If we look at the modern world and ponder what single element defines it, I would pick transportation. It has been an essential medium for both our technological and economic progress and in less than 50 years we have conquered the distances that used to separate and isolate us. However, judged against the scales of time and innovation, this transportation system organized on the building blocks of planes, trains and automobiles could easily be described as “version 1.0”. And, while I like what our system accomplishes – mobility, I don’t like how we achieve it – through environmental degradation and the consequential social inequity. So, to achieve a sustainable future we will need a “system upgrade”. Unfortunately, our greatest obstacle to sustainability is our child-like infatuation with the current transportation system based on fossil fuels and the resource intense automobile.

The private car is the foundation of our transportation system in America and in my earlier entry, Transportation and Social Equity, I argue that the auto is also a barrier to participation in our greater society. But, if you consider all the pieces of infrastructure needed to support this system, the investment costs become clearer. These pieces include : roads, gas stations, mechanics, driveways, garages, parking lots, land and space, fuel, refineries, pipe-lines, car manufacturers, dealers, junk yards, traffic police, road signs and lights, regulations, the commute time we invest, bridges, tunnels, pollution, injuries, lives (1.2 million deaths/year), labor to build and maintain, insurance and the health care costs that result from the sedentary lifestyle it systematizes.

Even if we develop a car that travels 400 miles on a gallon of water, the costs are too high – the infrastructure needed to support it largely remains the same and continues to be inefficient, wasteful and a source of poverty. What is the alternative? Public transportation seems the obvious answer. The problem with this simplistic answer is that the domination of the almighty car has shaped American society into a suburban sprawl that makes our current paradigm of public transportation ineffective and not a realistic solution.

In our quest to achieve a sustainable civilization, if public transportation utilizing high speed trains, light rail and automated people movers is to become a reality, then we will need to change the paradigm by reorganizing how and where we live. That is to say, rather than build this system to go where people currently populate (the current mindset), we will have to build the system to connect strategic resources such as agriculture and energy, and let people populate along those routes.

Barriers to realizing this “Transportation System v2.0” reside in the public’s mindset – Americans are unlikely to lead the world toward a sustainable future because of our deep association of the car as a symbol of freedom and individuality. In this way our success also becomes our trap and sustainable transportation systems will probably appear in underdeveloped countries first. Why? One, with scarce resources they must be more strategic in their infrastructure choices. And two, neither their egos nor livelihoods are as invested in the current paradigm to resist such innovation.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” - Albert Einstein

The massive beef recall announced this past week again highlights one of the many vulnerabilities that exist in our system of food production and distribution. One of the problems with fierce competition in food is the race to the cheapest product which doesn’t necessarily result in the best quality. Last week we learned that lame cattle has been added to our food supply, but the race also includes, artificial preservatives as well as genetic modifications to both plants and animals. Integral to the issues of food quality and cost is the system of production and distribution.

The trend in agriculture has been toward consolidation into corporate owned farms. While corporations can be an effective tool to create efficient systems, the focus on profitability in agriculture has had unintended consequences. First, in a corporate environment, it is easy for individuals to shirk personal responsibility for quality because you are not necessarily producing for yourself. Second, corporate farming has resulted in a monoculture system of planting one genetic strain which increases crop susceptibility to disease. Third, large-scale corporate farming requires that food be shipped large distances increasing its cost and contributing to global warming. Finally, we cannot base an energy source on food. The current corn shortage to produce ethanol is increasing poverty and hunger and not contributing to a sustainable transportation solution.

Another kink in the food distribution chain is our attitude. America is over-eating itself into obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Why? Well, one reason may be depression – unhappy people very often eat to feel better. More importantly, the system is weighted to promote overeating at restaurants. Pricing is not based on food costs, but on price pointing – owners expect a certain profit and they price accordingly. The oversized portions are meant to justify the prices, but people are overeating because “they want their monies worth.” This results in either wasted food or waste in health care costs from obesity.

I believe the majority of people in the world do not seek a life of luxury, but simply want to provide for their family and live healthy and happy lives that don’t take away from other people’s ability to do the same. Right now, however, everyone is shouldering the inefficiencies of our current system and its strain can be seen among the poor and hungry of the world. But, is there a solution?

The bulk of food people consume should be from local sources and people should not rely on transported food for survival – it’s inherently unsustainable. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA’s) offers a possible model and solution. Today CSA’s usually function like a non-for-profit subscription service where members pay a fee for fresh vegetables grown at the CSA and if you volunteer your time, the fee is lowered. Imagine a system of living where you can eliminate 90% of your food and housing costs by giving 4 hours of service a week. And, by organizing communities of 5000 people around this model, the cumulative 20,000 man hours available per week should be more than enough to take the chore out of farming and create a healthier, more reliable and more sustainable food source for all 6.5 billion of us.

While this model may seem a step back to people accustomed to swiping plastic at the grocery store check-out, for most of the world’s population it will be a giant leap forward toward eliminating poverty, improving health and realizing social justice. Greenhouse and hydroponic technologies offer all climates the gift of fresh, organic food. For economies struggling today such as North Korea, Sudan, Palestine and Cuba, networked CSA’s may be a means to bypass the unsustainable model of development that the West is offering.