Monday, July 9, 2007
Rules For Tools From Wendell Berry (and paraphrased)
List of criteria for appropriate, non-hurtful, renewable, sustainable, useful technology:
*a new tool should be cheaper, smaller and better than the one it replaces, but only if the tool it replaces needs improving.
*a new tool should use less energy - that energy should be renewable - and definitely not battery operated.
*a new tool should ideally be user-repairable, and definitely not disposable or of very limited life-span, or cheaply made.
*a new tool should come from a small local shop.
*a new tool should not replace or disrupt any good tool that already exists.
*a new tool should not disrupt family and community relationships especially those that embrace all other species and the
ecosystems on which they, and we depend.
*a new tool should take into account the interests of at least the next seven generations.
These are not really just Rules For Tools. They can serve as a template for everything we use and everything we do. Apply these criteria to your everyday life - especially when contemplating shopping - including food shopping. If we all ran through this list every time before we bought anything how might things be different? Better? It is an interesting exercise to see how many of these criteria one can achieve. It is also interesting to note how many of these criteria apply to any of the things we use. Is there anything in your life that conforms to ALL of these criteria? Should these criteria be applied to aesthetics?
*a new tool should be cheaper, smaller and better than the one it replaces, but only if the tool it replaces needs improving.
*a new tool should use less energy - that energy should be renewable - and definitely not battery operated.
*a new tool should ideally be user-repairable, and definitely not disposable or of very limited life-span, or cheaply made.
*a new tool should come from a small local shop.
*a new tool should not replace or disrupt any good tool that already exists.
*a new tool should not disrupt family and community relationships especially those that embrace all other species and the
ecosystems on which they, and we depend.
*a new tool should take into account the interests of at least the next seven generations.
These are not really just Rules For Tools. They can serve as a template for everything we use and everything we do. Apply these criteria to your everyday life - especially when contemplating shopping - including food shopping. If we all ran through this list every time before we bought anything how might things be different? Better? It is an interesting exercise to see how many of these criteria one can achieve. It is also interesting to note how many of these criteria apply to any of the things we use. Is there anything in your life that conforms to ALL of these criteria? Should these criteria be applied to aesthetics?
Sunday, July 8, 2007
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