Pamela Conrad, ASLA, PLA, LEED AP is a licensed landscape architect, the founder of Climate Positive Design, faculty at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, and ASLA’s inaugural Biodiversity and Climate Fellow. She was the chair and lead author of ASLA’s Climate Action Plan, 2019 LAF Fellow, 2023 Harvard Loeb Fellow and currently serves as IFLA’s Climate and Biodiversity Working Group Vice-Chair, World Economic Forum’s Nature-Positive Cities Task Force Expert, Carbon Leadership Forum ECHO Steering Committee, and is an Architecture 2030 Senior Fellow.
The world has lost 60 percent of animal populations since 1970. This staggering decline reflects the growing pressures on ecosystems, from habitat destruction to climate change. And 1 million species now face threats of extinction. As these problems continue to escalate, the importance of preserving biodiversity and restoring ecosystems becomes clearer.
It's that time of year again: students and their families are busy preparing for the start of school, while some of us are gearing up to step in front of the classroom. While preparing to teach an intro course on climate, I'm reminded of why we use the term climate change and not global warming.
Yes, the Earth is warming from a thickening layer of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere caused by us. But climate changes range from sea level rise to increasing storms, floods, fires, and drought, which are all negatively impacting biodiversity as well. So, not just warming. Recent storms that battered the eastern U.S. coast and Bermuda remind us of this difference. While some communities face extreme heat, others brace for storms and rising waters, and many face multiple impacts.
Anyone who walks during the summer in a city like Boston knows that a significant amount of time is spent charting routes with shade. But I can’t use that as my only excuse for being off-task. Honestly, I’m distracted. The swirling headlines of the U.S. presidential election, an unprecedented UN climate conference looming, and the phrase “decade of decisive action” weighs heavy on my shoulders. While it’s easy to get caught up in current events, those of us with solutions must stay focused.
A perhaps helpful Japanese phrase to call upon is “kotsu kotsu,” essentially meaning to slow down and focus on the task at hand, and do it well. Temperatures are soaring, people are suffering. As a recent UN COP letter stated, “time lost is lives, livelihoods, and the planet lost.” Cooling our cities and communities is more important than ever.
It’s now clear that approximately 80% of emissions from landscape architecture projects come from materials. This includes the extraction of natural resources, and their manufacturing, transportation, and construction in parks, plazas, streets, campuses, and neighborhoods. A significant portion of emissions in the built environment can be traced back to two materials: concrete and metal, which includes steel and aluminum.
The challenge lies in the fact that we use a large amount of both materials, they are difficult to replace due to their strength and utility, and improving their environmental impact is a complex process. But progress is being made.
