Our earth is a planet of finite resources. Such a shame that many people think otherwise. Although not everyone has this mindset, it does not change the fact that our earth resources are declining. We need to create a more solid stance to save our home, something that is missing though the economy powered by ignorant companies.
People have taken this planet for granted. We are blindsided by the availability of technology. Did you know that the so called technology you are depending on is made of non-renewable resources? Yet people rely on these technology to find a solution to our limited resource issue.
Nature is something that is irreplaceable. Technology may help but it cannot stop our recourses from declining in numbers. In fact, technology is fast consuming our resources, accelerating the degradation of our planet. Once this environment has been exhausted through the damaging footprints humans leave behind, how will we continue to live. These damages has causes major global warming across the planet and have become a major issue which scientists have been battling with. Our earth is going barren and unsuitable for living.
This video is a good wake up call to all of us who has loss that sense of caring to this planet, something we loss along the way through the life this world has offered. We as a designer has that knowledge to create products which can make a significant impact. We must realise this knowledge and be aware of the current state of our planet and try as much as we can to convey this message in our design to bring about change.
While as a consumer, we need to start thinking about our purchase decisions. We have the knowledge to change how we think and live. Live smarter and greener in every step of our life. It does not have to be a big decision, even a small simple habit can make a difference to this world. We live in this earth, therefore we are responsible for rehabilitating this scarred planet. Act responsibly for a future we all long for.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Video Reflection - The Light Bulb Conspiracy
It is such a shame and waste that today, products are made only to be used for a certain life span which would then be replaced over and over again. What makes it worse is the fact that this cycle exists because of the greediness of some people for money. They do not think of this world as a limited resource, abusing what is provided through mother earth. In doing this, they are preventing our next generation to enjoy what is provided.
We are born in a world where we are constantly being offered of the things that we could buy, even though we probably do not need them. Through the clever marketing being fed to us as consumers, we buy more unneeded products which would most probably just become waste at the end of use. Did you ever considered where did the waste go? Was it illegally dumped? Was it recycled? Did it create pollution? This was not the product I wanted to design when I decided to be a designer.
The light bulb is a symbol of ideas used as an example to how obsolescence started. The light bulb was agreed to have a shortened lifespan from 2500 hours to 1000 hours in order to increase sales and repurchase, therefore generating more profit for the companies. It may seems like a good idea to boost the economy on a first glimpse, however once you keep watching the documentary, you start realising that this conspiracy was not thinking of the greater good for the economy, but instead towards the greater profit of companies.
This documentary is very honest and straight forward that would definitely change someone's perspective of mass produce. It definitely opened my eyes as a designer. It shows that this whole planned obsolescence is very wasteful to our resources which we of course know is very limited. We can definitely design something that last longer and give it a higher price for the quality. In that case it would both benefit the consumers, companies and most importantly the future of our resources. Start to hink about how we can play a part in designing a greener products.
We are born in a world where we are constantly being offered of the things that we could buy, even though we probably do not need them. Through the clever marketing being fed to us as consumers, we buy more unneeded products which would most probably just become waste at the end of use. Did you ever considered where did the waste go? Was it illegally dumped? Was it recycled? Did it create pollution? This was not the product I wanted to design when I decided to be a designer.
The light bulb is a symbol of ideas used as an example to how obsolescence started. The light bulb was agreed to have a shortened lifespan from 2500 hours to 1000 hours in order to increase sales and repurchase, therefore generating more profit for the companies. It may seems like a good idea to boost the economy on a first glimpse, however once you keep watching the documentary, you start realising that this conspiracy was not thinking of the greater good for the economy, but instead towards the greater profit of companies.
This documentary is very honest and straight forward that would definitely change someone's perspective of mass produce. It definitely opened my eyes as a designer. It shows that this whole planned obsolescence is very wasteful to our resources which we of course know is very limited. We can definitely design something that last longer and give it a higher price for the quality. In that case it would both benefit the consumers, companies and most importantly the future of our resources. Start to hink about how we can play a part in designing a greener products.
Monday, October 15, 2012
PSS: Go Compost
Making your own garden compost is a lot easier than most people realise. With simple steps, you can recycle most of the organic household and garden waste and use it to enrich the garden’s soil at the same time. However, composting at home is not a popular practice and although people have tried to do it, it is hard to make it a continuous habit and sometimes, the compost bin just sits in the house without being used.
Compost is also sometimes identified with being complex and time consuming. This system proposes a compost system in an apartment complex. Using the bokashi powder instead of worms, it creates a cleaner compost without odour. It also does not have all the extra work needed for vermicomposting. The mixture does not need to be rotated and the rules to making bokashi mix is not as complicated as vermicompost.
The bins would be put inside each garbage room which residents go to on a daily basis. By putting it in a room where residents go daily, it initiates the possibility of creating a new habit. Rather than having an extra area for the compost system, which would make it as an extra task as residents would need to go to a certain area to do compost or having an extra bin in their houses where it might not be used. As the compost is managed by the apartment complex, residents need not worry about what to do with their compost when it is ready.
Video Review
Giving packaging a new life
Being born in a country that lacks awareness of recycling, it's very interesting to see different recycling cycles in the world.
Who knew that different materials could be recycled over and over again? Paper is a very good example of this. Did you know that new paper itself contains recycled paper? Toilet paper/tissues is about 60% recycled. Cardboard boxes are also made of recycled paper. And at the end of use, it can be recycled again.
I've always thought that tetrapacks are thick cardboards, but discovered that it's not as simple as that. Tetrapacks contains aluminium and polypropylene mixed with premium recycled papers. What's surprising is the capability of it to be recycled with the contained materials.
Plastic has always been advertised as a bad material for the environment. But further developments in technology allows degradable plastics to be created and in turn, more and more plastic are being recycled each day. The video shows how polystyrene is melted to create new bottles, but it may lose some of its physical properties.
Glass bottles uses less energy than producing metals and plastics and it can be recycled endlessly. It's interesting to see that molten glass is made from combining natural ingredients. However, recycling glass seems to be a tedious process.
This video gives a good insight of how designers should think about their material choice. The significance of recycling might affect the way a designer think. It could be more cost efficiency or the material may improve the design with its properties. It is also important for designers to think about the environment impact of their materials. Understanding the importance of sustainability could maximizes the product life cycle, thus reducing garbage in the landfill.
Being born in a country that lacks awareness of recycling, it's very interesting to see different recycling cycles in the world.
Who knew that different materials could be recycled over and over again? Paper is a very good example of this. Did you know that new paper itself contains recycled paper? Toilet paper/tissues is about 60% recycled. Cardboard boxes are also made of recycled paper. And at the end of use, it can be recycled again.
I've always thought that tetrapacks are thick cardboards, but discovered that it's not as simple as that. Tetrapacks contains aluminium and polypropylene mixed with premium recycled papers. What's surprising is the capability of it to be recycled with the contained materials.
Plastic has always been advertised as a bad material for the environment. But further developments in technology allows degradable plastics to be created and in turn, more and more plastic are being recycled each day. The video shows how polystyrene is melted to create new bottles, but it may lose some of its physical properties.
Glass bottles uses less energy than producing metals and plastics and it can be recycled endlessly. It's interesting to see that molten glass is made from combining natural ingredients. However, recycling glass seems to be a tedious process.
This video gives a good insight of how designers should think about their material choice. The significance of recycling might affect the way a designer think. It could be more cost efficiency or the material may improve the design with its properties. It is also important for designers to think about the environment impact of their materials. Understanding the importance of sustainability could maximizes the product life cycle, thus reducing garbage in the landfill.
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