For my second World Changing evaluation I chose the article under the “Shelter” section called “Furniture and Home Décor.” In summary the article stressed that although homeowners are growing more concerned with recycling products they consume in their homes, they are unaware of how the objects that consume their homes can be harmful. People decorate their homes based on what is in style knowing one day they will throw out their furniture, redecorated and upgrade. Very rarely do homeowners consider the life of the objects that fill their personal spaces. The article wishes to inform people of the harmful toxins in their sofa foam, wooden tables and paint. Luckily, after scaring a read by telling them sofa foam can harm a fetus the author suggests healthier, eco-friendly furniture. IKEA and Herman Miller are the leading designers of this wave of home décor design. These companies use materials like: durapalm, kirei and plyboo. These three sustainable and comfortable materials are made from scraps of bamboo and coconut palms.
The first thing I thought of when I read this article were shows like trading spaces and extreme makeover: home edition. The carpenters on the show usually make tables and chair and dressers out of particleboard. Ironically this material “emits small traces of carcinogenic gases into homes, contributing to health problems” (158). The people whose homes are done are often chosen because of a family health condition and the television show is trying to improve the family’s state of living.
The article brought up an interesting point. We are so busy working on the outside of building and what we are emitting that we forget what we are buying and where it comes from, even where it goes. I also connected this to the “life of an object” project. I wish they mentioned what stores did not carry eco-friendly furniture so the could be avoided and more time could be spent shopping at IKEA.
In Questioning Consumption (page 32), Bruce Sterling presents information about the resources humans take from the earth and how it effects the rest of the planet. Sterling’s style is very engaging, informative, and right to the point. I really admire the way the book is organize and introduced; with a chapter on how to use this book. I feel like this book is a great resource to help us understand what, where, why, who, and how we are effecting our atmosphere. The author makes it very clear that the purpose of this book is not to give us a list of 10 things to do to save the planet. We are learning this information so that we can figure out a way to help. Knowing this incentive makes this book much more engaging. A lot of this information can get pretty depressing; we are killing the planet and causing animal species to become extinct . . . the U.S. is a material based country that uses 24 acres per person . . . even the rates of depression have increased worldwide (and I’m not sure if it’s because everyone has been reading this book or not). Neither confronting or solving a problem is easy, but it is essential to do so in order to avoid the consequences. Sterling brings up excellent points as to why we need to change our patterns, and gives us inspiration for us to go about solving them.
When I searched Keliy Anderson-Staley 's website to look at the photographs, and read the statments, it reminded me of the camp that I've went to in my junior year, called "OB"-(Outback). I have also related this to the World Changing article "Going Off the Grid" on page 178~182. It tells a lot about the main home enery sources and how we could get independent energy source if we are living in a place where "Off the Grid." I was the person who could not live without the energy/ newest technology at home in Korea, but after experiencing the "Outback" camp in 2006,I have realized how much I was dependent on the home energy system. Just as what Keliy wrote in the statement abouthe the thrity families, I had no connection to phone, toilet, electricity, etc. I was in the white mountain for 11 days at March, and I had to live by myself. I had to melt the snow to drink water, and in order to make the fire to melt the snow, I had to collect the branches, and finally use the matches that are not wet to make a fire. After the 11 days when I came back from the camp, I really really really started to appreciate the modern technology and I've also realized how much energy we've used.
From the article from World changing, I found McConnell's an Off-the-Grid Success Story very interesting and impressive. It was really impressive what he has done to save energy, while I was wasting the energy all the time. I was also surprised by the Bright Green Meters in the World Changing article. When the power grid goes down in your area, you don't know what to do except for waiting the power grid to be charged up. However, recently, the company called "GridPoint" invented the latest home energy system. They've created the combined inverter that connects the solar power system to the grid! I think we should really think about how we can save the energy or how we can use the natural sources,especially the solar energy, more efficiently.
For my second World Changing Evaluation I chose to read Rething Refugee Reconstruction on page 220. This article deals with the current lack of planning for natural disasters and how we as a society house these people when they have been pushed from their homes. We have experienced disasters of this type even in our United States, and even our country of North America, the one who has the richest of overall society could not handl a trajedy of this nature.
The article eludes to how we need to plan for temporary housing for a situation that would drive people from their homes. We have seen tragedies of this nature time and time again; yet each time that it happens our society acts as though this was the first time it has ever happened. There seems to be a lack of future planning when it comes to these disaterous situations.
When I saw the picture of the mobile homes standing closely next to each other with clothing hanging from the close lines along with fabricated walls that are falling down; the first thing that comes to my mind is what is the status of these people. Are they able to get clean water, food, do they have the proper facilities for waste?
Although they speak of 'plans' these plans have not been implemented. When we see what happens when tragedy strikes we, as a society need to be more proactive about having a place for these people to survive for a period of time.
The writer said about develop or design convenient and the most functional way. There is Korean saying “Go back to where you started”; it is not completely translated in English, but you get the idea.
The map Japanese designer Isao Hosoe’s map performance is pretty self-explanatory. Map needs to be handy and portable and has to contain many, but clear information as possible. It is the high-technology. No mobile phones, computers, or solar panels can become deceptively simple, but extremely ingenious designs that don’t require specialized materials or equipment to build or repair.
It is obvious for such electric devices like computer would be useless in Africa where there is no access to electricity even though computer is high-technology that grants people to do anything with it. So, “Looking at things from a more basic level, you can come up with a more direct solution, and a lot of people go, well, duh, that’s really obvious!” Amy Smith told Wired in 2004.
