the 11th hour

This video was a real wake up call I must admit. The information from dozens of professionals and activists in different fields of expertise talking about the worlds end and how its exponentially growing with human lifestyle really scares the poop out of you!

The reality is that we've already done too much damage to go back and are sustaining too many people to allow the Earth to recover from what it is experiencing right now. The concept of "ancient sunshine" in fossil fuels and how thats encouraged massive population growth really explains the position we're in very well. As I understand it, the Earth's yearly sunlight might be able to support the lives of a billion humans at best and with the discovery of ancient, hidden "sunshine" or energy, we're creating more lives for the planet to support. Once this secondary supply of energy is lost, we have only the Sunshine to sustain our species and we will have most of the population wiped off the face of the earth due to this..

Further to that is the issue of the Earth being in a sickly state and trying to correct itself. We are constantly adding to the infection and it only makes sense that in order for the planet to survive, it has to conquer us. And it will. In all honesty, we aren't fighting to save the Earth but to save ourselves, Oren Lyons says at the end of the video.

I also valued the part where they delve into the concept of becoming a part of nature to survive and how in modern society it's considered unusual or abnormal to be that way minded. The truth is that we have to live harmoniously with nature, we don't have a choice in the matter, so it only makes sense to pay attention to its needs instead of construing it as a "hippie" like perspective on life.

With issues today like the BP oil spill and the efforts to not just minimise but STOP the leakage is devastatingly important and it almost puts chills down your spine watching this video but I will add, it kind of makes you feel useless in the big scheme of things. How will I as an individual change the irreparable damage already done?

The Story of Bottled Water

"The Story of Bottled Water" in some ways, made me aware of certain things I already knew. I was aware that my local tap water is drinkable, and I often refill my used water bottles on my way out to the gym or to class or to work so I don't feel inclined to buy another bottle (the irony of this was that while watching the video i was actually drinking a bottle of Evian) but I will admit there was a lot of useful interesting info in that video I didn't know about. Of course we all know plastic PET bottles need crude oil for manufacture and for that reason I TRY not to buy a bottle every time I'm thirsty, having said that I slip up from time to time, only with the comfort of knowing that if I recycle the bottle then its really little harm done. To find out that these bottles often don't go to local recycling facilities to be remanufactured for the same purpose but instead are shipped overseas at an environmental cost to us and dumped in a developing country to then disposed of as rubbish as well in the long run means that there is no solace or consolation in buying a new bottle when we do "slip up". I feel this is something MORE people should know about and be reminded of... particularly that we're paying for something that is essentially free to us. (I posted the link to my facebook page to at least get a little awareness out there)... Like the video said, I wouldn't pay $10,000 for a sandwich. Particularly if I knew the crusts would be shipped to India to have that community dispose of it or reuse it for a lesser purpose!

objectified

Hosted by a number of famous and influential designers, the video 'Objectified' gives the viewer a greater understanding of the products we interacts with daily and how they impact us in use and in production and manufacture. It takes the viewer, who might have a minimal knowledge of what goes into making the everyday items we make use of, behind the scenes to learn what it really takes to produce it. I felt like this video put a better and more realistic value on what we own. It might have a monetary value when you purchase it but the true value of an item is based on its impact on its environment. By this I mean the choice of materials and manufacturing processes have a cost to the environment. The design of the product and its impact on the work once the product is rendered useless by its owner has an impact and a cost and these are all factors that only the designers have considered and often isn't the concern of the consumer.

Considering that, it shows how the designer is sending messages through what they produce. They are aware of what the consumers will take notice of, for example, how the user is to interact with the object, and it shows the remarkable ways that each designer imparts their techniques of sending those messages.

For me, this video was a great way of explaining what industrial designers do to people who might not understand what the real tasks involved in what's needed design-wise in the kitchen or in the bathroom, or outdoors, or in your car.

