In the early days of contemporary surgery, as asepsis procedures were catching up with the principle of eliminating the sources of contamination, surgeons knew that washing hands before an operation reduced risks of infection; but they did not always think of washing the surgical site or instruments. With the result that, in some places, deadly infections continued for a certain time

Consistency is surely the least consistent characteristic of the way we think and act. With respect to sustainability, we are not closer to consistency than surgeons were a century ago. We put in place tax rebate programs that support the development of fuel-efficient cars in an effort to reduce carbon emissions; then turn around and subsidize gas-guzzler Formula One events. If we can’t be consistent across such closely related matters, how are we to address the challenge of sustainability, a challenge that cuts across all aspects of our lives ?

What we need is a new worldview, a new roadmap, one that unfolds and encompasses all aspects of life, much as all plants and forms of life are affected by the onset of Spring. We need to replace the current mechanistic worldview, predicated on cheap fossil energy, competition and hubris, with a new worldview — perhaps we can call it the good design worldview —based on information, cooperation and respect of limits.