0:00:18.806,0:00:20.987
In the early 1970s, the Beatles broke up,

0:00:20.987,0:00:22.937
and nine months later, I was born.

0:00:22.937,0:00:24.316
(Laughter)

0:00:24.316,0:00:26.698
To this day, I still[br]kind of harbor some resentment

0:00:26.698,0:00:28.460
because I think my mother's to blame.

0:00:28.460,0:00:30.317
I think she's somehow involved in that.

0:00:30.317,0:00:35.546
But I grew up within walking distance[br]of here, actually, in West Philadelphia,

0:00:35.546,0:00:38.517
and it was a little wood house,[br]called a row house,

0:00:38.517,0:00:42.538
with fake brick and fake shutters[br]that were glued to the side.

0:00:42.538,0:00:45.996
And in that context,[br]I started designing buildings.

0:00:46.246,0:00:47.298
That's me, by the way.

0:00:47.298,0:00:49.321
I'm a cherry hot fudge sundae.

0:00:49.321,0:00:51.615
(Laughter)

0:00:52.525,0:00:56.366
And in this context -[br]this is what I grew up in, right? -

0:00:56.366,0:00:57.369
so as a kid,

0:00:57.369,0:01:01.499
I remember distinctly McDonald's[br]released the first Happy Meal in 1979,

0:01:01.499,0:01:04.883
and three days later,[br]Three Mile Island exploded.

0:01:05.361,0:01:08.178
And somehow, I always thought[br]that they were connected.

0:01:08.488,0:01:10.609
(Laughter)

0:01:11.609,0:01:15.184
And right around that same time,[br]my mother took me to see this building.

0:01:15.444,0:01:18.064
This is the Beth Shalom Synagogue[br]by Frank Lloyd Wright.

0:01:18.064,0:01:20.211
It's his only building in Philadelphia,

0:01:20.211,0:01:22.311
and I encourage you all[br]to see it if you can,

0:01:22.311,0:01:23.502
but it was the first time

0:01:23.502,0:01:26.427
that I realized that a building[br]could be more than just a box.

0:01:26.427,0:01:29.684
And I remember distinctly this memory[br]of sitting inside that atrium

0:01:29.684,0:01:34.146
and watching birds fly overhead and seeing[br]their shadows trail along the floor.

0:01:34.146,0:01:36.733
And I realized that buildings[br]could be about something,

0:01:36.733,0:01:38.352
they could be bigger than us,

0:01:38.352,0:01:41.165
so I spent the rest[br]of my life, essentially,

0:01:41.165,0:01:43.822
studying Mr. Wright[br]and studying the designs of nature,

0:01:43.822,0:01:46.673
and realized that nature[br]has a wealth of opportunities for us

0:01:46.673,0:01:48.643
if we just open our eyes to it.

0:01:48.643,0:01:50.450
But when I went to architecture school

0:01:50.450,0:01:52.713
and I started learning[br]about real construction,

0:01:52.713,0:01:56.313
I had these questions, and I didn't like[br]the answers I was getting.

0:01:56.313,0:01:58.692
When I said, "Why would we[br]knowingly build that way

0:01:58.692,0:02:00.070
when we know that it's toxic?

0:02:00.070,0:02:02.217
Why would we do that[br]when we know it's wrong?"

0:02:02.217,0:02:03.457
And the answer always was,

0:02:03.457,0:02:05.733
"Because that's the way[br]we've always done it."

0:02:05.733,0:02:09.373
So nature was just this kind of casualty[br]on the path to progress,

0:02:09.373,0:02:11.130
and it didn't really work.

0:02:11.983,0:02:13.080
This is my daughter.

0:02:13.080,0:02:15.372
I know she's cute.[br]You don't need to make noise.

0:02:15.372,0:02:16.642
(Laughter)

0:02:16.912,0:02:20.180
And I took her to see[br]this NetZero energy project that we did -

0:02:21.030,0:02:24.326
meaning that this building[br]generates more energy than it consumes -

0:02:24.326,0:02:26.091
and this project was a little unusual

0:02:26.091,0:02:27.330
because the solar panels

0:02:27.330,0:02:29.410
weren't on the roof,[br]they were on the ground

0:02:29.410,0:02:31.605
because it was a government[br]project and a mess.

0:02:31.605,0:02:33.228
But anyway, they're on the ground,

0:02:33.228,0:02:34.231
(Laughter)

0:02:34.231,0:02:36.326
but you could play on them[br]and climb on them.

0:02:36.326,0:02:38.090
And she said "Daddy, what are these?"

0:02:38.090,0:02:40.090
I said, "Oh, honey,[br]those are solar panels.

