WS 7 Imagining the Future p. 535 Paul DiStefano

This article brings up a very interesting topic, “hope.” We all know that things are bad and that we need to do something, but not many of us actually do anything. We think that these problems are too big for us and that there is no way we can make a difference. This is the wrong way to think. If everyone does his or her part, it is not just one person making a difference; it is the world making a difference. When we just hope for a better future nothing happens. We just sit back and pray that a higher power will come save the day, when it is us that has to do the saving. It is good to imagine and hope that our future will work its way out, but it’s the action that actually does something.

WS 6 A Personal Action Plan p. 513 Paul DiStefano

I thought this article was very well written. It explains that obviously not everyone is an environmentalist. That most people have their plan and that they know who they are and what they want to do. People have their jobs and their interests and that is what is important, but if you become the “environment aware” version of that person, then we will all take a step in the right direction. Being conscious is what is needed in order to change the world, not becoming an environmentalist. All we need to do is make “changing the way we live” a part of our plan, and doing the small stuff that no one thinks will help, and we will be on our way to a better future.

WS 5 Landmines p. 218 Paul DiStefano

This article has really made me aware of how terrible landmines are. Obviously they are terrible because of how deadly they are, but they do much more to the world in general. They only cost about three dollars to make and kill over a thousand people a month. There are still about forty five million still scattered worldwide. They tear apart our planet and are extremely expensive to have removed. No matter what, these landmines are doing harm to the earth, even if they never go off. They are one of the worst things ever created and the only way to truly get rid of them is to design a way to remove them with less destruction to land and our wallets.

WS 4 Landscaping p. 198 Paul DiStefano

This article was very interesting to me. It explained that lawns are absolutely pointless and that we should change the way we think about landscaping. Lawns are an endless cycle of fertilizing, watering, and energy, and serve almost no point in our lives. They have almost nothing to do with nature and are a waste of time and energy. We are wasting space, and money on an area that could be put to good, helpful, and productive use. It would be much more purposeful if we were putting that effort into maintaining a garden, or anything else that would actually make a difference. Unlike a boring lawn that serves almost no purpose except that we think it looks good.

WS 3 Biomimicry p. 99 Paul DiStefano

With technology being as big as it is these days, and will be in the future, artists have really stepped away from nature. Long ago nature had a much bigger role in artist’s work. Using much scenery and use of outdoor space, you can tell that nature was one of the biggest inspirations for artwork. Times have changed however, and with much more focus on computer graphics, design, and technology, nature has lost touch with much art. I believe that even with technology in the rise, nature should still have a bigger impact in our artwork and in our lives. Our land did not form to us, but we formed the land. We did not change to fit our surroundings, but we fit it to us. Our land is much more important to us than many stop to think about. It is the reason why we are alive and even able to create new technology. We cannot continue to ignore how we are treating our planet. If nature played the same role it did many years ago, today, then maybe people will realize what’s going on and make a difference.

WS 2 Art Meets Technology p. 96 Paul DiStefano

Artists are designing the future, and as technology advances, artists have the responsibility to design in an environmental friendly way. This is a very important statement that I believe all artists have to realize. With technology souring in the art field, many of us have turned away from our environment. The world is becoming all about “faster, smaller, and smarter,” and as designers, we are required to think that way. However, when thinking this way, we have to still be conscious of our future. What will happen tomorrow? Or what will happen twenty years from now? These are questions we have to ask ourselves in order to be positive contributors to our world.

WS 1 Questioning Consumption p. 32 Paul DiStefano

This article addresses the points that we talk much about in lecture, and that is consumption. As Americans we have always been about “stuff.” We think that the more “stuff” we have, the more successful we are. This is a way of life that we have to break away from. We are at the point where our world is getting smaller and smaller and the only way to keep from destroying it, is to consume less. Consuming is obviously very important and we need to do it in order to survive, but we have to know when we are consuming too much. We have to consume only the amount that we need, and less of what we want.

