I just stumbled upon this wonderful blog : www.superuse.org
Superuse is a online community of designers, architects and everybody else who is interested in inventive ways of recycling - check them out to get some new ideas.
Above Left: bottle houses
Above Right: a sewer pipe hotel
Elaine Czech
ReplyDelete26 October 2010
ARTDES 250: SEC 4
Chinese Cities of the Future p 271
When I took CFC 3 last semester one of our assignments was to look in the New York Times and find articles on the environment. One of the articles I found mentioned how China was the leader in environmental energy production. I was interested a bit in the topic but with projects and recognition schoolwork did not do much searching into China’s green movement. However recently my interest has peaked again. I plan on applying to GIEU this November and noticed on of the potential trips was to survey the building of a nuclear power plant in China. In class Joe Trumpey mentioned how nuclear power was gaining recognition as an environmentally friendly way to create energy. This all led up to me looking in my World Changing book for information on nuclear power (which was a bust) and then stumbling upon this article on China as a whole. And after reading this article I decided to look on the Internet to see how much China has improved since this book was written.
I was saddened to find that the world’s first sustainable city, Dongtan inside Shanghai has yet to see construction started. What is even more disheartening is the city, scheduled to house half a million, would not be completed until 2050 (1).
On a positive note Beijing did achieve its planned goal of having 1 million square meters in green roofs. Also the city has proposed a law requiring developers that all new buildings that are for organizations, companies and schools to plan for green rooftops and walls (2).
Works Cited
Dongtan. 3 September 2010. 23 October 2010 .
Hui, Zhang. City hopes for greener rooftops. 8 October 2010. 23 October 2010 .
Robin Tuck
ReplyDeleteADP III
10-21-10
Art Meets Technology
With all the new technologies being developed all the time, and seamlessly entering our lives it becomes important to recognize and think about how these technologies effect us, for better or for worse. In the article Art Meets Technology this sort of reflection is powered by artists who use technology is their work.
While we don’t often think of technology as creative, it often can be, and many creative people are using it to make important statements about the world around us. For example we don’t think much about the air we breathe, we can’t see it, so often times it escapes our notice. However, artist Sabrina Raaf created a robot that tests the air quality in a room and then marks the percentage of carbon monoxide on the wall in green crayon, prompting those who see it to think more about the air they breathe. (Steffan, 98). The amount of CO depends on how many people there are, the weather and the amount of traffic outside the gallery.
I love the idea of technology as art, and art bringing attention to important environmental issues. When all you hear is science and facts, its hard to connect to what’s happening, but something you can see and relate to makes it much easier to understand problems, like air quality.
Its not just air quality that gets tackled by artists, but also sounds, smells and even touches, all aimed at making us contemplate our relationship with technology. With such a vast, and ever growing availability of content its no wonder that art is delving more and more into the world of the technical. I think we will see a real boom in the number of artists that use technology in their work. I also think that the complexity and social content of the work will rise as steadily as new technology.
Steffen, Alex. World Changing. 1st. Abrams, New York: Harry M. Abrams Inc., 96-99. Print.
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ReplyDeleteOpen-Source Humanitarian Design-page 216
ReplyDeleteThe excerpt I read this week was called “Open-Source Humanitarian Design.” This chapter was focused on the idea that the only way to save our planet from the many problems it faces, is to get together all the creativity of the people with good will. There is no other way to solve these problems without openly going at them as a whole. Without coming together to solve these problems it is more than likely that we would end up putting a band-aid on a larger issue, just covering up what is really wrong. Further this excerpt focuses on welcoming and embracing open-source design as a way to get people in need out of hardship. It will enable them to most importantly receive dignified shelter.
The beauty of opening up design to a local collaborative process is to be given the ability to build more appropriate housing and above all, to stimulate local economic development that could be very needed. A big problem addressed is that usually in America, development typically means is getting donor nation dollars to hire donor nation contractors to deliver “last century’s technologies.” This creates benefit for only the donor country, not the places that need it most.
