Readings 09.28.11

Economy, Ecology, and Equity:
In order for something to be vital, it has to have growth, a free form of energy, and an open system of chemicals. Materials should be able to produce and reproduce itself without hurting the environment. We aim to doing the right thing, not doing something less bad. That means we have to design with positivity. All the articles for today was linked together in so many ways. A couple of articles used the quote, "If brute force isn't working, you are not using enough of it." We as designers need to push ourselves to create ways of being eco-efficient but still send our message. One thing I liked about this article was when he talked about cradle-to-cradle cycling where you reuse things for other things. I was looking at ways to create gardening tools using old household items like milk cartons and yogurt cartons. It's not as world changing as using milk jugs to make a park bench but it's a start.

Sustainable Business:
This was an interesting article to see how different companies are trying to become more eco-friendly. The Natural Step is a huge company that educates other companies. It's good that they are across the world tackling issues specific to that country. Reading about them working with big corporations like Home Depot, Nike, and McDonald's and really changing the way these companies produce and manufacture their products. I want an organic McDonald's here. In general, it took a lot of research to get things to change and that's something that we have to do too. Research, research, research.

Eco-effectiveness:
Thinking about different ways a book could be was a good opening to this article. Technology has advanced enough where there are things like the Kindle and the iPad where you can travel with an electronic book. This reduces the effect books has on our environment but it doesn't solve the problem. Not just with books but with other things, how can we rethink what things are made of and the relationship it has with nature? Can it be both good for us and the environment? This ties back to the first article and eco-efficiency. I liked the example of ants because they use everything they found and recycles it back into nature. This is something we should try to achieve and even through our designs, it could be possible.

Why Being Less Bad is No Good:
Being less bad is still being bad and being bad isn't being good, so we aim to just be good. This idea goes back to the first article as well with the idea of being 100% good. I thought it was interesting when the article kind of contradicted all the other three by saying that eco-efficiency isn't the strategy for success over long term. It can only take us so far before it stops being influential. We need to think of something to keep what we have right now the way it is but still have our resources. Our goal is to have zero waste, zero emissions, and zero footprints. This won't be achieved in years but if we start now, it will be possible in the very future.