WC#7 – Thinking Differently About Water: German engineering (pg. 191)

The Germans have been engineering and designing to catcht rainwater to use it as a main source of water, since the 70s. They have installed many prototypes in Germany and have proved that rain water can provide for up to 51% of household water usage. Although many worry it may not be a great source for drinking water, this 51% is for toilets, washing clothes, and smaller uses of water at home.
I’ve thought about catching rainwater since I was a child, and though, today, it seams plausible I do see some problems that may occur. Rainwater is not as clean today as it has been, then again…65 million years ago it was black. Nevertheless it isn’t completely safe to drink without major filtration. Furthermore we’re going to take water from the water cycle and displace it to a different location, like into the sewer? Unless everyone has a septic tank that filters the water back into the cycle, which I assume almost no one in the city does. I think there are many possibilities with this idea but it needs much more development and as of now it is not very eco-friendly do to the disturbance in the water cycle.

WC#6 - Building a Green Home (pg. 147) Ryan Thurmer

I feel like when many of us think of what we can do to reduce our emissions, or become more environmentally conscious we don’t think of our home right away. We definitely think about our cars, our light bulbs, even the cleaners we use then we might think about the actual structure that we live in as something that is causing the same problems our cars are. Worldchanging thinks of a home as an appliance, after we use it and we are done with it, we move on. When the kids are out and the house can not be improved any more by remodeling we move on. Creating homes with this in mind with give us a head up on climate change. Using carbon natural homes, prefabricated homes, and modular homes that can be easily built, redesign, and taken down. This forward thinking in design is what makes a product a great design. Especially in design, but even more so in architecture, we have to think about what will happen to this when we are done with it, then our designs will be worldchanging.

WC#5 Producer Responsibility - Pop-apart Cell Phones (pg 119) Ryan Thurmer

This article surprised me, since this idea is so brilliantly simple. Apparently today most electronics and cell phones are not recycled because it costs more to pay someone to take them apart and sort the parts than the parts are actually worth. What if these electronics took themselves apart…in one second?! Nokia is developing a phone, and has a prototype for a phone, that does just this. The points that need to pop apart have a “memory alloy spring” to push apart the plastic parts and electronic components. Under a certain laser’s temperature these springs release and the phone is dissembled, in under two seconds. As a student in design I thought this is just what designers need to be designing, finally we are realizing that most of our designs end up in the trash at some point, and that all of this trash is causing loads of problems. Why not design products specifically to be recycled, or that even recycle themselves? In the mean time designing for repair rather than designing to “break then buy a new one” is something everyone can start today. These are definitely all steps toward closing the linear path of production making it a circulating system.

WC#4 - Copyfight (pg. 337) Ryan Thurmer

As an artist, or creator of anything, the opposition to copyright comes, initially, as a shock; especially in our culture, which puts such an emphasis on valuing the ownership of material things. Why wouldn’t we also try and put a price on an idea? It seems almost natural at this point. But groups such as Creative Commons and the starters of the Copyleft movement have, for the last few decades, begun to lift this Copycurse that was originally meant to increase creativity and the building off of history. Though I do not think is a good idea to leave the problem of intellectual property law closed at either end, (either completely open to all, or completely confined to the maker.) I do believe Creative Commons, however, has the most flexible and useful system. Creative people can pick and choose what exactly their Creative Commons license entails such as “open for all use but sale, and the author must be given credit…” Having open-endedness like this is the only way to find true freedom in creativity while allowing the creative people to allow or deny access to their work, instead of having a law predetermine this everyone.

WC#3 - Green Remodeling: reuse centers (pg. 142-145) Ryan Thurmer

It doesn’t take an environmentalist or a genius to understand the benefits of recycling. This article focuses on the benefits of Reuse Centers in terms of building renovations, however a look at the stock of any Good Will or Salvation Army will show you practically everything you can see or have ever used can be RE-used. I specifically like this article because I am a big believer in recycling, and producing/buying as local as possible. THIS DOES BOTH! Utilizing reuse centers employs a local workforce, recycles functional objects back into our production system that would have otherwise been thrown out, and in many cases this center is linked to, and supports a charity. This is why I tend to buy clothes that are ether second hand, or made in America. I try to do this with most things I own or use, while still keeping functionality in mind.

Although improvements in technology are in many cases making products more energy efficient, and less hazardous to our health, it is important to consider buying something new for a slight change in function, over keeping a perfectly working product until it breaks. Then perhaps we should consider enhancing that product through upgrading rather than replacement, to keep our garbage out-put at a minimum.

