by Doug Mclnnis '70
Illustrations by Peter Horvath

Is it time to abandon Earth? Stephen Hawking, the most famous physicist since Einstein, thinks that day is coming. He fears global warming will roast our world; the only way to save any vestige of humanity may be to send small groups of humans to more habitable planets. • Architect Bill McDonough, on the other hand, thinks we can save the earth by redesigning industrial society--our homes, schools, and factories--to function like trees. His optimism may seem far-fetched, but Oberlin has a reputation for pioneering ideas that seemed preposterous at the time, only to become fixtures in our society. This time it's with the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies, an eco-efficient building that could become a prototype of a new-age environmentalism.

OUR MODEL FOR A NEW INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IS SIMPLE AND FREE: A TREE