting the homeowner to insulate his or her house or to
install solar panels can be for the utility a lower risk, less
expensive, and more profitable way of meeting additional demand than
borrowing to invest in new capacity.”
-
“Partly because of an infatuation with growth and activity, we have
tended to build over-capacity into all aspects of our system.
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“Canadians have become accustomed to a high throughput consumer
society that takes for granted obsolescence, a high rate of consumer
spending and an almost total disregard for waste – both individually
and socially.”
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“Recycling must become part of the fabric of all production
activities – not an afterthought. When products are designed with
recycling as part of the process, the problem of unscrambling the
materials at the end of the product’s life will be simpler, less
costly, and more conserving of scarce or potentially scarce
materials…. The need for recycling should be reduced by making
the product more durable, reparable, and re-usable in the first
place.”
-
The biosphere has finite regenerative capacity. Addressing this
issue requires, for instance, “more intensive regulation of
chemicals, biocides and fertilizers used in the manipulation of
environment; intensive research to anticipate the effects of new
chemicals on ecosystems.”
-
Optimal energy use is measured by ‘second-law efficiency’ – “the
ratio of the least available-work that could have done the job, to
the actual available-work used to do the job” which, for
example, requires high quality energy sources to be applied to
producing high-grade, high-temperature heat. Consequently, “new
houses and communities should be designed as part of a total system
with their environment, to make optimum use of solar heat, ground
heat, air currents, snow cover, and deciduous shade trees, in order
to conserve electricity and fossil fuels for back-up reserve, and
for the (applications) that require energy in its high-quality
form.”
-
“Tax, pricing and financing schemes must be devised that will shift
(energy conservation) planning horizons toward the longer term” in
order to lengthen the transition time for fossil fuel substitution
to sustainable energy sources.
Return to:
Shifting Into the Mainstream: first CaGBC Summit highlights
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