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3. Consumer Design (non-green)
Definition:
Consumer design is the planned creation of something for the marketplace
without concern for the environment.
What are some of the problems related to this issue?
In its time, the industrial revolution was hailed as the beginning
of a new age--an age of progress, prosperity and productivity. Now,
one man looks back on that revolution and sees a horrible mistake.
William A. McDonough, AIA, believes the success of the industrial
revolution was measured with an inaccurate yardstick. Progress was
equated with the number of smokestacks across a city skyline belching
black pollution into the air. Prosperity was measured by how many
materials went through the system and productivity by how few people
were working. The result left society facing long-term ecological
and economic problems. It is time, says McDonough, to
stage a second industrial revolution; one that measures progress
by the number of smokestacks not seen across the skyline and that
measures prosperity by how few raw materials are used and productivity
by the number of people who are working. Hopefully, the result of
this revolution will leave society with long-term ecological and
economic benefits. Industrial Revolution II by Diane Wintroub
Calmenson
1 in 10,000 products are designed with the environment in mind.
A study in Ghana revealed that some of the farmers are so used to
using pesticides without protective that they actually feel proud
when they feel a bit sick at the end of the day. Because it
shows the chemicals are working properly.
A [typical light] bulb contains mercury, a toxic heavy metal.
When the bulb blows, it is usually thrown away with other trash
and dumped at a landfill. This action increases the possibility
of mercury leaking into the water table.
Some wool-producing countries require all sheep to be dipped in
strong chemicals [organophosphates (OPs)]. These chemicals
are linked to farmers feeling suicidal and suffering memory loss.
The Total Beauty of Sustainable Products, Edwin Datschefski
“Though human industry in the past 150 years has resorted to
brute force rather than elegant design, the making and trading of
goods can still be a wellspring of creativity, productivity, and
pleasure. Think of the thriving marketplaces that have enlivened
the world's great cities, the cherished objects and materials that
transform shelter into soulful dwelling. These need not be sacrificed
to protect our forests, rivers, soil and air. Indeed, human industry
and habitations can be designed to celebrate interdependence with
other living systems, transforming the making and consumption of
things into a regenerative force. Design can perform and preserve
the extravagant gesture-in the marketplace, in the human community,
and in the natural world.” William A. McDonough, AIA
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