0:02:40.090,0:02:43.619
They produce energy[br]from the sun for free."

0:02:44.151,0:02:46.734
And with the mind of a child,[br]of course she says,

0:02:46.734,0:02:49.589
"Well, daddy, why not all buildings[br]have this? Daddy, why?"

0:02:50.149,0:02:54.070
And so I leaned down[br]and I looked in her cute little face,

0:02:54.070,0:02:58.216
and I said, "Oh, honey, that's because[br]most people are poopy heads."

0:02:58.216,0:03:00.645
(Laughter)

0:03:03.535,0:03:05.403
What am I going to tell her? The truth?

0:03:05.403,0:03:06.403
(Laughter)

0:03:06.403,0:03:07.449
"Well, you see, honey,

0:03:07.449,0:03:10.635
there's this oil and coal cartel[br]that controls all of energy policy;

0:03:10.635,0:03:12.398
they're haunting you in your dreams."

0:03:12.398,0:03:14.732
She'll have nightmares.[br]I can't tell her that.

0:03:14.982,0:03:16.890
Poopy heads. That's what it's got to be.

0:03:16.890,0:03:19.174
If you look at the modern[br]environmental movement,

0:03:19.174,0:03:21.456
we have failed, we're the losers here.

0:03:21.456,0:03:23.167
We're the good guys and we're losing

0:03:23.167,0:03:24.974
because it seems that environmentalism

0:03:24.974,0:03:27.355
is trying to lead you[br]to one inevitable conclusion,

0:03:27.355,0:03:28.592
which doesn't work for me.

0:03:28.592,0:03:31.261
This one doesn't help.[br]This is not a good idea.

0:03:31.261,0:03:32.287
(Laughter)

0:03:32.287,0:03:36.342
And I realized that we're dumb -[br]I'm dumb, you're dumb, you're all dumb.

0:03:36.342,0:03:38.060
We think we're smart, but we're not.

0:03:38.060,0:03:39.394
And if you don't believe me,

0:03:39.394,0:03:42.727
remember that we share[br]50% of our DNA with bananas.

0:03:42.727,0:03:45.266
(Laughter)

0:03:45.266,0:03:47.632
That'll humble you down a little bit.

0:03:49.030,0:03:51.742
I was driving the other day[br]and I saw this bumper sticker,

0:03:51.742,0:03:53.965
and I was going to run him off the road,

0:03:53.965,0:03:55.153
but I didn't.

0:03:55.153,0:03:56.153
(Laughter)

0:03:56.453,0:03:57.624
And then I realized

0:03:57.624,0:04:00.731
you never see this bumper sticker[br]shared with this bumper sticker;

0:04:00.731,0:04:03.547
you never see the two together.

0:04:03.547,0:04:05.696
(Laughter)

0:04:05.696,0:04:07.496
(Applause)

0:04:12.214,0:04:15.171
I know causation is not[br]correlation, but you get it.

0:04:15.462,0:04:17.070
So the problem that we're facing

0:04:17.070,0:04:20.164
is that we knowingly put[br]cancer-causing chemicals in our building.

0:04:20.164,0:04:22.718
We do this knowingly,[br]so we're clearly idiots.

0:04:22.718,0:04:25.138
And to set the context[br]for how dumb we are,

0:04:25.138,0:04:28.972
I want to show you this video just[br]to kind of start the afternoon off right.

0:04:28.972,0:04:31.318
[The unchained goddess]

0:04:32.199,0:04:34.208
(Video) … extremely dangerous questions

0:04:34.208,0:04:37.610
because with our present knowledge,[br]we have no idea what would happen.

0:04:37.610,0:04:41.640
Even now, man may be[br]unwittingly changing the world's climate

0:04:41.640,0:04:44.222
through the waste products[br]of his civilization.

0:04:44.222,0:04:47.490
Due to our release through factories[br]and automobiles every year

0:04:47.490,0:04:50.967
of more than six billion tons[br]of carbon dioxide,

0:04:50.967,0:04:53.874
which helps air absorb heat from the sun,

0:04:53.874,0:04:56.255
our atmosphere[br]seems to be getting warmer.

0:04:56.708,0:04:59.908
Eric Corey Freed: Now this video[br]was directed by Frank Capra,

0:04:59.908,0:05:02.477
who did "It's a Wonderful Life,"[br]which is kind of neat,

0:05:02.477,0:05:05.752
and it stars a very young,[br]very handsome Dick Cheney,

0:05:05.752,0:05:06.753
which is weird.

0:05:06.753,0:05:08.304
That's just weird to me.

