Jenny's World Changing Responses 1 - 5

1 - “Questioning Consumption”

This is a great way to open up this book. The writers put it on the line that our consumption is causing many of the other problems that our environment faces. As I began calculating how much “stuff” I have for the Stuff project, this is incredibly relevant to my life. We have so many things that we forget about. Even here at school, where I have taken an abbreviated amount of ‘stuff’ from what I have at home, there are still things I forget I have, or don’t use. Finding these things brings up the main point of this chapter. All of the extra stuff we have, and don’t use, causes clutter in our lives. We’ll save money, and energy, by being more conscious of what we have. Relating to this is ecological footprints. Everyone should calculate how much energy and natural resources they use, just to put their lives into perspective. Everyone forgets that we are the world… we are directly responsible for the help or harm that our world receives. What is a reasonable ‘footprint’? The average is 2.2 hectares per person. I do the best I can to keep up with the environment, especially after learning more through this class. I just think that everyone needs to consider the amount of stuff they are using and have. And when they go out to purchase more stuff, to consider “choice fatigue”. Too many choices, makes us think we need more stuff, because there are so many options. Maybe, if our society was a little more levelheaded, and conscious of their purchases, we could slowly make a big difference. I’m not sure. It is worth a try though.

2 - “Creating Healthy Homes”

The items that we are taught to rely on to clean our homes aren’t clean themselves. How can that be? The toxins in our cleaners, that we think are removing the grime and germs in our homes, are actually spreading, and getting back into our water and sewers. The cycle continues. Non-toxic items are available, but just may break the bank when it comes down to purchasing them. When will we make it affordable to live in a clean and safe home? Products like laundry detergent are awful for us. The additives seep into skin that can lead to cell damage. Hydrochloric acid from bathroom cleaners can burn the skin and eyes, and cause stomach issues and burning of the skin. People are not aware of this. If they were, they may take the other route and buy non-toxins to clean with. Maybe that would help stimulate our economy? It doesn’t seem like the worst idea. Paper products also. Though they are c convenient, they are extremely wasteful. Reusable material is the way to go. It’s a shame that people don’t know about these things. If people were more aware of this, they’d change. Even though it would take a while, I think they would. This book, World Changing, is making me much more aware of so many things. I think it is important people learn, so they don’t harm themselves and those they love. They need to know.

3 - “Art meets Technology”

Technology can be a huge asset to the arts. We (artists) can use the new mechanisms and ideas to strengthen our artistic outreach. Though this technology can be put to very good use, and create innovations that are beneficial to our world, it can also easily be taken advantage of, and misused. For example, the “Hug Shirt” is a shirt that creates the sensation of a hug when your body temperature and heartbeat permit it to. Have we come to the point where we have to synthesize emotion? This seems a bit ridiculous to me. Though an intriguing idea that technology can be used to do this, I feel that we could be putting it to much better use than creating shirts that are taking the place of human affection. On the other side of this, the “sonic city” headphones record information about the environment and map urban sounds to create a track of your experience. This use of technology is very intriguing, and can help us approach our environmental problems for a different standpoint. All in all, I believe that our technology can be used in positive ways, and negative ways. We just have to keep trying to point them in the positive direction so we don’t misuse our research.

4 - “Producer Responsibility”

When reading about this I thought it was extremely intriguing. Germany takes an innovative approach to keeping our world a little greener. Instead of leaving it to the car owner to dispose or give back their old cars, who’s materials are usually put to waste, the car company take responsibility for what happens to the car after it is done with its use. The “end-of-Life vehicle directive” was adopted by Europe after Germany’s approach, because in the long run it was saving money, and re using materials. Though difficult, these companies try to recover metals in products designed for utility. This encouraged companies to create vehicles that would fit this bill, and would cooperate when it came time to reuse the materials. This has inspired a wave of technology in which we don’t only think about its usage, but what happens after usage as well. An example being pop-apart cell phones that are quick to dissemble and just as efficient as cell phones. This is a great idea. This will encourage people to think about the after effects of everything that they do. Well, probably not everything, but it will at least help inspire a change. If we change, and think more about what happens after we waste, or what happens after we purchase a new big item, it may get us to think more about which item we are going to buy, and which items we are throwing to waste.

5 - “Green Homes”

World changing has many resources about the impact of green homes, and how to go about making your home green. I found this entire chapter very useful, being that I was unaware of many of the practices involved in creating an environmentally friendly home. One sector of this that I found particularly interesting is furniture and home décor. It is one thing to build an infrastructure of a home that is environmentally safe and structurally sound by using recycled materials, but once the structure is up you can make or break your green home by the furniture that is put inside. As it says in the book, it is important to think long term when approaching furniture purchases. Low cost furniture, though cheap, is often made from environmentally unsafe materials, and is short lasting, which means you’ll just have to buy a new one in a short amount of time. What’s the point in that? You might as well find furniture that will be good in the long run. It’s long lasting, and safe at the same time. Foam filled pillows and particleboard desks are not the way to go. Not to say that only cheap furniture uses these materials, but it is more commonly found along them than designer furniture. There is a market for environmental design though, which includes cork and bamboo, along with recycled waste products pulled from the dumpsters. These materials have been used to make ecofurniture that is sleek and beautiful. The only hurdle we have to get over, is how to produce this furniture without breaking the bank, so that people can afford them and get this movement rolling.