“Bucky” as Buckminster Fuller was known, was a renowned futurist, inventor, architect, systems thinker, and designer. He encouraged radical innovation that supports whole systems design-thinking. In our final guest blog of the year, Climate and Sustainability Leader Barbara Merz puts out a call to action to activate a lineage of interdisciplinary design-thinkers committed to extending Fuller’s lifetime endeavor to make the world work for all of life.

Having led global campaigns to address climate and sustainability around the world, my work has meant that I have witnessed over-and-over the horrors of sudden climate shifts. Compounding disasters reveal chronic deficiencies in disaster preparedness coupled with deficient design for a rapidly evolving planet.

Last year at COP 27 in Egypt I met thousands of young people from Africa, Asia, and America who were advocating for much stronger environmental, social, and cultural policies to confront the very real threats of climate on their lives. I’ve spent time in these diverse places and cultures listening to people and the land. Among many lessons, here are three to share about redesigning for a future that values all of life:

1. We cannot avoid the reality that climate change is here and worsening. For the first time globally we have breached the 2-degree warming threshold that the UN set as the limit before catastrophic and irreversible change will occur. As the famous children’s book, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, goes “We can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. Oh, no! We’ve got to go through it!”

Not only have we witnessed fires, floods, heat strokes, and extreme weather events in increasingly alarming frequency, we have also seen the tremendous courage of people who are developing local climate solutions that are fit for purpose in their communities. With wildfires raging again this year across the planet and ice sheets calving off glaciers on both poles, we don’t have time to distract ourselves from creating urgent solutions. We must face this reality across all of our work.

2. Women’s leadership is key. Women are disproportionately affected by climate change. I have worked alongside women in Africa and Asia to introduce regenerative planting, better educational outcomes, and enhanced family planning access. When communities are decimated by floods or droughts, tsunamis or fire, the most vulnerable among them suffer the most. Because women across the world have fewer rights, less money, and fewer freedoms, in moments of extreme loss, women are often hit the hardest. We desperately need the skills of all to solve the climate crisis – regardless of gender, whether they are from rural or urban areas, or are rich or poor. Climate adaptation and climate justice interventions must include girls’ education and family planning.

Image Source: Women May Be More Vulnerable To Climate Change But Data Absent (indiaspend.com)

3. It’s time for MASSIVE ACTION. In the midst of climatic devastations, it gives me hope and stamina in equal measure to be bold and ambitious in our redesign challenges – our only folly is to not think big enough!  As part of my work with the Buckminster Fuller Institute, we are collaborating with the Massive Change Network to reach 100 million interdisciplinary designers around the globe with the tools of life-centered design. Our aim is to activate a lineage of interdisciplinary design-thinkers committed to extending Fuller’s lifetime endeavor to make the world work for all of life. Through Massive Action, we will shine a light on solutions to the world’s most vexing problems, ensuring a better future for all of life. 

Click here to join the Massive Action Sydney 2024 Unconvention.

Designing for the dynamic relationship we must have with our changing planet impels a shared commitment to inspire all of us to expand our vision of life-centered design. At this critical moment, our biggest risk is to think too small. Join us as we do what others told us was impossible – inspire action to integrate and redesign for all of life.

Click on image to find out more about Massive Action.

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Barbara Merz is an accomplished leader in climate and sustainability who drives global strategies for innovative resilience programming that elevates people and planet. She serves on the Buckminster Fuller Institute board of directors.