0:05:08.304,0:05:11.498
But this video's from 1958.

0:05:12.108,0:05:15.305
Everything he says is true;[br]in fact, all the numbers are much worse.

0:05:15.305,0:05:16.883
So what have we done since 1958?

0:05:16.883,0:05:17.934
The answer is, really,

0:05:17.934,0:05:20.080
we've lost our window,[br]we've lost our time.

0:05:20.080,0:05:21.609
If you think that climate change

0:05:21.609,0:05:24.657
is this abstract thing[br]that will happen sometime in the future,

0:05:24.657,0:05:26.355
it's happening now.

0:05:26.865,0:05:31.457
Last year, we had 400,000 people[br]that died due to climate change,

0:05:31.457,0:05:33.168
and I don't mean in an indirect way.

0:05:33.168,0:05:34.744
I'm talking in a very direct way,

0:05:34.744,0:05:36.843
from drought and malaria[br]and food disruption.

0:05:36.843,0:05:37.953
So, 400,000 people.

0:05:37.953,0:05:40.432
And I didn't know 400,000 people[br]was a lot of people.

0:05:40.432,0:05:42.101
I mean, it sounds like a lot to me,

0:05:42.101,0:05:44.904
but I also know that we lose[br]8,000 a day to AIDS, right?

0:05:44.904,0:05:47.189
So in the grand scheme[br]of things, maybe it's not.

0:05:47.189,0:05:49.518
Well, turns out 400,000 people[br]is a lot of people:

0:05:49.518,0:05:52.907
400,000 people is two and a half times[br]the amount of people

0:05:52.907,0:05:55.560
we're going to lose to lung cancer[br]in the US this year;

0:05:55.560,0:05:57.182
it's 10 times the amount of people

0:05:57.182,0:05:59.528
we're going to lose[br]to breast cancer this year.

0:05:59.528,0:06:01.603
So where's our ribbon? Can I design it?

0:06:01.603,0:06:04.560
These are the kind of questions I have:[br]Can it be polka-dotted?

0:06:04.560,0:06:06.503
This is what I want to know, right?

0:06:06.503,0:06:08.743
And it just led me[br]to this inevitable conclusion

0:06:08.743,0:06:11.770
that just by design,[br]we're just, ugh, the worst mammals ever.

0:06:11.770,0:06:13.689
We're just, like, awful -

0:06:17.010,0:06:18.672
that one person likes that joke -

0:06:18.672,0:06:19.907
(Laughter)

0:06:19.907,0:06:22.000
400,000 is more[br]than what we're going to lose

0:06:22.000,0:06:25.191
to strokes, accidents, Alzheimer's,[br]and diabetes combined this year.

0:06:25.191,0:06:26.670
You need to realize something -

0:06:26.670,0:06:29.576
everything you've ever bought,[br]everything you've ever owned,

0:06:29.576,0:06:31.330
it's still here.

0:06:31.873,0:06:33.917
We didn't jettison it[br]into space; it's here.

0:06:33.917,0:06:34.917
Remember in the '90s

0:06:34.917,0:06:37.825
when you're really into Nirvana[br]and bought that flannel shirt?

0:06:37.825,0:06:39.418
That shirt's here somewhere.

0:06:39.418,0:06:41.090
It's probably in New Jersey.

0:06:41.090,0:06:42.279
I don't know where it is,

0:06:42.279,0:06:43.278
(Laughter)

0:06:43.278,0:06:44.637
but it's here.

0:06:45.010,0:06:46.968
Remember when you were[br]getting into shape

0:06:46.968,0:06:49.581
and bought those roller blades[br]you needed for a week

0:06:49.581,0:06:51.244
and you were like, "My knees hurt"?

0:06:51.244,0:06:52.242
They're here.

0:06:52.242,0:06:54.050
They're probably bobbing in the ocean.

0:06:54.050,0:06:55.383
Because it's all still here.

0:06:55.383,0:06:58.907
Tonight, you're going out for dinner,[br]and maybe you'll get some nice sushi,

0:06:58.907,0:06:59.913
and you'll be like,

0:06:59.913,0:07:02.868
"What's this in my sushi?[br]Oh, it's little bits of rollerblade."

0:07:02.868,0:07:05.737
That's why. That's basically why.[br]It's your fault. (Laughter)

0:07:05.737,0:07:08.684
And it doesn't help that we brag[br]about our dominion over a mat.

0:07:08.684,0:07:11.160
We're sore winners.[br]That's what we are, basically.