How do we solve the problem of needing open-source collaborative design? The author believes that to sole this problem there should be some sort of interface, an online sharing tool that would allow improvement on existing designs, tools, and mechanisms. This interface would be equipped with a database of thousands of proven designs and best practices. With this database we could be better equipped to deal with real-world disasters and other systematic issues.
Travel and Tourism pg. 363
ReplyDeleteI found the article about travel and tourism to be empowering. Traveling is something that we all love to do. I love seeing new places and learning about different cultures. It’s a fabulous luxury to roam the world and see the way people live so differently from myself. I find myself always focused more on where I want to go and what I want to do there – understandably as this is what traveling is all about. But there is a disconnect between myself as a traveler and my impact on the places I visit.
This article explains how we, as travelers, can help the world. How there’s a big difference between staying at a hotel that’s part of a big international chain and staying at locally owned and run lodging. I’ve never considered where the money we spend to travel actually goes, and who, if anyone, it is actually helping. When I travel, I need to think less about myself and more about the community I am visiting. If I try to minimize my impact on the environment around me, buld awareness and respect for the culture I am visiting, and contribute to local causes, not only will I help the community I’m visiting, but I, myself, will benefit from the experiences.
Sustainable tourism is all about our ability to help, not harm, the places we visit. It’s a concept that gives back as we will always benefit and learn more from a local and genuine experience. We learn through our travels and the more conscious we are of the footprints we leave around the world, the more we will benefit from the places we go.
Erica Neumann
ReplyDeleteOctober 25, 2010
ADP 3 section 4
World Changing Response
Chinese Cities of the Future
The chapter “Chinese Cities of the Future” beginning on page 279 discusses China becoming green. China is one of the biggest manufacturing countries in the world, with factories filled with assembly line workers; it is quickly becoming “Meca” of production. And with its growing factory culture, so is the trash. Much of the West’s e-waste is shipped to China where the electronics are dissembled and metals are extracted. The copious waste in China is polluting the water and air, but waste is not the only thing that is polluting China. China has one of the most rapidly growing populations, and that population is migrating into China’s major cities. World Changing states that by 2030, it is expected that over 400 million people, over half the country’s population will have moved from rural China to the big cities. To house this amount of people, it would take more than China’s supply of coal and clay to construct enough bricks. Because these statistics have been projected, eco-friendly designers and engineers are constructing ways to create a more sustainable way of life. The world is relying on China to create a sustainable way to live because the Western standard of living has become too expensive. People may have big plans for China, but it has a long way to go, as of 2004 it was the leading country in coal use and pollution. It used more energy per dollar than any Western country and was the second largest producer of green house gases. It is predicted that in 2020, China will have seven times the amount of cars that existed in the USA in 2004.
One of China’s biggest challenges in becoming a green nation is to reduce the amount of conventional gas cars driven. In 2005, there were 10 million bikes and scooters sold in China, amounting to three times the amount of cars. However, the government discourages bikes because it threatens the auto industry. It appears from this statistic that the people of China and the government have polar priorities, and it will be extremely hard for China to go green without the support of the government. The articles relating to China and its prospects of becoming a green nation were written in the early 2000’s. They predict roof gardens, compact, fuel-efficient cars, eco-friendly cities with no waste of resources, readily available public transportation and carbon neutral buildings. But about half a decade has past since these predictions have been made. How much of these have been put into action? Today, China is presented as over populated, filled with waste and pollution, and home to huge factories. It is the Chinese teenagers who assemble the products that the spoiled Western teenagers use. Manufactured Landscapes supports such an image of China. It is not a common image, if an image at all in the Western cultures, to portray China as a green, eco-friendly nation, but rather, just the opposite. So, is China becoming one of the greenest nations in the world, or have those predictions been lost with the passing years, as the world races towards materialism?
Kellyn Carpenter
ReplyDeleteADP III: Section 4
World Changing; pg. 310
The article that I read from World Changing this week was the article called “Holistic Problem Solving.” In this article, the Harlem Children’s Zone is discussed, a program that helps children in the Harlem area. This program takes children from the ages 1-3, and carries them through their program until they are young adults. These children get support in every aspect of their lives. They receive help in their academics, their health, and their home life. Parents even receive support in this program. This program is designed to make sure that every child in Harlem has the chance at a successful future.
