Explore articles published in the New York Times within the last month in the “Climate and Environment Section”
– What was the most interesting visual that you found (photograph, diagram etc.) and why was it so powerful to you? Include the image and the link in your post.
One of my favorite article in the “Climate and Environment Section“ is ”Climate Change Denialists Say Polar Bears Are Fine. Scientists Are Pushing Back“. Unlike any other article tells the readers to protect the environment, this article mainly talks about the condition of Denialists spreading misinformation about the causes and consequences of climate change online. Nowadays almost every individual uses Internet to get information and people trust the Internet. It is very dangerous when some “fake” scientists telling people that the Global Warming is not caused by human activities. These wrong informations online will keep encouraging people to hurt our homeland again and again
– Given what you learned in this article, how different do you think the environment be 50 years from now (the year 2070)?
In the article, Mainstream scientists points out that polar bear numbers will decline drastically as Arctic sea ice disappears because the bear use the ice as a platform to hunt seals. When the ice melted, polar bears will have no home to live and they will have no place to get food. Initially, I thought those animals who are in danger will not disappear in that quick speed. However, as I read the article, I learned that the changing of climate will not only affect animals’ home but also their living habits.
– In what ways do you think these realities will impact your work and life 50 years from now?
In the next 50 years, Global Warming will be a huge issue that people need to consider about. My design and work should not only focus on aesthetics but Long life design. The resource on the earth that we are using now is limited and precious. If we designers do not have a plan for the future, we will soon run out of the material on the earth. In the next 50 years, I want to have a better plan for using green products and developing the use of new energy.
How might these realities affect your final project design ideas?
As I want to design a product using for more than 50 years, I need to think more factors into considerations. The life in 50 years is very different from now as the climate change and people’s habits will change rapidly. The product I am making, should not only be useful and long lasting, but also need to fulfill the demand of against nature disaster and rapid climate changes.
2) Conduct independent research on Social Resiliency.
– How does social resiliency differ from infrastructural and urban resiliency?
The term social resiliency means the social entities’ abilities to tolerate and absorb to environmental of various kinds. And the term infrastructural and urban resiliency means the ability of how a city will recover after natural disasters.
– How would you explain social resiliency to a friend or family member?
Social resiliency measures how people overcome immediate threats, anticipate future risks and their ability to access assets and assistance from the wider socio-political arena.
– Why might social resilience be important in the context of climate change (think about Hurricane Sandy or other environmentally related natural disasters etc.).
The climate change will cause unpredictable natural disaster, and those natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy will destroy the city and people’s home. The governments’ responsibility is to recover the infrastructure of the city and it is also very important for the citizen to have the ability to overcome immediate threats.
How important do you think it is for designers to consider and encourage resiliency among people in their work? Why?
To develop a city’s urban resiliency is not an easy thing and it is a long process. The designer could include resilience elements in the infrastructure but that is not enough to against the natural disasters. If every citizens could consider resiliency in their daily works, all the products and designs will be more resiliency than before.
-What is an experience you have had, or an object/design that you have, that you feel supports social resiliency in you? (i.e. makes you feel stronger, not alone, connected to the earth, other people, animals, the planet, prepared, capable and able to deal with changes etc.).
One of the object I had experience is the bubble water that people can “eat”. Our society is wasting tons of plastic in making plastic bottles for waters. This design solved the problem of making too much plastic bottles because people can eat the cover of the product while drinking water.
– How might design encourage and invite social resiliency?
Recently I have read an article on the New York Times. It talks about a college student Matthew Walzer wrote a letter to Nike several years ago and trying to explain the problem of having trouble tying laces and slipping into shoes without help. This is also a huge problem that the designers need to face— how design for one turns into design for all. The product needs to be able to deal with changes.
Would you like your final project to support social resiliency?
Yes, I would like my final project to support social resiliency. Maybe the object is not huge enough to change the whole society, but I want my product to encourage people and shows the importance of social resiliency.
3) Develop three final project ideas. What will you make and why? (an object, clothing, set of tools, skill manual, a design for connecting you to other people, animals or the earth, creates meaningful social connections with others etc.) Include sketches for each idea (and bring these sketches to class next week). For each idea, answer the following:
Design1: Waterproof Mobile Bracelet
1) What is your idea and in what ways will this object/design be useful to you over 50 years of change? Think about how each design could have meaning and be useful in your daily life for several decades.