0:07:11.160,0:07:13.313
And just by design,[br]we're just awful creatures

0:07:13.313,0:07:16.435
because first of all,[br]we get tired at the drop of a hat,

0:07:18.520,0:07:20.317
we cry for no reason,

0:07:20.317,0:07:21.405
(Laughter)

0:07:21.405,0:07:25.229
we're easily trippable, I mean, easily -[br]you never see a zebra trip, do you? -

0:07:25.229,0:07:27.578
and we just die in just[br]the dumbest ways possible.

0:07:27.578,0:07:29.991
It's just so annoying.

0:07:29.991,0:07:32.563
And this is why your cat[br]looks at you the way it does -

0:07:32.563,0:07:35.540
it's just, "Ugh," it's just fed up.

0:07:35.540,0:07:37.080
(Laughter) (Applause)

0:07:37.080,0:07:38.462
And we're not getting better;

0:07:38.462,0:07:40.128
we're not learning from experience.

0:07:40.128,0:07:41.317
I'll give you an example:

0:07:41.317,0:07:43.594
This was the world's largest man in 1903,

0:07:43.594,0:07:45.596
and this was just some cop[br]I saw in Newark.

0:07:45.596,0:07:47.358
Do you see what I'm saying?[br](Laughter)

0:07:47.358,0:07:48.480
We're not learning.

0:07:48.480,0:07:50.056
The warning signs had been there,

0:07:50.056,0:07:52.198
louder and louder,[br]closer and closer together,

0:07:52.198,0:07:54.144
and we're not hearing them.

0:07:54.994,0:07:57.236
These last few years[br]have also been a key moment

0:07:57.236,0:07:58.766
because it's the first time ever

0:07:58.766,0:08:01.435
we spent more in dealing[br]with the cost of extreme weather

0:08:01.435,0:08:03.241
than on the federal education budget -

0:08:03.241,0:08:04.811
2.6 billion on federal education,

0:08:04.811,0:08:07.682
three billion dealing with things[br]like hurricane Sandy.

0:08:07.682,0:08:10.633
And as much as that seems[br]like just an obscene amount of money,

0:08:10.633,0:08:12.826
it's nothing compared[br]to the 8 billion we spent

0:08:12.826,0:08:14.690
subsidizing the oil and coal companies.

0:08:14.690,0:08:17.606
Maybe we could just move the money[br]from one pile to the other.

0:08:17.606,0:08:18.944
Maybe that's not a big deal.

0:08:18.944,0:08:20.944
Because the act of building is disruptive:

0:08:20.944,0:08:21.943
Every year,

0:08:21.943,0:08:24.895
we produce 3 tons of concrete[br]for every single person on Earth;

0:08:24.895,0:08:28.410
every year, we cut down two trees[br]for every single person on Earth;

0:08:28.410,0:08:29.350
and every year,

0:08:29.350,0:08:32.731
we produced 600 pounds of steel[br]for every single person just in the US.

0:08:32.731,0:08:34.578
Empowering all this is not good vibes

0:08:34.578,0:08:37.887
but fossil fuels, and just[br]an immense amount of fossil fuels.

0:08:37.887,0:08:41.997
One company, Exxon, is sucking[br]4 million barrels of oil a day

0:08:41.997,0:08:43.137
out of the ground -

0:08:43.137,0:08:44.554
every single day.

0:08:44.554,0:08:47.606
And as much as that just seems[br]like an absurd amount of anything,

0:08:47.606,0:08:49.621
it's nothing compared to the 92 million

0:08:49.621,0:08:52.765
that all the oil companies[br]are sucking constantly out of the ground

0:08:52.765,0:08:54.740
every single day.

0:08:55.610,0:08:56.967
Shea Kimani famously said,

0:08:56.967,0:08:59.759
"The Stone Age didn't end[br]because we ran out of stones."

0:09:00.350,0:09:02.589
The oil age won't end[br]because we run out of oil;

0:09:02.589,0:09:05.185
it's just going to get[br]harder and harder to get.

0:09:05.185,0:09:07.137
And that's what you've been experiencing.

0:09:07.137,0:09:10.281
So far, we've been the proverbial frog[br]in the boiling pot of water.

0:09:10.281,0:09:12.604
It's kind of snuck up on us a little bit.

0:09:12.604,0:09:15.411
But now that you're aware of it,[br]now that you know about it,

0:09:15.411,0:09:17.361
now it's just going to get uncomfortable.

0:09:17.361,0:09:18.360
You know,

0:09:18.360,0:09:19.360
(Laughter)

0:09:19.360,0:09:22.580
it's just going to be[br]an awkward conversation, basically.