Design for Life

'Design for Life', a 6-part series which I would equate to 'Project Runway' with Industrial Designers instead of Fashion Designers, was probably one of the most interesting reality shows I've seen in a long time.

The designers are pitted up against each other in weekly challenges and a number of them are eliminated each episode to reveal a single winner who gets a 6 month placement at Philippe Starck's design firm to gain a world of knowledge and experience and become a part of the "tribe".

To say the show struck a nerve with me would be an understatement. These young designers, some of whom are still studying Design, are thrown into the deep end and critiqued by Philippe, his wife and number 1 sidekick, who he claims he owes his success to.

The stress and trauma they are constantly subjected to and the lack of sleep, and delirious ideas they come up with as a consequence of this resonates with me. I see a lot of what they experience in my experiences studying Industrial Design and I suppose it makes me feel a little more at ease to know that these experiences are "normal" (for lack of a better word).

They're often shut down quite harshly, but in watching the whole series, you can see that it's for their own good and weeds out the weak minded from the strong willed. Each and every one of them are initially offended and deterred by the harsh criticisms they receive but in most cases, it only pushes them harder and the final products the two finalists come up with are impressive enough to say it's almost worth it.

The exposure to great resources they had to complete their designs makes you realise the varying facets of the field we study and how much variety of skill there is involved in being a success. Some students who were great "businessmen" as Starck described, would never make good designers, and others who were strong in their ability to do logo design and visual presentations, lacked the technical ability and engineering side of bringing their concept to fruition. It helps you realise the diversity of work involved in creating a new product from start to finish. No wonder we're all so drained by the end of the process.

Starck's constant reference to being "Creators" and not "Designers" reminds you theres more to the whole process than coming up with something visually stimulating rather than revolutionary. Overall, it was great fun to watch and admittedly, none of what they went through felt like something knew but condensed into 6 hrs of footage, it makes u realise all the hard work you have to put into an idea to make it work.

my ecological footprint

I completed a short survey to calculate my ecological footprint and measure my impact on the planet. To put it into perspective, the final result is given to you in the format of how many 'Earths' required if everyone had the same lifestyle as I do. In all honesty, at first when I'd answer a question, I'd give myself a little more credit than I deserved and often found myself second guessing myself, and forcing myself to be TRUELY honest about my consumption levels and my conservation habits. In almost all categories I was lower than the standard for my region. My results are posted in the image above.

To say I was shocked at my results is an understatement. I knew my results would be above a single planet, that was to be expected, but to need 5 planets to sustain everyone if they lived as I lived was pretty upsetting. I've always tried to make considerations where I 'can' (or what I thought was reasonable) but without compromising the comfort of my lifestyle. It was in responding to the questions individually that I realised exactly where I was letting the planet down. I drive alone too often, and avoid public transport out of a preference for comfort. If I get to sleep in or sit by myself and listen to the music I want to with the aircon on then I would always choose that option. But I felt as though if I was bringing my consumption down in my household that it was a fair compromise. But I suppose in doing this I learnt there is no fair compromise. If I give up one thing I have to commit to making a solid effort all round!

After getting my results, the option to read more information on how to reduce my impact lay ahead of me and I couldn't turn down the opportunity to find out how I had to change. I now live in my own apartment and always used the excuse in the past that the place I lived in wasn't my own so I had no say in keeping my house a green one since I was just a tenant. But now my efforts will have to change. I will make a conscious decision to buy low energy appliances over cheaper options. I will consider ecological ways to insulate my environment to keep the energy bills down to a minimum as well, and by changing the shower to a low-flow head and fluorescent lighting I will have made a significant change in my impact daily. The greatest one that I will have to change is my mode of transportation. I will be registering with the UNSW carpooling system (http://myunswcarpools.unsw.edu.au/) and walking more where I would normally drive around longer for a better parking spot as well as making the effort to take public transport to and from work. And finally, the choice to reuse and recycling products/appliances instead of buying new things before they're needed will be the way for me.