Ecotone Publishing’s Editor Michael Berrisford sat down (virtually) to talk with architect, author, and father, Jason F. McLennan about his thoughts on how “love” can nourish the built and natural environments, address climate change, right social injustices, and heal the planet.
Michael Berrisford (MB): What inspired you to create the book LOVE+GREEN BUILDING: You and Me and the Beautiful Planet?
Jason F. McLennan (JFM): I like the idea of reaching out to people of all ages about the kind of work we do as architects, engineers, design practitioners, and environmental advocates. I think there is a genuine benefit that comes from talking openly about why we need to care for and love the natural world. And, I believe that presenting these interconnections in a book with expressive illustrations is a perfect way to bring a thoughtful message to a wider audience.
MB: Who do you want to reach with LOVE+GREEN BUILDING?
JFM: This book is really intended for people in the green building industry plus the many others who share a similar concern and passion about the inexorable interconnection between the natural and man-made environments. I want to reach out to these individuals with love and gratitude for their dedication to a regenerative and healthy world. I hope that they will be inspired to champion this book for their families, friends, and business associates to help explain more completely why they think and why they do what they do in support of our planet. I hope readers find that this book captures their imagination and aptly expresses their concerns in an affirming and positive way.
“We practice green building because it’s an actionable way to express our love,” writes McLennan in LOVE+GREEN BUILDING.
MB: By all accounts, the issues that you and Luis (through his illustrations) address in LOVE+GREEN BUILDING such as climate change, social equity, environmental degradation, and a pervasive disconnection from nature are threatening the future of the planet. What’s love got to do with it?
JFM: “Love” has everything to do with it. We have all the technologies and know-how to change everything about how we can positively impact the health of our ecosystems. Unfortunately, we have largely failed to use this knowledge and these tools to the mutual advantage of mankind and nature because of greed, laziness, ignorance, and complacency. Love, however, is the ideal antidote for all of these failings and of our world’s problems.
MB: Your message that the world needs “a sustained awakening of the human heart” is a compelling and auspicious philosophy for moving toward positive change. How do we approach the global health pandemic, economic uncertainty, and the racial justice movement through the lens of love?
JFM: I think the need for love and compassion is more true now than ever before. We can better address any health pandemic and economic stability through the lens of love for our fellow beings rather than through the lens of individualism rooted in selfishness. And I believe that the current rising awareness about social justice issues is a part of this love and compassion awakening, helping us to challenge our preconceived ideas and biases and to target systemic and institutional racism and oppression. We also need to awaken to the ways we have fostered injustices to all of nature. That is why the awakening that I refer to has to be sustained for the benefit of all life. We have no time to lose and our awakening has to come from the heart with love. Once you truly open your heart, it will open to all people and all life.
LOVE+GREEN BUILDING: You and Me and the Beautiful Planet is available now at the Ecotone bookstore. Proceeds from all Ecotone books go directly to supporting ILFI programming and advocacy.
