Bamboo is the hot new ’sustainable’ material because it grows ultra-fast (it’s a grass) and it can be used for everything from building materials to fabrics. And it’s very attractive, durable and cost-efficient. So what’s not to like? Nothing unless this stuff is traveling thousands of miles to reach an end-user. This is a major dilemma of the carbon economy.

I don’t buy a lot of organic products in spite of a commitment to cutting the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Why? Because the last quart of organic milk I bought traveled all the way across the US before it got to me. There is a balance to be determined between environmentally beneficial labels like ‘organic’ and ‘fair trade’ and the carbon cost of some of these products above and beyond their other benefits.

I’ve had basic discussions with the optimistic 21st century hippie types who run my local holistic food store and it’s not a comfortable conversation. If you imply that organic milk may actually be bad for the environment if it comes from Oregon and you live in NY, you’re treading in religious belief territory for many folks who’ve been fighting the good fight for a long time.

Unfortunately, carbon cost is now another factor in making buying decisions if you are a responsible consumer. And BTW, buying used and local is a great way to limit carbon costs if you need stuff.

BusinessWeek covers the Designer’s Accord, a group formed to give designers of all kinds a framework for making sustainable design decisions.

From the article:

“Despite the fact that many of the principles themselves are fairly simple, the Accord marks a paradigm shift: First of all, designers across the industry—including leading studios such as IDEO, SmartDesign, Continuum, and frog—have signed up, and the two big professional associations in the U.S.—the AIGA and the Industrial Designers Society of America, which together represent more than 22,000 members—have endorsed it. While Casey counts more than 3,500 signees now, the number has been growing rapidly, with several multinationals and companies with internal design teams signing on. “

The fact that leading design firms are onboard is critical. Dealing with energy and environmental issues is going to be driven by business- rather than government legislation which is always too late, too little and too influenced by those whose goal is to protect the status quo.

Brad Pitt enlisted a bunch of architects to design houses for the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. They were to be green, 1200′ sq. ft. and buildable for $150,000.
A lot of interesting designs that wouldn’t be bad around here (Rochester).

I could live in those.

It has started. Arizona governor Bill Richardson opened the first salvo by suggesting that the Northeast should ’share’ their water with the Southwest. Apparently we’re ‘awash’ in it and they desperately need it to justify building more golf courses , growing more lawns in desert lands and building more McMansions. Now that the Colorado is running dry and their aquifers are empty, they are looking north and covetously eyeing the Great Lakes.

Only one problem. Richardson is running for President and he can’t win without the Northeast so he quickly backed off from his comments. This kind of thing only reinforces that we need a comprehensive water rights policy that is national and international. Alabama and Florida are fighting over watershed rights that transcend state and national boundaries. California and the Southwestern states are doing the same and Mexico can only look on as less and less water flows downstream to them.

No one is advocating the real changes that must be made:

• Immediately put a moratorium on any new construction that cannot show rights to at least 50 years worth of water supplies not currently claimed by others
• Drought areas must impose permanent mandatory water conservation plans on all sectors including businesses
• Long term water reclamation, storage, transportation and generation strategies must be developed and funded
• Rates for water use must immediately be raised two-fold to put the nation on an emergency notice that is a looming national problem
• Raised taxes on excess water use should be funneled into long term water conservation and reclamation strategies

This is a real time problem. And no one, especially the politicians, is doing anything about it.