"But, today, for good or ill, we do live in that interconnected world and global society everyone talks about. What happens to someone in Nigeria, or Brazil, or China matters to me. Their happiness, their health, their prosperity, affects mine....Their well-being affects mine. It is in my interest for them to be better off." Heaven on Earth: the Kindness Maxim
This is relevant to my interests in human ecology and buildings because it's a good reminder that we'll get better outcomes by securing the needs of the least-well-off, rather than focusing on what elite consumers are doing. It is in my interest for them to be better off. See also the post "Better to Insulate Old Homes than to Increase Regulations for New Homes".
Also relevant: California's Air Resources Board has published its 2030 Action Plan Update for phasing out GHG emissions in the state. The initial recommendations of the Environmental Justice Action Committee (EJAC) (https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/scopingplan/ejac_initial_recommendations082616.pdf) are worth reading. "ARB must better balance reducing greenhouse gases and reducing costs (cost compliance) with the other AB 32 goals of improving air quality in EJ communities while maximizing benefits for all Californians." This list of recommendations is a great reminder to academics and consultants like me. Because elite consumers provide funding for a lot of construction work (green second homes), and we work with Energy Codes for new construction, we can get distracted in this realm. The links in this post help me remember to broaden focus to include everyone, and non-human life.
