IMAGINE A WORLD by Amory Lovins (presented at RMI's 25th Aniversary Gala August 2007)

Joshua Arnow — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:24:22 -0700

Let me tell you a story...

In the early 1950s, the Dayak people in Borneo had malaria. The World Health Organization had a solution: spray DDT. They did; mosquitoes died; malaria declined; so far, so good. But there were side effects. House roofs started falling down on people's heads, because the DDT also killed tiny parasitic wasps that had previously controlled thatch-eating caterpillars. The colonial government gave people sheet-metal roofs, but the noise of the tropical rain on the tin roofs kept people awake. Meanwhile, the DDT-poisoned bugs were eaten by geckoes, which were eaten by cats. The DDT built up in the food chain and killed the cats. Without the cats, the rats flourished and multiplied. Soon the World Health Organization was threatened with potential outbreaks of typhus and plague, and had to call in RAF Singapore to conduct Operation Cat Drop — parachuting a great many live cats into Borneo. (See: "How Not to Parachute More Cats")

This story — our guiding parable at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) — shows that if you don't understand how things are connected, often the cause of problems is solutions. Most of today's problems are like that. But at RMI we harness hidden connections so the cause of solutions is solutions: we solve, or better still avoid, not just one problem but many, without making new ones, before someone has to go parachuting more cats. So, join me in envisioning where these linked, multiplying solutions can lead if we take responsibility for creating the world we want.

Design Revolution - IMAGINE A WORLD by Amory Lovins (presented at RMI's 25th Aniversary Gala August 2007) - Comments

IMAGINE A WORLD by Amory Lovins (presented at RMI's 25th Aniversary Gala August 2007)