WC#2 - Philips: Durability Trumps Green (pg. 390-391) Ryan Thurmer

The actual title of this article should really be: Philips: Durability Trumps Green Despite Hazardous Chemicals and Hidden Costs in Buying this Product. Netherlands’ based Philips found out that in order to sell green products to Americans they have to be able to do something else, since a products effect of the environment is the fourth or fifth factor in an American’s mind while purchasing a product. Philips has been manufacturing CFL lights since 1978 but really only became popular in America in the last 5-10 years. This is because, according to the article, when companies like Philips changed the name of the product from EARTHLIGHT to MARATHON sales increased because the marketing is now based on performance and function rather than its effect on the environment.

Ironically, though, these CFLs contain enough of a percentage of mercury that they have to be disposed of properly (with a monetary cost) and are in fact illegal to throw out in some states. Good luck trying to get that out of your carpet when they break. Don’t get me wrong using less energy for the same amount of light is a great idea but, at what cost to our health? Yes they use less energy, but they are hazardous to us to a point. Now if they can replace mercury alloy in dental fillings, thermometers, felt manufacture, primer composition (in ammunition) and the like...I’m confident we will see CFLs w/o mercury in World Changing 2.0.

WC#1 - Space Elevator (pg. 533-534) Ryan Thurmer

The space elevator is a probable Earth-to-Space transportation device that would allow for easier, cheaper, access to space. I had previously heard of such a system prior to reading this in WC, and was able handle some of the carbon nano-fibers a group here at U of M is using to build a prototype. As awesome and farfetched as the idea of a Space Elevator may sound it’s extremely important that we follow through with the idea, and space exploration in general! The development of the space program has brought to Earth tons of scientific data about Earth our moon and beyond (such as some evidence for a changing climate), and countless innovations that we use on Earth every day: smoke detectors, enriched baby food, modern pavement, in-ear-thermometers, better cardiac pacemakers, scratch-resistant glasses…etc.

world Changing Response 7 Pete

World Changing Response #7

Designing a Sustainable World pg. 83

Ah! A How to for my education! How convenient! This was actually probably the most interesting article I read, it was extremely to the point and made a great deal of sense. Of particular point to me was “Product design isn’t merely architecture for small things; it’s a field in which a whole set of dynamic and unpredictable factors must be considered.” (pg. 84) While this may be for me simply a rallying point around design, it’s telling to think about the impact that the objects we design and how they impact the environment. Manufacturers produce designed consumer objects by the thousands and they are sent out into the world and the consumer may use them as they like. The designer has little control over how they are used, where they are used and how they are disposed of when they break. But the designer has complete control on the objects ecological footprint when the object is in the design stage. The designer can pick sustainable materials, design for less material waste during the manufacturing and design the object to use less energy over its life cycle.

The problem with designers thinking sustainably is designers getting caught in the trap of messing about with purely technical details. This often falls into the range of strengths of a materials science engineer and relinquishes the designer’s greatest strength. Designers have the power to create objects of “sheer gorgeousness”(pg 84) that consumers simply cannot resist. The designer can create sustainable objects of beauty that are indistinguishable from or more desirable than their unsustainable counterparts. They have the power to make sustainability mainstream, something the consumer doesn’t even have to think about; the beautiful products are the sustainable products.

world Changing Response 6 Pete

World Changing Response #6

Chinese Cities of the Future pg. 271

This was a very eye-opening article for me after a semester of evil, environmental China. It was interesting to see a China that knows that they have a problem and are actively moving to fix this problem. They have seen immense economic growth over the past 3 decades (the “Chinese Miracle”) and this rapid growth has come at a huge ecological cost. The Chinese have achieved their growth with outdated technologies, over consuming of materials and poor management of materials. This has lead to ecological issues that transcend simple quality-of-life issues; pollution kills people and slows the economic growth of Chinese cities. China has produced so much pollution that it has effectively called its economic vitality into question.

But China has seemed to recognize this and is actively moving to curb the flow of pollution. For example, on average Chinese buildings use 2 to 3 times as much energy per square foot as equivalent buildings in the Western world. But many Chinese ministers are trying to change this. Qiu Baoxing, China’s Construction Minister has proposed the worlds strictest green building standards. Buildings now being built are required to save 65% more energy than previous standards of building. China also is investing in model green cities with help from Western design firms which strive to build local for the area (using local renewable resources) and operate on a closed loop energy system.

