Two Pieces of Trash
This is part 6 in a series designed to give you, our clients and friends, a loftier and practical look at ethics. We hope to demonstrate why and how a deeper understanding of ethical concerns can be applied in your life – both personally and professionally.
Strolling the UC Berkeley campus with my friend Clark Kellogg (a faculty member in Innovation, Design Thinking, and Creativity, Haas School of Business…), I was taken aback for a moment when I turned to speak and he “wasn’t there!” Actually, he had simply stooped to pick up a piece of trash, which he carried with him for another twenty steps until we passed a trash bin.
He hadn’t stopped the conversation. He hadn’t really broken stride. He had simply incorporated a personal ethic into his daily personal habit pattern. I might have missed it had I been looking the other way. He commented that “if people did the same twice a day, trash would disappear…”
It was a small act, but a profound one. Consider: What if each of us refrained from discarding trash or plastic unconsciously? Further, if each of us makes a similar small change in our daily conduct — picking up and disposing of two pieces of trash — how long might it take for us to overcome the clean-up & recycle deficit?
It seems that ethics is cumulative. Many small, positive, individual acts can accumulate and create a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. First, a clean campus; then a population that notices, maintains and expects a clean campus; then graduates who carry that ethic with them far and wide. As individuals become more aware of the outcomes of their previously unconscious acts, their dawning awareness will incline them in a loftier direction — toward the greater good. Or, not. Maybe this act didn’t affect anyone else… but it touched me.
The sustainability movement in design and architecture is based on such simple ideas writ large on the canvas of our cityscapes. If each building cleans up after itself; if individual structures generate and contribute to the shared energy pool; if each community filters its own water: the whole may become greater than the sum.
It begins with picking up trash — but the momentum can carry forward into small random acts of kindness. Small acts lead to larger and larger ones — and imagine where that might lead…
Applications
1. Personally
It’s easy to remain plugged into our individual thoughts, diversions and problems. But no matter how interesting our internal world, sooner or later we intersect with what’s out there. So how will you help? How will you create a positive effect on the world today? It might be as simple as “two pieces of trash.”
2. At Home
The family has its own dynamic, rhythm, personality. How will you teach this lesson at your house? The subtext is that none of us truly exists alone. That’s a tough one for children to countenance; individuality and personality being so addictive and fascinating… Yet, it’s usually at home that we begin to discover the limits of our own greatness and the depth of our reliance on shared resources. Pass it on.
3. At Work
Does the office recycle? Does the community? It’s not out of line to become familiar with your corporate (or your building’s) sustainability efforts. The more you know, the more you can influence a positive outcome.
Sometimes it’s overwhelming. We live in cities and towns that make us feel insignificant and unable to influence or contribute to the whole. Yet, small acts of individual responsibility can grow into more sustainable communities. Clark and I parted company that day, and I momentarily turned for one last wave of farewell. There he was in the distance; reaching down for that second piece of trash…
Clark Kellogg is a friend, student and resource to the Fusion Group. He lives in Berkeley with his wife Christina where he teaches, sails and makes Daily Art.
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