0:09:24.410,0:09:25.985
If you were an astronomer

0:09:25.985,0:09:28.802
and you thought[br]that the sun went around the Earth -

0:09:29.152,0:09:30.146
which by the way,

0:09:30.146,0:09:32.716
it totally doesn't do that,[br]it's the other way around -

0:09:32.716,0:09:36.186
but if you thought that, you'd do some[br]pretty bad astronomy, wouldn't you?

0:09:36.186,0:09:38.164
And that's basically what we've done.

0:09:38.164,0:09:40.694
We've done some[br]basically pretty bad building.

0:09:41.040,0:09:42.380
It turns out, all the while,

0:09:42.380,0:09:45.623
we've essentially been building[br]this kind of dead, lifeless skeleton.

0:09:45.623,0:09:48.190
What we should have been building[br]is the whole creature

0:09:48.190,0:09:49.719
because the creature respirates,

0:09:49.719,0:09:52.293
it produces its own energy,[br]it processes its own waste;

0:09:52.293,0:09:54.878
and a few of us, we're dabbling,[br]we're playing with it,

0:09:54.878,0:09:57.307
but we're getting there,[br]we're getting better at it.

0:09:57.307,0:09:59.819
But what I do know[br]is that this is a dead end.

0:10:00.159,0:10:04.559
I mean, it's a pretty building, granted,[br]but a metal building in Los Angeles?

0:10:04.559,0:10:07.030
You're telling me not one person[br]at the meeting said,

0:10:07.030,0:10:08.558
"Hey, maybe that's a dumb idea."

0:10:08.558,0:10:10.384
Nobody said anything?

0:10:10.384,0:10:14.632
Plus I've seen how people react[br]when we put them around living buildings,

0:10:14.632,0:10:17.343
natural buildings, buildings[br]that grow out of their sight;

0:10:17.343,0:10:19.101
they actually reach out and pet them.

0:10:19.101,0:10:21.268
It's bizarre to me they touch them.[br](Laughter)

0:10:21.544,0:10:22.698
So that's what we need -

0:10:22.698,0:10:25.223
buildings rooted in the soil[br]the same way nature does.

0:10:25.223,0:10:26.416
That's how nature builds.

0:10:26.416,0:10:30.634
As you're sitting here, seemingly idle,[br]your bodies are a whirlwind of activity.

0:10:30.634,0:10:33.622
These big black things you see,[br]those are called "leukocytes."

0:10:33.622,0:10:35.100
They're fighting off infection,

0:10:35.100,0:10:37.675
because frankly, half the people[br]in this room are sick,

0:10:37.675,0:10:40.535
and those disgusting germs[br]are attacking you as you sit here.

0:10:40.535,0:10:42.633
Your body just fights[br]them off. It's amazing.

0:10:42.633,0:10:44.493
Those little shimmering things you see,

0:10:44.493,0:10:47.109
those are little energy packets[br]your body's sending out;

0:10:47.109,0:10:48.391
it's called cholesterol.

0:10:48.391,0:10:50.873
By the way, some of you[br]have too much energy packets;

0:10:50.873,0:10:52.778
you got to cut down on the cholesterol.

0:10:52.778,0:10:53.924
But it's amazing, right?

0:10:53.924,0:10:57.157
So, your body's very much this habitat,[br]this incredible habitat.

0:10:57.157,0:11:01.130
As you sit here, there's one to two pounds[br]of bacteria living on and in you.

0:11:01.380,0:11:02.715
It's actually kind of gross.

0:11:02.715,0:11:04.637
You got two pounds of bacteria on you.

0:11:04.637,0:11:05.645
It's disgusting.

0:11:05.645,0:11:07.785
But still, your body's[br]very much this habitat,

0:11:07.785,0:11:09.883
but your body's also[br]this incredible machine,

0:11:09.883,0:11:11.463
pumping, processing, filtering,

0:11:11.463,0:11:14.413
all the while you're just sitting there[br]shifting in your chair.

0:11:14.413,0:11:15.406
It's incredible.

0:11:15.406,0:11:18.409
And it turns out John Mayer was right:[br]your body's a wonderland.

0:11:18.409,0:11:23.816
It's this incredible Wonderland -[br]I mean, some of you more than others -

0:11:23.816,0:11:27.300
but still, it's this Wonderland,[br]it's incredible.

0:11:27.870,0:11:30.573
Every day, your body's producing[br]50 trillion new cells

0:11:30.573,0:11:32.428
to make up for the ones that have died.

0:11:32.428,0:11:35.765
Every day you're pumping 1,900 liters[br]of liquid which you then pee out.

0:11:35.765,0:11:36.773
It's incredible.

