it begins here. it begins now.

Sustainability is a word that is highly focused on throughout Thorpe’s book, it is a common term and without knowing the definition, it can be hard to explain; much less take action in. This week we focus in on our economy and culture and the ways it does or doesn’t work towards achieving the goal of sustainability. Our environment has been mass consumed because everything has been at our disposal. As it simply states in Thorpe’s book, The Designers Atlas of Sustainability, our “market has no intrinsic ethics or morals.” Which I can fully agree with because we have become accustomed to a society that fluctuates based off of GDP (gross domestic product). Things that sadly contribute to this are “crime and divorce rate,” our world has it, and benefits because it generates the need of monetary transaction. Do we really want to be living in a place where it is okay for these things to be going on just to survive? It just doesn’t make sense to me. There was a lot of information to soak in this week and some things are still soaking. Take for instance “as long as we let the market make decisions about the ecosphere, it will appear cheaper to destroy ecological resources than to preserve them.” The big question is who ever gained the higher power to ever be able to make the priority decision? Barriers are keeping us from ever obtaining sustainability because of the corporate world; money is distributed according to who has the most power. What I gathered was that the people with the most money are still obtaining more money and those with less will always have less.

Through research, I found an article entitled LEEDing the Economy to Sustainability. It speaks mainly on how, “the survival of our civilization, and the durability, resilience and biodiversity of ecosystems that makes life on earth possible are dependent upon radically changing consumer behavior.” In full circle, WE are the problem and if we cannot stop being so materialistic there are going to be some trade offs that we aren’t going to be happy with in the end. It ultimately proposes that making a program, LEED for Citizens, and in return, will be a huge asset to the economy. This article pertaining to Gensler is just one example towards companies wanting to establish some common grounds that would benefit in the long run. This constitutes as “For Citizens” in the Economy chapter in our books. Through LEED, “design can help overcome sustainable development, cultural, and ecological issues through the s.lens of an artifact, whether it be a building or a product.” Buildings play a large part in our society, it is where we breath, work, and stay confined in an area for eight plus hours a day. Overall, we want it to be as eco friendly as possible. Gensler has the right idea in maintaining a healthy environment and another example I found interesting was this furniture manufacturer, Trendway. Their ulterior motives, which I found very intriguing, are to build furniture that consists of as few materials as possible. The real kicker is, most furniture is often times oversized and can block air supply that circulates the room; they try to maximize the furniture for the cost and for where it will be placed in accordance to HVAC in a room. Their furniture shapes are rectangular which cuts down on the amount of particleboard or laminate and minimizes fabric waste by a mere 30 percent. These little things may not sound like a big deal at the time but in the grand scheme of things they matter immensely because things are so mass produced, scrimping and saving can help, all the way down to the very last piece of particleboard.

Further into our readings, and research on our culture and what we can do to move towards sustainability, I found an interesting article that was written by a technician at North Carolina State University. His approach towards this movement seems to be spot on because he simply states, “without input from the community, students, faculty and staff alike, the plan will not accurately reflect the current campus climate and thoughts, and thus cannot be sustainable.” If we could start to get college campuses involved in going green in more ways than one, that could be a giant step in the right direction. This summary meets the “Universal Human Needs” section in the Culture chapter of Thorpe’s book. If we examine how people live and adapt then there are ways of tailoring an economy, and perhaps could be more sustainable and enjoyable all around. This first comes through asking questions and most of all doing your homework, aka research. In “examining some universal motivational forces that all humans experience, there are ways to generalize human well-being.” When the customer is happy, everyone is happy. This comes from our needs being met in a timely manner, and these days it seems like everyone wants things done here and now. People don’t have as much patience as they once did, which is another thing to throw into the pot of cultural problems. I can imagine if it is this bad now, it is only going to into downward spiral. In order for this to change, I truly believe it can start in schools; it is up to our generation to be the change we want to see in the future. That is why our college experience is so important. I like that in the North Carolina article it focuses on not just the college as a whole but as each individual college and how they can make a difference.

In this video below, it makes me realize how much does go to waste no matter the size of a home or building. Their company as a whole has intentions to inspire people to rethink their perspective on waste and show that reusing and recycling is essential. Over the past years our economy has been trying to make a come back from a recession and ways to move towards that, is to put more value on everything. Otherwise, anything and everything will end up in a landfill that can and will pollute the earth down to the core. This video would be categorized under the “Fast” section in the Culture chapter. In regards to our fast paced lifestyle and the turn over rate of houses or buildings, it is hard to keep up with the constant demand of everything new. So why not reuse the old and still satisfy needs? Just because “the biggest driver of this speed has been the pace of technological change,” doesn’t mean we have to let it completely take control. We are so adapted to everything being done at the touch of a finger we have forgotten what it feels like to be in control. Projects that used to take years and years to develop and complete can now take half the time. This follows along with the “I want it here and now,” mentality. If we could take a step back and see what it is doing to our economy then maybe we would think more long term in regards to nature in culture. It is more than necessary for human development. That is why I think it is a great thing that so many companies are finally moving towards sustainability and not just honing in on the most current look. It can start here, and it can start now, but we have to be willing.