Eco-design will help reduce debt

Call Nelson Lebo conservative but don't call him a greenie.

"Three cheers for the Chronicle editors

I prefer them to letters page predators

But sometimes their headlines

While rushing toward deadlines

Can leave me feeling discredited"

My point is that eco-design thinking, as described in this column, is not about "going green" (headline 22-02-14) or being "eco-warriors" (headline 01-03-14). It is about recognising and maximising beneficial relationships within systems to develop strategies that are good for people, good for the planet ... and save money.

This type of holistic, win-win-win design thinking helps our family save hundreds of dollars on our power and food bills every month.

It is opposite to the lose-lose-lose situation Wanganui District Council has saddled us with regarding the wastewater treatment plant: bad for people, bad for the planet, and expensive.

On top of the original poor design and/or management, the finger-pointing and excuse-making, council has added insult to injury by piling on more debt by running a useless odour fence which, according to my conservative calculations, cost every household in Whanganui over $60.

Thanks to councillor Rob Vinsen and Bob Walker for questioning this grossly reductionist thinking that will likely cost over $1 million when interest is factored into the total cost of the fence.

This would be a good time to point out to Whanganui ratepayers and voters that two large United States metropolitan areas have recently sought bankruptcy protection because of grossly mismanaged municipal projects.

Montgomery County, Alabama, ended up over US$4 billion in debt because of a disastrous sewer project, while Harrisburg, the state capitol of Pennsylvania, faced over US$300 million of debt over a rubbish incinerator.

Sadly, it appears that a long history of reductionist thinking has boxed Whanganui into a debt corner from which council sees only one escape - growth.

Put another way, Wanganui council has racked up so much debt that it would be politically unpalatable for the current ratepayers to pay it off. Indeed, my combined Wanganui and Horizons regional council rates are already on track to double in about nine years. How sustainable is that?

Let me make this perfectly clear: I think we should fight for every job and every dollar to stay in Whanganui, and that we should seek to create meaningful employment for those who seek it.

But continued reductionist thinking is unlikely to get us there.

Given what appear to be misguided decisions and poor execution by Wanganui council on a slew of issues, do they really think they can out-compete Palmerston North, New Plymouth, Hamilton, Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, China, India, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia at the same game?

I recently told a well-attended Rotary luncheon that our council suffers from glass-half-empty thinking: constantly claiming that if we could only fill the glass.

Eco-thrifty design thinking, on the other hand, would be considered glass-half full.

It seeks out and eliminates waste within systems that serve neither people nor the planet, and also waste money. A good example of this was turning off the lights in front of the central library during daylight hours.

That simple act will save ratepayers thousands of dollars in the years to come, but sadly could not save the thousands already wasted since the poorly designed system was installed.

As one always willing to give credit where credit is due, I acknowledge council's decision to douse the light, as I also acknowledge what appears to be the holistic thinking of senior stormwater engineer Kritzo Venter and the foresight of councillor Martin Visser regarding the reductionist practice of continually pushing sand to windward on Castlecliff Beach.

I would rather see council "in the black" rather than "going green", and that I'd prefer an army of "worrier warriors" in this city, because our unsustainable debt load is very scary.

Nelson Lebo consults businesses, schools, and home-owners on all aspects of sustainability - email: theecoschool@gmail.com or phone 06 3445013 or 022 6350868.