0:11:36.773,0:11:39.485
Every day, you're breathing in[br]11,000 cubic liters of air.

0:11:39.485,0:11:42.128
You take the oxygen out[br]and you expel carbon dioxide,

0:11:42.128,0:11:44.988
which the plants then take[br]and then do the reverse in return.

0:11:44.988,0:11:45.994
It's wonderful.

0:11:45.994,0:11:47.325
As I'm telling you all this,

0:11:47.325,0:11:49.516
your big brains are processing[br]this information

0:11:49.516,0:11:50.935
at 170 miles an hour,

0:11:50.935,0:11:53.240
faster than any known computer.

0:11:53.240,0:11:56.080
Holding up that big skeleton of yours[br]is a structural system

0:11:56.080,0:11:58.397
that's four times[br]the strength of concrete,

0:11:58.397,0:12:00.373
and half the weight, by the way.

0:12:00.373,0:12:02.599
You can even produce your own energy;

0:12:02.599,0:12:04.794
at your peak, like on a bike,[br]you can produce -

0:12:04.794,0:12:05.941
you've seen The Matrix -

0:12:05.941,0:12:06.991
2,000 watts of energy.

0:12:06.991,0:12:08.384
It's incredible.

0:12:08.384,0:12:12.611
And powering all this is not fossil fuels[br]but food, glorious food.

0:12:12.891,0:12:15.608
In your lifetime, you will eat[br]about 50 tons of the stuff,

0:12:15.608,0:12:18.478
so every now and again, eat a salad -[br]that's all I'm saying.

0:12:18.478,0:12:19.870
(Laughter)

0:12:20.702,0:12:22.324
And as a byproduct of all of this,

0:12:22.324,0:12:25.984
all of you, all of you[br]are farting 14 times a day.

0:12:26.254,0:12:28.277
All of you - I'm telling you.

0:12:28.277,0:12:31.357
And you're like, "Not me."[br]Yes, you. All of you.

0:12:31.877,0:12:33.689
And I know what else you're thinking -

0:12:33.689,0:12:37.060
it's like a balloon's worth,[br]it's like this much.

0:12:37.584,0:12:40.298
So right now, I'm picturing a balloon[br]over all your heads,

0:12:40.298,0:12:42.406
which just makes me happy.

0:12:43.371,0:12:45.178
Our buildings respond to none of this.

0:12:45.178,0:12:47.736
They ignore all of it.[br]They're dead, lifeless spaces.

0:12:47.736,0:12:50.116
They're filled with known[br]cancer-causing chemicals.

0:12:50.116,0:12:52.356
We put in windows[br]and make sure they don't open,

0:12:52.356,0:12:54.498
and we put our kids in there[br]for 8 hours a day

0:12:54.498,0:12:56.257
and make them learn how to read good,

0:12:56.257,0:12:57.562
and it doesn't work.

0:12:57.562,0:13:00.414
We then surround the site[br]with more dead, lifeless materials.

0:13:00.414,0:13:01.895
We make hot places even hotter.

0:13:01.895,0:13:04.342
And then we just kind of crap[br]these houses out

0:13:04.342,0:13:07.050
and ignore where is the sun[br]and where is the wind.

0:13:07.050,0:13:08.965
And this is why the system doesn't work;

0:13:08.965,0:13:11.485
this is why the whole[br]economic thing every eight years

0:13:11.485,0:13:12.980
is just teetering all the time:

0:13:12.980,0:13:15.050
because it's not sustainable.

0:13:15.050,0:13:16.780
So let's reverse this trend.

0:13:16.780,0:13:18.540
Let's build living buildings,

0:13:18.540,0:13:20.906
buildings that are teeming with aliveness,

0:13:20.906,0:13:25.850
with life just like your own bodies -[br]not this fake life, real life.

0:13:25.850,0:13:26.916
(Laughter)

0:13:27.780,0:13:32.870
Because if you look at plants very closely[br]and you pay attention to them,

0:13:33.850,0:13:35.992
it almost looks like they're alive.

0:13:36.212,0:13:37.424
(Laughter)

0:13:37.424,0:13:39.234
Because they're alive, they're plants.

0:13:39.234,0:13:41.286
It's a joke - they're alive,[br]they're plants!

0:13:41.286,0:13:44.612
We're not the first creatures to build;[br]lots of creatures build things.

0:13:44.612,0:13:47.567
This is the paper wasp.[br]It builds its nest in a matter of days.