I was thrilled to read about the intensity of this program. It truly leaves no room for children to get left behind or “fall through the cracks.” The likelihood that these children will become successful adults that graduate high school and go to college greatly increases. This holistic program even helps the child’s health, screening them when they are young for asthma. I believe that programs like this are truly amazing. Child in Harlem are not given equal opportunities, such as the opportunities that I was given, and programs like this try to level the playing field. I wish that there were more programs like this around the country, and the world. I believe that programs like this will greatly improve the quality of life of children in poor communities. This can help keep children off of the path of “poverty, violence, and drugs.” With programs like this, we can greatly improve the lives of many people in our country and around the world.
Paula Schubatis
ReplyDelete10/29/10
Section 4
p194 TreePeople
Sorry this is a little bit late, I forgot that we had a world-changing statement due this week!
The article which I read this week from the world changing book was about TreePeople. TreePeople is a group in Los Angeles, which is attempting to radically change the urban wasteland created in southern California. The trees act as natural filters to the polluted air and water, and also create more water, by recharging the local aquifer, instead of letting the water run off and evaporate, and thus creating a greater local supply of water for the Los Angeles area.
It is alarming how much we depend on clean air and water, and yet how much we take it for granted. Growing up in Michigan, I have always had an abundance of both. It is absurd to think that our country is so economically oriented that we opt to transport resources to large urban areas devoid of them rather than living in close proximity to our natural resources. The main supply of water to the Los Angeles area is the Colorado river, a river of already meager proportions, which is considerably far from the area. Programs such as TreePeople is a start to reversing this practice, but is not the ultimate solution. As long as urban sprawl occurs, people will need water. And, no amount of trees can effectively create a water supply large enough to sustain the population, in an already naturally arid landscape. The only real solution to water shortages is to live in abundant areas of water, not try to create water, or obtain it from far away sources.
James Reich
ReplyDeleteSweden has the most effective sexual education program in the world. Instead of highlighting solely contraception and teaching children about the possible risks of sexual education (how my school was taught) they instead teach the significance of personal relationships and gender equality. As a result, social taboos surrounding sex and the body have been eliminated in Sweden, and young people are more comfortable with sexual content. Sexual exploration and acknowledgement is encouraged, rather than discouraged as it seemed my school did. While young people are more free and open about sex and sexual activity, Sweden still has the lowest rate of teen pregnancy and STDs of any nation in the world. I wonder why, if this statistic and teaching method is known, every country hasn't switched to the same sexual education system as Sweden. EIther there is some other factor that influences the statistics or there is a negative consequence that this article does not explore.
Tiffany Hu
ReplyDeleteLiving Well in a Compact Space
I live close to New York City, and it's true that compact living spaces are currently too cramped and uncomfortable, therefore unsustainable. I have seen videos on how architects have been striving to create more pleasant compact space. So far, the architects I have seen are from Asia, in countries such as Japan and Korean, since the living environment there is also very cramped and small. They make it work because Asian style in general, in kitchenware and design,is very simple and streamlined. Americans should strive to work at how to create more comfortable compact spaces, which could help a lot in cities such as NYC and Chicago, where the cost of living is already expensive, and that this would be welcomed since it would be cheaper. My friend went to Japan this summer, where she lived in a capsule hotels, which is a place where guests only have a 2 m by 1 m by 1.25 m block to live in. They are stacked side by side and on top of each other, and are very popular, especially with the recession, where many unemployed people rent capsules by the month. I think that there are many creative ways to go about creating a more flexible, compact space that is both comfortable and convenient for everyone.
Melis Agabigum
ReplyDeleteADPIII-004
30 October 2010
World Changing "Biomimicry" p. 99
In the World Changing article, Biomimicry, the ability for humans to engineer things based off of structures found in nature is discussed. I was highly impressed by the strength that can be found in nature. For instance, Gecko’s have “complex microstructures” which enable them to stick onto virtually any surface. Their feet leave no residue and they can peel off a structure by pulling their feet off at a certain angle. Their adhesive power is considered one of the strongest found in nature.
