Tag Archives: Sustainable Systems

Filthy Streets Solutions

People take action when things get extreme, so a filthy city may need to get to a point where there is an extreme amount of filth, even to the point of disease, until finally deciding to do something about it.

When I walk around the streets of NYC I can’t help but notice the extremely horrible smell of trash. Trying to solve this problem in the way Amory Lovins would my solution to this problem would be building underground system where trash can be kept, this way we can avoid having streets filled with trash, and can also avoid having such bad smells on the streets. This way this system has multiple benefits.

Restaurants and companies that keep the streets clear of their waste and food should be rewarded.

Think of new ways to design transportation were so many fumes wont be relaeased into the air.

Plastic Bags

Organizing one of our kitchen closets the other day I could not help but notice the amount of plastic bags that had gathered there over the weeks. I actually felt quiet disappointed in myself staring at that pile of plastic bags.  I try to keep track of the amount of plastic bags I am leaving the store with, but it all ends up adding up without me even realizing it.

It’s not like I don’t end up using the bags. I do! I use the bags as trash bags! Still, even though I am using the bags the amount I’m using, as trash bags are far less than the amount I’m getting from stores.  Above that, even the bags I end up using as trash bags eventually go to waist when I throw my trash away.

I want to try and buy one of those reusable bags you find at almost any supermarket. Even though it’s a hassle to always have one around. It will  stop my pile of bags from doubling, or even tripling!

 

Energy Loss

Air conditions and refrigerators are both devices meant to cool, but unfortunately in order to turn warm air into cool air, heat energy is inevitably lost in the process.  My solution to this would make these machines more costly, and might not really be a solution, but it’s all I could think of because there is no way to avoid losing energy. If the heat energy being released went through another cycle of cooling more heat energy would still be lost, but at least the amount of energy being lost would be less.  Yes’ it will take a lot of energy, but wouldn’t less heat energy be wasted? The amount of heat energy being lost at the start isn’t a lot, so the amount of energy needed to cool, wouldn’t really be a lot.

Paper Napkins

Every day of the week, right before I go to my morning classes, I make a cheese sandwich. I’m too lazy to use a plate and end up having to wash it afterward, so I usually use a paper napkin. Strangely, as out of it as I am every morning I really started to think about all those tissues going to waste because of my laziness.

Not only am I throwing away paper towels for no reason, but I’m not even recycling them. I know which recycling bin my paper napkins belong in. Do they belong with papers? I usually through my paper napkins in the waste bins because I don’t really see how they can be recycled after use.

Recently, I learnt that paper towels could be recycled as compost to enrich soil. I’m going to try and not use paper napkins as much =, but when I do, I’ll remember the correct way to recycle them.

Paper Towels Going to Waste

Back home I wasn’t required to wash the dishes as often as I do living in the dorms. Any kitchenware that I use needs to be immediately dried after the dishes are washed. The only problem with that is that there is no place for me to lay my dishes out to dry in my small dorm space. I end up having to use paper towels every time I wash a dish.

The amount of paper towels we use per day to dry our dishes is not helping me become a more eco-friendly person.  Before you tell me that I can become more eco-friendly by simply using a towel I would like to say that I’m possibly slightly OCD and I think its one of the most unhygienic things to do in a dorm. I had a white towel, which is currently brown. So a towel isn’t an option either.

The only solution I can think of is having more space for me to leave my things to dry on. I hope that whoever is planning on designing a kitchen space or any dorm in general remember to make space for people to lay out their dishes on.

Reading + Reflection 6

Maybe this article isn’t an example for resilience methodology because we’ve probably past the point of recovery as a planet, but it does give examples of systems that can be used to stop things from escalating further or becoming worse. We can choose to incorporate Eco design into our daily lives, but buying eco designed products.  The materials our products are made out of also have different levels of environmental effects.

This article has many visual learners, which made the reading much easier for me since I consider myself a visual learner. The images as well as the diagrams spread out across the article demonstrate what needs to be understood from this article. The diagrams helped me connect the different factors related populations and their sustainability together.

Flushing sensors

Most of my classes are located at 2 west 13th street, so I couldn’t help, but notice the crazy flushing toilets. This may seem like a weird thing to talk about, but it doesn’t make this subject any less important.

Every time I enter any of the toilet stoles the first thing I hear is the sound of the toilet flushing. Thanks to the well working censors the toilet basically flushes every time you make a move. One trip to the bathroom could result in three full flushes! The amount of extra water that is unnecessarily going to waste is insane!

The New School is considered a sustainable school, and I know they’re not all bad at it in this particular toilet flushing issue. The toilets at the new building have sensors located in the back, facing upward, and in order for the toilet to flush you have to have you hand directly above the sensor, so no unnecessary flushing takes place! It may be costly to change the sensors on 2 west 13th street, but it would definitely save a lot of water.