0:13:47.567,0:13:50.280
It takes wood pulp from local trees,[br]mixes it with saliva,

0:13:50.280,0:13:51.598
and makes a form of cement;

0:13:51.598,0:13:55.129
it can change the hydrology of the cement[br]based on the humidity in the air;

0:13:55.129,0:13:57.702
and it does it on this cool[br]hexagonal grid, by the way.

0:13:57.702,0:13:58.884
This is the weaver bird.

0:13:58.884,0:14:00.833
It builds its nest[br]in a matter of hours.

0:14:00.833,0:14:04.325
It takes local grasses[br]and uses its own body as a tape measure,

0:14:04.325,0:14:05.996
and it makes the opening big enough

0:14:05.996,0:14:08.663
so the bird can get in and out[br]but none of its predators,

0:14:08.663,0:14:11.050
and it builds this[br]on this cool tripod shape.

0:14:11.050,0:14:12.585
And what do we do?

0:14:12.585,0:14:14.342
We put the birdhouses everywhere.

0:14:14.342,0:14:15.541
It's insulting.

0:14:15.541,0:14:16.977
[birds already have houses]

0:14:16.977,0:14:18.127
(Laughter)

0:14:18.127,0:14:23.292
I mean, they're building out of tripods,[br]and we're putting up Section 8 Housing.

0:14:23.292,0:14:24.645
(Laughter)

0:14:24.950,0:14:27.332
This is why they're pooping[br]on your car, basically.

0:14:27.332,0:14:28.333
That's why.

0:14:28.333,0:14:29.539
(Laughter)

0:14:29.539,0:14:31.104
This is a butterfly egg.

0:14:31.104,0:14:32.428
This is an owl egg.

0:14:32.428,0:14:36.517
Just a wealth of color and form[br]and geometry are awaiting us

0:14:36.517,0:14:38.856
if we just open our eyes[br]and pay attention to it -

0:14:38.856,0:14:41.713
incredible mathematical formula's,[br]just there for the taking,

0:14:41.713,0:14:45.691
all told about 3.8 billion years[br]of research and development.

0:14:45.871,0:14:48.386
All we have to do[br]is promote living buildings,

0:14:48.386,0:14:50.034
buildings that grow,

0:14:50.034,0:14:51.657
buildings that we feed and nourish

0:14:51.657,0:14:53.658
the same way we feed[br]and nourish ourselves.

0:14:53.658,0:14:56.466
We're just scratching the surface,[br]but we're getting better.

0:14:56.466,0:14:58.707
But what it takes[br]is to put this in your mindset

0:14:58.707,0:15:00.474
as a priority and something important

0:15:00.474,0:15:01.474
so when you see this,

0:15:01.474,0:15:04.373
this should be your inspiration[br]for what a skyscraper could be

0:15:04.373,0:15:06.804
because that's how nature builds -[br]nature is strong.

0:15:06.804,0:15:07.801
(Laughter)

0:15:07.801,0:15:09.850
Nature will kick your butt every time.

0:15:10.185,0:15:11.266
And how do we build?

0:15:11.266,0:15:12.610
Just the exact opposite way.

0:15:12.610,0:15:14.846
Just "Whang," brute force,[br]"Whang," shove it in.

0:15:14.846,0:15:16.259
It doesn't work.

0:15:16.259,0:15:18.591
And we look at nature[br]as this obstacle like this -

0:15:18.591,0:15:20.525
ugh! - this thing we have to get around.

0:15:20.525,0:15:21.525
(Laughter)

0:15:21.525,0:15:22.536
And we do it badly.

0:15:22.536,0:15:24.558
We just don't do a good job of it.

0:15:24.558,0:15:25.558
(Laughter)

0:15:25.768,0:15:27.841
And the results are just absurd.

0:15:27.841,0:15:29.720
They're just weird.

0:15:29.910,0:15:31.340
You have to realize something:

0:15:31.340,0:15:33.147
no matter how many resources you have,

0:15:33.147,0:15:35.999
if you use them the wrong way,[br]they will never be enough.

0:15:35.999,0:15:39.452
Our resources have a value,[br]some of the resources even have a history,

0:15:39.452,0:15:43.080
and if we pay attention to the history,[br]we can benefit, but we don't do that.

0:15:43.080,0:15:46.322
You've all seen developments like this,[br]with these cute little names,

0:15:46.322,0:15:48.946
but you know that here,[br]they've just decimated the creek

0:15:48.946,0:15:50.761
to build the nonsense they build here.

0:15:50.761,0:15:52.852
Here, they just drove out[br]all the wild horses

0:15:52.852,0:15:54.667
to build the nonsense they build here,

0:15:54.667,0:15:55.682
and really, frankly,

0:15:55.682,0:15:58.018
I'm terrified to think[br]of what they cut down here.