With our advancements in technology, we are now able to replicate their microstructures to create “Gecko Tape”. Last year in my TMP course, I had a discussion with Professor Matt Shlian, who first told me about the adhesive power of Gecko Tape. I had done some research on the product and tested its strength for myself. It works virtually on all surfaces and truly does work as a strong means of binding.
Lotusan was also discussed in the article. Lotus flowers have a “craggy” surface and because of this, rainwater is able to ball up and roll off the surface of the leaf. This surface offers the leaves a means of cleaning themselves. German scientists are now able to mimic this surface on buildings. It keeps buildings clean and prevents the paint on buildings from molding. Lotusan is so efficient that it extends the life of paint “40-100 percent longer than normal exterior paints”.
This raises just one question: If this is possible, why are we not using it on all buildings?
Liz Ritenour
ReplyDeleteADP III
Worldchanging
The Solar System: Greens in Space pp 529-535
This section discusses the many current developments in space exploration and how studying space can potentially be extremely beneficial to saving our own planet. Many people believe the study of space to be interesting, but essentially a waste of large amounts of money. This article is interesting because it explains how the study of space, when put to proper use, is essential to the future of earth. I always knew that the study of space is incredibly complex, but I now better understand how careful we need to be with not just space, but the process by which we study it. The main factor that resides in all aspects of this study is the idea of the unknown. Each element in the universe rests very precariously among the other elements, all of which depend on each other to maintain certain physical characteristics. I used to think that the obvious solution to waste control on earth would be to send trash into space. I now know that there is much more at work than that. On top of the ethical principles of polluting the earth and then polluting space, there are physical issues that have to be considered. For example, launching mass from the earth into space puts trash into orbit, which just ads to the massive amount already circling the earth at extremely high speeds. It also changes the mass of the earth and thus the gravitational pull. Messing with these balances could cause problems such as items in orbit crashing into earth, changes in the gravitational pull of and on the moon, and moreover, unknown or unforeseeable other issues. If done properly however, space could be utilized very successfully. We are developing space elevators for more efficient transportation, and we can use our satellites and other technologies to predict future collisions of asteroids into the earth and potentially shift them enough to avoid incredibly disastrous situations. It is clear that while this is a very complex and delicate topic to study, space could very well be a huge factor for the future of the planet.
Hannah Ryou
ReplyDeleteTravel and Tourism pg. 363
I am constantly surprised at how much I am learning through this book/class. Traveling is by far one of my greatest passions and I was surprised to find a section dedicated to this topic. I think I am still failing to understand that sustainability and being a conscious citizen is a responsibility that extends to all areas of life, and not just recycling bottles and composting. So you can imagine my fascination with the reading.
A couple things from the reading that caught me by surprise:
According to the ‘Travel and Tourism’ section, “more than 9 percent of all jobs are linked, directly or indirectly, to travel and tourism”. This is a number much larger than I had imagined. Also, “although we’d like to think that the bulk of our hard-earned money is going to support our destination’s local economy, the reality is that much of it never reaches the community we are visiting”. This fact strikes me as absurd because isn’t the fundamental benefit of tourism a blending and exchange of culture and currency?
Because a good number of my family members live in Korea, at least once a year either I travel to Korea, or someone visits me. And because it is such an important, almost necessary, trip I didn’t think of its negative effect on the environment. So, again, I was surprised reading “choosing to fly […] is a decision with serious environmental consequences. Airplanes emit carbon dioxide, water vapor, and nitrogen oxides; emissions at high altitudes can contribute to climate change at three times the rate of emissions release closer to the ground.” One person’s decision to fly has such a vast effect on our environment, that it gives me a disgruntling feeling. I like the idea of purchasing carbon credits, which will power other efforts to offset the effects of flying.
Being conscious of the well being of the local community when traveling is also a vital responsibility of us as tourists. Taking on the responsibility of a global citizen, undoubtedly includes being a conscientious tourist. Lesson learned!
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ReplyDelete