a talk contrasting cultural aspects of sustainability with technological and ecological, given at ignite columbus 1, november 2008

1. the parable of the totaled saab lessons on sustainability ignite columbus 1

2. Flickr photo by mattdesmond Two years ago I crashed my ‘92 Saab 900

3. ACCIDENT RETURN HOME 5 hrs, 250 mi

4. headlamps: $1000 body realignment : $2000 (labour) new bumper: $300 new hood: $500 total repair cost: $3800

5. nada value: $5000 + almost seized engine + 6 months = nada value: $2650 total repair cost: $3800

6. two senses of 'totaled’ too costly to fix (american) too hard to fix (indian)

7. 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 Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

8. 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 Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. sustainability noun the property of being sustainable WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

9. so what totaled my car?

10. sustainability is cultural

11. sustainability depends on continuous maintenance

12. sustainability depends on continuous production

13. sustainability is infrastructural

14. it wasn't the economics

15. spare parts

16. sustainability depends on scale

17. it wasn't rarity

18. independence

19. sustainability is a knowledge practice

20. sustainability depends on collaboration

21. sustainability is creative

22. is cultural depends on continuous maintenance depends on continuous production is infrastructural depends on scale is a knowledge practice depends on collaboration is creative