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.