The Origins of Ecological Design (2006)

Abstract

T he origins of ecological design can be traced back to our prehistoric ancestors’ interest in natural regularities of seasons, sun, moon, and stars and later to the Greek conviction that humans, by the application of reason, could discern the laws of nature. Ecological design also rests on the theological conviction that we are obliged, not merely constrained, to respect larger harmonies and patterns. The Latin root word for the word religion — bind together — and the Greek root for ecology — household management — suggest a deeper compatibility and connection to order. Ecological design, further, builds on the science and technology of the industrial age but for the purpose of establishing a partnership with nature, not domination. The first models of ecological design can be found throughout the world in the vernacular architecture and the practical arts that are as old as recorded history. It is, accordingly, as much a recovery of old and established knowledge and practices as a discovery of anything new. The arts of building, agriculture, forestry, healing, and resilient economy were sometimes models of great ecological intelligence developed by cultures that we otherwise might dismiss as primitive. The art of applied wholeness was implicit in social customs such as the observance of the Sabbath and holy days, the Jubilee year, or the practice of potlatch, in which debts were forgiven and wealth was recirculated. It is evident still in all of those various ways by which communities and societies gracefully cultivate the arts of generosity, kindness, prudence, love, humility, compassion, gentleness, forgiveness, gratitude, and ecological intelligence.