Rocky Mountain Institute Spring 1999 Newsletter
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VOLUME XV NUMBER 1 RO C K Y SPRING 1999 M O U N TA I N I N S T I T U T E N E W S L E T T E R CITIZENS KANE A Town Sta r ts to Renew Its e l f n any given day, logging trucks rum b l e ing both sides. Kane has all these conflicts, Oth r ough Kane, Pen n s y l va n i a ’s Vic t o r i a n but it is offering a new twist: hope. to wn center. It’s a little run d o wn, though still vibrant, with people on the street and store- THE CALM BEFORE THE STOR M fr onts filled with merchandise. The sur- People facing the decline of their livel i - rounding forest and clean air attract a grow- hood often look for someone to blame. ing market for tourism. The town has been High on the list are government, for limiting sp a r ed the assault of big-box retail and urban access to res o u r ces, and environ m e n t a l i s t s , sprawl, but it faces what is perhaps a grea t e r for bringing lawsuits that do the same. But th r eat: the decline of an industry that has Kane citizens are an independent lot. For the defined the local economy for more than a most part, people keep their opinions to ce n t u r y. th e m s e l v es and leave decisions up to those in The American Dream once th r i v ed in this community of less than 5,000 in north we s t e r n Pen n s y l v ania. Her e, for generations, families harvested abundant hem- lock and white pine from the sur- rounding Allegheny National Fore s t . When that crop was logged out be t w een 1870 and 1910, the town became famous for its black cherry, used primarily in high-end furni- tu r e. Now, Kane and many other Michael Kinsley rural communities are facing the dark side of Co n t e n t s a dream founded on extraction: the inheren t charge. His t o r i c a l l y , townspeople haven ’t United We Sol v e 2 unsustainability of many res o u rc e - b a s e d seemed particularly interested in change and economies. What happens when the drea m ne w ideas—not a particularly ripe climate Utility Unp l u g g e d 4 st a r ts to fade? for Economic Ren e wal. Rainwater Red u x 5 But in early 1998, a few citizens heard She r man Oaks 7 A UNIVERSAL STOR Y that the Heinz End o wments would make Ar ound the World with RMI 8 The story of Kane encapsulates the RM I ’ s Economic Ren e wal Program (ER) thorny problems faced by hundreds of com- av ailable in the region. They requested ER, RMI Goes Aud i o 9 munities struggling with the jobs vs. en v i ro n - and RMI agreed. Sho r tly therea f t e r , all hell Escaping Spr a w l 11 ment debate: environmentalists plead for br oke loose. Institute Sup p o r ters 13 saving what’s left, harvesters defend jobs and rights, and scientists offer opinions support- Al s o : Y2K, Hyb ri d s , and More … (continued on next page) SPRING 1999 ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER (continued from page 1) UNITED WE SOLVE THE TIMBER DEBATE EXPLOD E S By L. Hunter Lovins, Exec u t i v e Dire c t o r Une x p e c t e d l y , the national timber debate flared in Kane when a reg i o n a l en v i r onmental organization appealed a The meeting also furth e r ed a new t RMI, we’ve never been ver y pro- ne a r b y federal timber sale. Not only wer e te c t i v e of our sandbox. When others ap p r oach I’m proposing, one that tries to A jobs seen as threatened, but over two mil- seem to have a good idea, we ask them to av oid pigeonholing problems. It has long come play. Our efforts in Corporate tr oubled me that RMI’s response to lion dollars in expected federal rev enues to Sus t a i n a b i l i t y , Economic Ren e wal, and inquiries is often determined by which local schools and government suddenly the Systems Group on For ests have been gatekeeper happens to get the call, or the ev aporated, since a federal rule allocates a successful expressions of that philosophy. ca l l e r ’s perception of the problem he or po r tion of timber sales to local gover n - And our approach to intellectual capital she needs solved. me n t . is the same: we put our And yet, common sense Ch a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y , RMI hoped that the Hyp e r car res e a r ch into the tells us that narrowly defining co n t r oversy would offer a silver lining public realm rather than pr oblems isn’t smart. In any th r ough heightened interest in efforts to keeping it prop r i e t a ry — i t ’s discussion of such complex st r engthen the local economy. It may have, the quickest way to make issues as corporate strategy or but the angry local response to the legal things happen. en v i r onmental policy, the action also spawned distrust and ret re n c h - In keeping with that phi- outcome is best served by ment. Loggers wondered why a group like lo s o p h y , from time to time br oadening the inquiry. You RMI turned up (apparently) right after the the Institute will bring to- might call our new approa c h appeal. Was it some kind of conspiracy to gether leading thinkers to a “unified practice.” For want replace the timber economy with some- ad d r ess what we consider of a better name, that’s what thing else? pr essing issues. In 1994, for PERSPECTIVES we’re calling it in-house. RM I ’ s Michael Kinsley proceeded to example, we met with some This means that for open- train a small group of Kane citizens in the of the best minds then working on sus- ers, the RMI staff has to get better at Economic Ren e wal community planning ta i n a b i l i t y . We wanted to answer the wo r king together. We tried to encourage pr ocess. This core group included local this some years ago when we consolidat- question: “Will business be the best lever - teachers, small businesspeople, and three ed the res e a r ch department, but there’s a age point for change in the future? ” residents associated with wood-prod u c t s (“ Turning Ind u s t r y on its Hea d , ” human tendency to break things down businesses. Their goal was not to make or fall/winter 1994.) Dana Mea d o ws, Dav i d into digestible bites. Thus, our trans- Orr , Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and I po r tation division became the Hyp e rc a r guide community decisions, but to con- ag r eed it was. Ce n t e r , even though Hyp e r cars are clear- duct a series of meetings that would res u l t Our next question follows logically: ly only part of a larger solution. We also in several projects to strengthen the com- How do you go about changing busi- want our Hyp e r car guys to be able to munity and its economy. ness? To help answer that one, a small talk knowledgeably about Eco n o m i c After a few months spent mobilizing the wo r king group of organizations met re- Ren e wal, and vice-ver s a . public, the group held its first meeting in cently at RMI. Rep re s e n t a t i v es from Then we’ll have to broaden our net- Mar ch 1998. Th e r e, Kinsley pres e n t e d RMI; Int e r face Inc., the commerci a l - wo r k. RMI can’t (and doesn’t want to) practical examples of sustainable devel o p - interiors materials firm leading the next hold itself out as the sole solver of com- ment. Suspicious loggers asked him ques- industrial rev olution; One Wor l d plex problems. So we’ve begun holding tions intended to expose RMI’s supposed Learning, which is dedicated to crea t i n g discussions with organizations that do tr ee-hugging proclivities. Kinsley’s even - cultural change within business; and Th e things RMI doesn’t do—like manage- handedly empathic responses wer e inter- Natural Ste p , which has been cred i t e d ment consulting, for example. We’re pr eted by the few attending environ m e n t a l internationally with having laid some of de v eloping and expanding formal rel a - activists as support for the timber industry.