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Michael Ben-Eli discusses the concept of community sustainability as well as Project Wadi Attir as a model for a sustainable desert community.

Michael Ben Eli discusses the renaissance of the concept of "design" and how all aspects of human activity are manifestations of a design process and what that implies about our role as human beings on the planet.

On June 3, 2010, the Buckminster Fuller Institute hosted "Architecting the Future" a day long gathering, as part of the 2010 Buckminster Fuller Challenge events in Washington DC.

Brief reflections on Project Wadi Attir, a project with the Bedouin of the Negev, and formative influences that shaped the direction of the work Michael is currently pursuing. 

Michael Ben-Eli kicked off the Buckminster Fuller Challenge fellowship program with a presentation about Bucky, Design Science, and sustainability at the Pratt Center for Sustainable Design Studies. After the presentation, in an interview with Sahar Ghaheri, he gives a more personal account of his life and experiences to date.

Note: This interview begins with music by Cal Tjader.

(Our apologies. A portion of this interview was effected by static. It is only a very few minutes and then clarity improves. However, with patience, all should be able to understand what Michael is saying.—Russ)

Learn More about Integral Leadership Review and Russ Volckmann

 

Interview with Michael Ben Eli

On Systems Thinking and Sustainability

" You might think that if you pollute a river, it is only that river which is being impacted. In reality it is a whole ecosystem, with multiple intricate interdependencies, which is being destroyed. Since our very survival depends on the integrity and health of such whole ecosystems, we need to learn to adopt a comprehensive, whole systems perspective, to the things we do....."

Segment # 2

" The development of possible future senarios is sometimes useful as a conceptual exercise. Ultimately, however, we should engage in actively defining and implementing the prefered scenario we most want....."

Segment # 3

" Complex systems, by their very nature, cannot be managed effectively by simple minded methods of command and control, without a loss to their essential vitality and long term viability. We need to learn much more about complexity and about how self-organizing systems work...."

Segment # 4

" Business leaders who realize that in the coming decade we shall be entering an entirely new world and those who are able to focus on sustainable practices and long term solutionsf, will win the future for their companies...."

Segment # 5

" Companies depend on the broader context, the general economic system within which they operate. If business leaders want to change their stategies radically and implement breakthrough sustainability concepts, they may have to form innovative groups in order to collaborate on changing the underlying system itself...."

Segment # 6

" There are so many relatively young wealthy business people emerging in different parts of the world today. Many are starting to play creative, new philantropic roles. They approach business with an entirely new logic of ensuring advantage for all. Could this be the begining of a modern version of a gift economy?....."

Segment # 7

The Key factors that determine how it works when you deal specifically with the relationships of humans and the planet, operate on a number of different dimensions. And one dimension is the physical dimension, which is the direct flow of energy and matter, which is the underlying substance of existence. So on one extreme you've got the phisical dynamics going on which is obviously an important part of this whole interaction -- there would be no interaction without, so to speak. So one dimension that you need to deal with when you think about sustainability is the physical dimension.....

Clips Provided Courtesy of One Open Space

Air date: 10-04-07  Click here for more videos