Waterproof Mobile Bracelet is a waterproof electronic bracelet that people can wear it on their arms. With this bracelet, people do not actually need to carry their phone everyday to check emails and contact their friends. The Waterproof Mobile Bracelet will use people’s skin as the background and project the informations. This will be a development of electronic device.
2) How will this design be resilient (used in more than one way etc. and/or encourage social resiliency through its usage)?
A bracelet on people’s arms will not be easily to lost and the whole product will become lighter than a phone. Moreover, it will protect people’s eyes as they will watch their skin instead of a screen.
3) What specific event(s) of environmental change will it help YOU adapt to or address?
In this high-speed society, people need to deal with tons of information from the internet and they cannot leave their phone for even a second. When people looking at skin, they will be remind to care about their health more.
4) How will this design be repaired?
As it is an electronic device, it will be repaired at Waterproof Mobile Bracelet store and they will have professional people to repair it.
5) What materials will you use for this design given what you have learned this semester about natural/biological/recycled materials? (Consider how climate change might affect the availability of some materials.
As this electronic device need to be charged everyday as phone, I will design a solar panel on it therefore it will be charged while people walking under the sun and this device will explore the use of new energy.
6) Which of the Long Life Design criteria预览文档 does this design fulfill?
Sales: people are willing to buy this product because they can use everyday.
Function: it is functional and it is easy to wear and use.
Environment: This product will explore the use of new energy.
Design2: Eatable Bubble
1) What is your idea and in what ways will this object/design be useful to you over 50 years of change? Think about how each design could have meaning and be useful in your daily life for several decades.
This product is a bubble like drinks and concentrated food. They are very small and people can put them in their pocket. Meanwhile, the cover of the of the bubble is nontoxic and eatable.
2) How will this design be resilient (used in more than one way etc. and/or encourage social resiliency through its usage)?
Our society is wasting tons of plastic in making plastic bottles for waters. This design solved the problem of making too much plastic bottles because people can eat the cover of the product while drinking water.
3) What specific event(s) of environmental change will it help YOU adapt to or address?
The Global Warming problems which caused by human activities. People have created a lot of plastic on earth and the material is toxic and nondegradable。
4) How will this design be repaired?
This design actually does not need repairing as it is a kind of food.
5) What materials will you use for this design given what you have learned this semester about natural/biological/recycled materials? (Consider how climate change might affect the availability of some materials.
The most important part of this product is the cover. I want to find a material that extracting from the plant so that they are eatable.
6) Which of the Long Life Design criteria预览文档 does this design fulfill?
Cost: The cost of this product will not be very high that every individual can buy.
Sales: They are everyday product so that people need to buy a lot of them.
Function: They are easy to eat.
Environment: All the material are green materials.
Design3: Solar powered Umbrella
1) What is your idea and in what ways will this object/design be useful to you over 50 years of change? Think about how each design could have meaning and be useful in your daily life for several decades.
Solar powered Umbrella is a high tech umbrella that use solar energy to control the nearby temperature.
2) How will this design be resilient (used in more than one way etc. and/or encourage social resiliency through its usage)?
As the named mentioned, Solar powered Umbrella will use solar energy. Solar energy is a type of new energy, if people can find a way to use it appropriately, people will have more resource to use on earth.
3) What specific event(s) of environmental change will it help YOU adapt to or address?
Our society has to face the problem of Global Warming. The summer will be hotter and the winter will be colder. People will be harder to walking on street in a bad weather. However, this Solar powered Umbrella will provide people with a comfortable temperature.
4) How will this design be repaired?
As it is an electronic device, it will be repaired at Solar powered Umbrella store and they will have professional people to repair it.
5) What materials will you use for this design given what you have learned this semester about natural/biological/recycled materials? (Consider how climate change might affect the availability of some materials.
Solar Panel and waterproof materials.
6) Which of the Long Life Design criteria预览文档 does this design fulfill?
Function: it is functional and people always want to have a comfortable condition to live.
Environment: All the material are green materials and this product will explore the use of new energy.