0:15:58.018,0:15:59.338
(Laughter)

0:16:00.698,0:16:02.141
So this has been my charge.

0:16:02.141,0:16:05.520
This has been what I've dedicated[br]my career to for the last 25 years.

0:16:05.520,0:16:07.708
I'm an architect;[br]I've been building buildings,

0:16:07.708,0:16:09.190
and that didn't go fast enough,

0:16:09.190,0:16:12.101
so then I started writing books[br]and now I'm at the 11th book.

0:16:12.101,0:16:15.860
Last year, I joined my old friends at the[br]International Living Future Institute.

0:16:15.860,0:16:19.384
What we do is we have a rating system[br]called the Living Building Challenge,

0:16:19.384,0:16:23.707
and it says that most buildings are bad[br]and green buildings are less bad.

0:16:23.985,0:16:26.979
We don't want to do that.[br]We want to be good. How do we be good?

0:16:26.979,0:16:28.170
And we set that as a bar.

0:16:28.170,0:16:31.690
Now we have hundreds of living buildings[br]in 30 countries all over the world

0:16:31.690,0:16:32.975
that are aiming to be good.

0:16:32.975,0:16:34.122
And what does good mean?

0:16:34.122,0:16:37.820
Well, good means really five things[br]for us - simply, anyway.

0:16:37.820,0:16:40.782
First, that every building[br]is going to generate its own energy

0:16:40.782,0:16:42.308
because that's what nature does.

0:16:42.308,0:16:44.875
Two, every building will grow[br]a portion of its own food

0:16:44.875,0:16:46.258
because that's what's needed.

0:16:46.258,0:16:48.596
Three, every building[br]will process its own waste -

0:16:48.596,0:16:51.507
this could be composting[br]or bio-remediation or something else.

0:16:51.507,0:16:54.118
Four, every building's[br]going to clean its own water;

0:16:54.118,0:16:55.556
it could be a living machine.

0:16:55.556,0:16:58.746
Number five we do automatically[br]if you do the first four correctly -

0:16:58.746,0:17:00.077
we sequester our own carbon.

0:17:00.077,0:17:02.409
That's what nature does.[br]That's how nature builds.

0:17:02.409,0:17:04.359
I was talking to a developer, and I said,

0:17:04.359,0:17:07.590
"Oh, my God. We're going to grow food[br]on the outside of the building.

0:17:07.590,0:17:09.260
It'll be amazing and so beautiful."

0:17:09.260,0:17:12.966
And all I got was wave after wave[br]of, like, excuse why we couldn't do that.

0:17:12.966,0:17:13.967
He said,

0:17:13.967,0:17:17.447
"You can't grow food on the building.[br]Um, the homeless people will eat it.

0:17:17.447,0:17:18.450
Hah!

0:17:18.450,0:17:19.766
(Laughter)

0:17:20.180,0:17:23.820
Feeding homeless people[br]fruits and vegetables!

0:17:23.820,0:17:26.346
What will they say?[br]You'll be pilloried in the press."

0:17:26.346,0:17:28.303
I didn't know where he's going with this.

0:17:28.303,0:17:29.302
(Laughter)

0:17:29.302,0:17:31.288
And I said, "You know what? Calm down.

0:17:31.288,0:17:33.000
If you start to see this everywhere,

0:17:33.000,0:17:34.198
we'll take the food down.

0:17:34.198,0:17:37.099
[Will work for Balsamic Vinegar][br](Laughter)

0:17:37.099,0:17:39.710
But in the meantime, let them eat.[br]What's the big deal?

0:17:39.710,0:17:42.395
Besides, there's probably[br]other crops you could grow

0:17:42.832,0:17:44.625
that'll make you more money anyway.

0:17:44.625,0:17:46.105
That's what we need to get to -

0:17:46.105,0:17:49.295
the point where this is just seen[br]as an opportunity for what it is -

0:17:49.295,0:17:50.350
that's what's needed -

0:17:50.350,0:17:53.061
where developers start to realize[br]how to sell this better.

0:17:53.061,0:17:54.107
Instead of telling you

0:17:54.107,0:17:56.347
about their fitness rooms[br]and gyms and nonsense,

0:17:56.347,0:17:59.257
they could sell you on the fresh oxygen[br]the building produces.

0:17:59.257,0:18:00.731
And I hope you all help join me

0:18:00.731,0:18:03.939
in establishing this as a new sense[br]of victory for the 21st century.

0:18:03.939,0:18:05.233
Thank you very much.

0:18:05.233,0:18:08.661
(Applause) (Cheers)[br]