Its a popular idea that the path tosustainabilitylies in high-tech solutions.
But the risks of this approach are becoming ever clearer.
Many modern technologies use materials like copper, cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements.
Thesemetalsare in devices like cell phones, televisions, and motors.
Plus, many of these devices are inherentlydifficultto recycle.
This is because to make them, complex mixes of materials are created, often in very small quantities.
Its very expensive to collect and separate them for recycling.
These solutions prioritize simplicity and durability, local manufacture, as well as traditional or ancient techniques.
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Low-tech does not mean a return to medieval ways of living.
But it does demand more discernment in our choice of technologies and consideration of their disadvantages.
But it was the westernenergy crisisin the 1970s that really popularised these ideas.
Low-tech emphasizes efficiency and simplicity.
Schumachers mantle has been taken up by a growing movement calling itself low-tech.
Principles of low-tech include efficiency, durability, and accessibility.
Image: Arthur Keller and Emilien Bournigal/Wikimedia
Bihouix presents seven commandments of the low-tech movement.
Ancient solutions
Crucially, we can apply low-tech principles to our daily lives now.
For example, we can easily reduce energy demand fromheatingby using warm clothes and blankets.
Architectureoffers multiple opportunities for low-tech approaches, especially if we learn from history.
Windcatchers in Yazd, Iran, cool buildings using wind.
Image: Ms96/Wikimedia
Design and manufacture for sustainability emphasize reducing waste, often through avoiding mixing and contaminating materials.
Simple materials like plain carbon steels, joined using removable fasteners, areeasy to recycleand locally repair.
In some places, the principles of low tech are already influencing urban design and industrial policy.
Meanwhile, in Japan, theres emerging interest in the reuse and recycling practices of theEdo period.
