Happy Earth Day.
I had the privilege of attending AIGA’S second of four sessions geared toward the 2009 Compostmodern Workshop in SanFran. If last week was about scale, this week was definately about statistics. We watched two videos, one from Michel Gelobeter and the other from Saul Griffith. You might know of Saul through wattzon.com.
Lots of facts: In 1901, 50% of a family’s income was spent on food; today only 9%, but that is because we are now spending 25-30% on daycare and 25% on transportation. The reason–higher use of fossil fuels–so in a way, we are driving to work to pay for daycare to drive to the grocery store–so we are now spending over half of our income on these three things. Speaking of driving, we can actually go from 25 miles per gallon to 85 mpg if we reduce our speed from 85 miles per hour to around 45.
What does all this mean? It means as a society we have to stop spending our money and resources on disposable items. We need to create solutions that last longer and are better suitable for the environment. Designers need to start thinking about the full life cycle of their projects and ask questions up front that target the end use—is it headed to the landfill or the earth or the recycling center? We all need to do our part now to conserve energy and lower CO2 emissions. In other words, SLOW DOWN.
Here are 6 useful examples that inspire action:
Book: Green Graphic Design by Celery and Brian Dougherty
Article: Read this: World Without Oil, Amen
Movie: End of Suburbia–haven’t seen it personally, but it was recommended last week at the event.
URL: TED.com
Magazine: Good Magazine has reduced its print frequency to save material and transportation costs.
Building: The Vancouver Convention Centre: The largest green roof ever for a commercial building with a water-use reduction of 60% to 70%.
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Coming Soon! |
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