The United Nation Trip was a rare opportunity. Students in The New School, taking Sustainability class gathered together listening to three inspiring speakers regarding incorporating sustainability into design.
Design Idea
Every speaker has a different approach to incorporating sustainability into design. One design idea that stood out to me was Lauren Redniss’s non-fictional book publication. I’ve always thought that in order to address this issue, I would have to contribute physically, directly handle the issue for instance beach clean up. Lauren applied her strengths, her gift in art, to address environmental issues. She published a book to educate children and adolescents on systems such as the water cycle as well as other systems that needs further development. I personally believe that her approach is rather successful, this way, we can strive and work harder to promote sustainability through a medium that we are interested in. I would say that it is less impactful if it’s a physical book. Since we are more technological oriented, it would be better if it could be accessed online or in a way where the viewer could interact with it. From experience, interaction can possibly help the viewer absorb the information more efficiently. I believe that many are ignorant about issues such as problems caused by commercial factories. Since we are not directly and physically exposed to the issues at hand it is easy to forget that these issues exist.
Inspiring Policy Idea
Since we live off energy, I found it inspiring that Denmark is funding, investing more money into a new sustainable energy system. In order to do so, the government have to raise the cost of energy. But it has its pros and cons, one of the pros include people will have more incentive to use less energy, meaning less air pollution. I believe that even slight changes to one’s lifestyle can improve our environment. This policy can lessen burnt fuels, which means less toxic air particles lingering in the air. However, considering that each household would pay more for their energy, some may not agree with this strategy. As Denmark hoping to achieve an eco-friendly community, it is more likely that the public understands why their energy bills will be charged more. However, since people from different from other countries have an alternate mindset, this policy is less likely to pass. I believe that the public should have the right mindset and this is where education plays. People in Denmark have been educated and the community has the same mentality, one that prioritizes the environment before their own lifestyle. In order to achieve the best results, I wish in the future that I will be able to educate the public about the issues at hand by allowing them to interact or expose to them the externalities through simulations in ways that could potentially alter their perception towards commercial products, recycling and so on.
Captivating Fact
The fact that Finn and his team was ambitious to travel up to Greenland to witness the melting iceberg was astonishing. I was emotional during the short film, because it was hard not to feel guilty that I have been living my life in ignorance. Our world is collapsing as we speak. It was brave enough for them to travel to places far away from the city to capture evidence of the damages we are making. People like them bring actual reality to “our reality”. It is difficult to intrinsically motivate the public to make a change, since our society has been shaped in a way where we are taught and trained to focus only on our daily routines, our future in career and relationships. I am not an adventurous outdoor person like Finn, however, I hope to expose these issues to the public and inspire them to make a change through design, such as creating an interactive system, for instance an environmental awareness trivia app that could educate students on current issues.
