Growing up in a family that went on annual camping trips to some of America’s great natural areas, I developed a sense early on of wonder and respect for the majesty of our natural world. Much later, as I had the opportunity to serve in an elected office for 28 years, including 20 as mayor of my hometown of Rock Island, Illinois, I gained an understanding of how human behavior can be shaped and altered by public policy and of how some human behaviors now imperil the natural world on which we all depend.
Reinforced by such disturbing warnings as Al Gore’s eloquent “An Inconvenient Truth” and similar works, I started a path of increased environmental activism beginning in 2005. In Rock Island, we initiated an Advanced Technology and Sustainability Consortium to promote environmental awareness and practices; promoted use of hydropower as a primary source of municipal energy; and worked with other Mayors to promote more energy responsible practices both locally and globally.
The Template: A Parable of the Environment emerged from reflections on what changes in human behavior could bring us better in line with what will be needed to preserve our natural resources and a livable environment for future generations. The four Template standards – concerning necessity, conservation, recycling, and sustainability – represent primary pillars of any plan to conserve our natural world in balance with human needs. By using a rating system similar to those we are familiar with for everything from restaurants to energy star certification of appliances, the Template proposes a similar rating system to build social and economic incentives towards more environmentally sustainable behavior.
It has been argued “that you can’t legislate morality”. However, experience teaches that although this may be true, you can legislate conditions that shape experience, which in turn defines what we perceive to be right or wrong.
In the same sense, what the Template proposes will help shape behaviors through less compulsory methods by social or financial incentives. That what the Template seeks to accomplish through its four part test of: (1) Is it necessary? (2) Does it conserve?; (3) Does it minimize waste? (4) Is it sustainable?
By applying these tests to new products or processes, we begin bending the arc away from excessive consumption and work towards a sustainable future in which conservation describes our actions.