For my second World Changing evaluation I chose the article under the “Shelter” section called “Furniture and Home Décor.” In summary the article stressed that although homeowners are growing more concerned with recycling products they consume in their homes, they are unaware of how the objects that consume their homes can be harmful. People decorate their homes based on what is in style knowing one day they will throw out their furniture, redecorated and upgrade. Very rarely do homeowners consider the life of the objects that fill their personal spaces. The article wishes to inform people of the harmful toxins in their sofa foam, wooden tables and paint. Luckily, after scaring a read by telling them sofa foam can harm a fetus the author suggests healthier, eco-friendly furniture. IKEA and Herman Miller are the leading designers of this wave of home décor design. These companies use materials like: durapalm, kirei and plyboo. These three sustainable and comfortable materials are made from scraps of bamboo and coconut palms.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I thought of when I read this article were shows like trading spaces and extreme makeover: home edition. The carpenters on the show usually make tables and chair and dressers out of particleboard. Ironically this material “emits small traces of carcinogenic gases into homes, contributing to health problems” (158). The people whose homes are done are often chosen because of a family health condition and the television show is trying to improve the family’s state of living.
The article brought up an interesting point. We are so busy working on the outside of building and what we are emitting that we forget what we are buying and where it comes from, even where it goes. I also connected this to the “life of an object” project. I wish they mentioned what stores did not carry eco-friendly furniture so the could be avoided and more time could be spent shopping at IKEA.
In Questioning Consumption (page 32), Bruce Sterling presents information about the resources humans take from the earth and how it effects the rest of the planet. Sterling’s style is very engaging, informative, and right to the point. I really admire the way the book is organize and introduced; with a chapter on how to use this book. I feel like this book is a great resource to help us understand what, where, why, who, and how we are effecting our atmosphere. The author makes it very clear that the purpose of this book is not to give us a list of 10 things to do to save the planet. We are learning this information so that we can figure out a way to help. Knowing this incentive makes this book much more engaging.
ReplyDeleteA lot of this information can get pretty depressing; we are killing the planet and causing animal species to become extinct . . . the U.S. is a material based country that uses 24 acres per person . . . even the rates of depression have increased worldwide (and I’m not sure if it’s because everyone has been reading this book or not). Neither confronting or solving a problem is easy, but it is essential to do so in order to avoid the consequences. Sterling brings up excellent points as to why we need to change our patterns, and gives us inspiration for us to go about solving them.
This is my first World Changing Response.
ReplyDeleteWhen I searched Keliy Anderson-Staley 's website to look at the photographs, and read the statments, it reminded me of the camp that I've went to in my junior year, called "OB"-(Outback). I have also related this to the World Changing article "Going Off the Grid" on page 178~182. It tells a lot about the main home enery sources and how we could get independent energy source if we are living in a place where "Off the Grid." I was the person who could not live without the energy/ newest technology at home in Korea, but after experiencing the "Outback" camp in 2006,I have realized how much I was dependent on the home energy system. Just as what Keliy wrote in the statement abouthe the thrity families, I had no connection to phone, toilet, electricity, etc. I was in the white mountain for 11 days at March, and I had to live by myself. I had to melt the snow to drink water, and in order to make the fire to melt the snow, I had to collect the branches, and finally use the matches that are not wet to make a fire. After the 11 days when I came back from the camp, I really really really started to appreciate the modern technology and I've also realized how much energy we've used.
From the article from World changing, I found McConnell's an Off-the-Grid Success Story very interesting and impressive. It was really impressive what he has done to save energy, while I was wasting the energy all the time. I was also surprised by the Bright Green Meters in the World Changing article. When the power grid goes down in your area, you don't know what to do except for waiting the power grid to be charged up. However, recently, the company called "GridPoint" invented the latest home energy system. They've created the combined inverter that connects the solar power system to the grid!
I think we should really think about how we can save the energy or how we can use the natural sources,especially the solar energy, more efficiently.
For my second World Changing Evaluation I chose to read Rething Refugee Reconstruction on page 220. This article deals with the current lack of planning for natural disasters and how we as a society house these people when they have been pushed from their homes. We have experienced disasters of this type even in our United States, and even our country of North America, the one who has the richest of overall society could not handl a trajedy of this nature.
ReplyDeleteThe article eludes to how we need to plan for temporary housing for a situation that would drive people from their homes. We have seen tragedies of this nature time and time again; yet each time that it happens our society acts as though this was the first time it has ever happened. There seems to be a lack of future planning when it comes to these disaterous situations.
When I saw the picture of the mobile homes standing closely next to each other with clothing hanging from the close lines along with fabricated walls that are falling down; the first thing that comes to my mind is what is the status of these people. Are they able to get clean water, food, do they have the proper facilities for waste?
Although they speak of 'plans' these plans have not been implemented. When we see what happens when tragedy strikes we, as a society need to be more proactive about having a place for these people to survive for a period of time.
Design for Development Pg.131
ReplyDeleteThe writer said about develop or design convenient and the most functional way. There is Korean saying “Go back to where you started”; it is not completely translated in English, but you get the idea.
The map Japanese designer Isao Hosoe’s map performance is pretty self-explanatory. Map needs to be handy and portable and has to contain many, but clear information as possible. It is the high-technology. No mobile phones, computers, or solar panels can become deceptively simple, but extremely ingenious designs that don’t require specialized materials or equipment to build or repair.
It is obvious for such electric devices like computer would be useless in Africa where there is no access to electricity even though computer is high-technology that grants people to do anything with it. So, “Looking at things from a more basic level, you can come up with a more direct solution, and a lot of people go, well, duh, that’s really obvious!” Amy Smith told Wired in 2004.