All this growth is of course powered by largely economic concerns, James Carville’s adage “It’s the economy, stupid” certainly applies. China realizes that a nation that does not wisely control its resources can never succeed over a long period of time and that inefficiency is expensive. They are actively moving to repair their economy, even if the steps are small at first, and this was quite a change from the China that is ruining the world and does not care about it that we had learned from lecture. I believe that it is very beneficial to see two sides of an issue and I am glad that I read this article to get a glimpse of the side not offered in lecture.

World Changing Response 5 Pete

World Changing Response #5

Producer Responsibility pg. 119

Producer Responsibility was an interesting article for me as a design student, especially designing for disassembly and design for repair. It’s challenging to think about putting together as much as taking apart and I found it interesting that designs that are easy to take apart, are the easiest to put together. Things that dissemble easily are designed for two purposes, which accounts not only for the time an object spends occupying our lives but also for the time it takes to remove that object and return it to a little pile of metal and plastics, full of potential and waiting for the next step in its life.

Designing for repair was interesting to me as both a creative person who loves to work with his hands and as a bicycle mechanic. It actually reminds me of the repair manifesto, repairing before discarding. Everything is always going to break at some point in its life, you have to not only design to make this happen as little as possible, but so that when it does eventually happen, design to make parts repairable so that the object is not lost by one piece failing.

World Changing Response 4 Pete

World Changing Response #4

Open Source pg. 127

Ah, open source. I really only have ever thought of it in as relation to software. Programs such as Mozilla’s Firefox and Thunderbird, Audacity, Open Office, and the operating systems Linux all come to mind when thinking about free, open source software. Open source software is, at its core, free access to the source code, the base code of a program, and the freedom to do with it as you please. It was interesting to me to have this principle applied outside of the software world, cultural and intellectual ‘goods’ are increasingly easily applied to the open source world. That is, they are free or they will show you how to make it yourself. An example in the article was the open-journal movement. The profit oriented scientific journal requires high fee’s be paid by the academics who write the content. Recently, there has been a push for open, free online venues funded with small percentages of their research funds. Once this research has been published in the free online journal world, it’s free for anyone to use or read. The author excellently points out that is makes quite a bit of sense considering that most research is publicly funded in the first place.

Personally, the open source movement draws parallels to the Do It Yourself movement and websites such as Instructables.com and diynetwork.com. These sites have large catalogues of tutorials for how to make or do almost anything yourself. For instance, diynetwork.com has a large catalogue of home improvement how to and related projects and instructables.com caters to the hands-on maker. These sites, and their related movements are just physical extensions of the software open source world.

World Changing #7 Kathie Chung

World Changing #7
Charting the Deep Oceans pg. 521
Kathie Chung

When considering the well being of our planet, the ocean is one of the most important environments that we should be concerned about because the base of the land that we live on lies underwater. With the advanced technology that we now have, scientists are able to explore the ocean’s depth more accurately and further with equivalent equipment similar to the ones that NASA uses when researching space. Thus, this advance in ocean exploration can be called the oceanographic revolution. This revolution informed scientists that the oceans are being harmed by pollution and global warming as well, such as the dead zones called hypoxic, which are areas where life can not survive due to lack of oxygen. Due to global warming, thermal inertia will cause the temperature of the ocean to rise further causing harm to the life in the ocean such as the coral reefs and planktons. Phytoplanktons and coral reefs are sensitive to the change in the temperature of the water, and due to global warming; the temperature in the water caused a heat shock, changing the color of the reefs to white. Due to the reefs being sensitive to such slight changes, scientists use and study coral reefs to research the actual harm that people are causing the environment such as with global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

World Changing #6 Kathie Chung

World Changing #6
Biodiversity: How Much Nature is Enough? pg. 491
Kathie Chung

I found this article on the preservation of biodiversity very interesting. More and more species of animals and plants are going extinct, mostly due to the affects of humans. Even though humans may try to clone extinct species, it will most likely not be the same because the instincts of different species are learned from their various ecosystems, and therefore the interaction between the species with other outside factors may change how the cloned extinct specie interacts. Frozen zooz, which are frozen genetic zoos from different species DNA, store DNA so that scientists can try to revive and record different species before they go extinct. One way to remember and commemorate those species that went extinct or are about to due to human intervention, tattoos is used as well as other forms of body art. However, even though there are issues of a variety of species on the bridge of extinction, involuntary parks such as the one in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, where there are no human interaction, is slowly starting to be inhabited by rare species that are on the brink of extinction.