ARD501 The sustainable lie lecture at the Nickwhitehead (15th October 2013)

In the first quarter an hour of the lecture, we had alot of global warming shoved down our throats. And pretty soon; unsurprisingly us the designers/ artists were being blamed for 80% of the damage caused by global warming. While there are elements of this statement may be true, I feel quite annoyed that we are being blamed where this issue involves everyone therefore the responsibilty should be shared. I am not one of those eco warriors but nor do I wish the consequences of the inevitable to occur sooner than it should. your probably thinking why I want to prevent the inevitable? As humans, we are very selfish, prone to great levels of arrogance and lack of wisdom and lack of care for our own futures. Our idea of survival seems to be mainly focused on one thing: we are determined to colonise other planets for the sake of our own. Are artists really the cause for most of the damage?

Here are some random scribbles I wrote during the lecture.

• 80% of the damage is derived from the development stage in design.
• Last year, a new product was launched every three minutes. 
• The US budget last year for deign was $400 billion.
• 2% - 4% of carbon dioxide contributes toward emissions. (Depends on what figures you have.)
• 5% - 7% of global warming is caused by cement industries.
• Starbucks dispose 2.3 million cups within a year.
• The biggest contribution of carbon emissions is: Exxon Mobil. (146m tonnes of carbon dioxide.)
• 50% - 75% of humans lack the basic requirements of everyday life. 

Many designs/ products today are classes as inefficient use of energy, water and natural resources.

However; a few good ones manage to squeeze it's way through i.e.  a toaster that has side compartments to keep the toast warm and crisp. As designers, we must consider the materials and techniques. 

Paper bags VS Plastic bags. 

If plastic and paper bags are bad, then fabric bags make more sense.

The role of the designers

Designers have an incredibly important role, they hold a special position between the producer and the consumer i.e. you! This aparatently therefore makes the artists/ designers the first ones to blame. (Remember, 80% damage because of the design.) Future designs should consider:

• How things are solved.
• How materials are used.
• Construction process.
• How efficient will they be?
• Design a product theory action.
• Design with, not for.
• Design systems not stuff.
• Document, share and measure.
• Always cross examine.
• Better lives, less stuff.

The characteristics of the following materials.

• Paper - Can be recycled by requires some kind of bleach process to remove the ink i.e. dioxides. Every person in the UK uses the equivalent of 2 trees a year.
• Glass - Can recycle, but requires much energy to do so.
• Plastic - This is the most recyclable but must be sorted, which can be very costly. Currently, the UK sells half of their plastic bottles that are being recycled to China for £50.00 a tonne. 
• Metal - Can Recycle but some metals are non recyclable. Only half of our food and pet cans are currently being recycle. 

Take for example: the packaging for McDonalds food in the 1990s. Today we use a thin cardboard alternative, but shockingly, the plastic ones proved to be far more beneficial. They require 30% less energy to make, 46% less atmospheric emissions and 42% less water borne waste. Another example is Quorn. It's a mince substitute, reduced packaging, cheaper looking ... result? less sales. where is "less is more?" The consumer looks through their stomachs or how pretty it looks. They believe that because something looks a cheaper quality than it won't taste good, therefore they won't buy it.