Adam Grosser and his sustainable fridge

This seems like a great solution for third world solutions. What changes in our society would have to happen for this product to be adopted in our homes.

Mitchell Joachim: Don't build your home, grow it!

If they can grow homes why not product. What would it mean for industrial design if we had to grow our products? what would that look like? what would that be?

Newspaper wood

Neat way to repurpose newspaper.

Streetlights going LED

Started back in 2010, San Jose began to replace the streetlights to LED's. By 2022, they plan to have all the streetlights replaced. Once the lamps are running on LED's they will be reducing the energy use by 50%.

Old news but very interesting.
http://greenvision.sanjoseca.gov/ZeroEmissionStreetlights.aspx

Reusable human waste? It seems gross but possible

Japanese scientist Mitsuyuki Ikeda from the Okayama Laboratory certainly doesn't believe in human waste.

He thinks that's perfectly good protein you're sending out to sea, and he's found a way to extract it, mix it with steak sauce and create a fecal feast fit for a king. And despite the downside of having to add soya to bind it all together, Prof Ikeda thinks there's no reason why we shouldn't all tuck into his turd burgers.

Square watermelons not only save space but can be good for the environment too?

Gives you something to think about in terms of the packing and transportation of products.

Better Bikeways: Turning a City Street Into a Bike Corridor

I would love to see more cities become more bike friendly. I feel that the main reason most people wont bike into the city is due to the amount of cars, but with more bike options it might encourage increased usage.

This LED Bulb Is Officially the Greenest Lightbulb Ever

This new bulb uses LED diodes that last 25000 hours compared to a little over a thousand hours from a standard bulb. The only real downside may be the price which cold be as much as $40, even though the cost over the entire product lifetime could be less than standard bulbs.

Corporation for the Environment

Dow chemical has been working to make products that have as little environmental impact as possible. In the last 15 years they have changed their company image to a very green and eco-friendly company.

6 water puriyfing devices for the developing world.

I thought the first design the "lifestraw," was pretty cool. A purifying drinking straw that purified the water before it touches your lips. I could of especially used this when i went to the Philippines for the summer and got sick from the water. This "lifestraw" would of been very convient and portable.

Ted Talk Bill Gates

Bill Gates speaks out about the future of our world and how the time is ticking away, that something needs to be done soon to seriously address the energy crisis and solve it.

Millions of tires spark recycling frenzy

It has been recently discovered that tires contain seven gallons of oil, and thus a new recycling boom has started to catch on. I found this interesting due to the article we read for hw on tires, and how there has been concern on these giant tire dumps growing. Tire recycling to this point has consisted of crumbling the tires and using the rubber in roads, playgrounds, and high school football fields. I think the discovery of oil in tires will definitely help decrease theses notorious tire dumps and help get rif of them.

Why the Government Should Invest in Clean Energy

This came up in our discussions in class, we had wondered why the government has almost no interest in clean energy. Seems like one of our largest problems could become one of our largest resources if the time and energy was put into it.

Design for Disassembly

This article was done by core 77 and I think the concept it touches on would be beneficial for the class to understand. The ability to think about the life of a product from its conception would be beneficial to the environment and in time educate people about sustainability and product life cycles

Bamboo is awesome

Hi, did you guys know its possible to grow over a foot of bamboo per day?! Sounds like a renewable material to me, check it out.

-Kyber

Environmental Limits

I thought this page was interesting because of the very limited power government may have in the environment. Although there is an agency to protect it funds are limited and in some cases the state regulated law, such as California's laws are stricter than the EPA

from trashy to classy

Now this is recycling!

Sun Jar by Tobias Wong

The sun jar is utilizes a LED light enclosed in a frosted jar to diffuse the light rays. The jar is powered by a solar cell battery. Refreshing to the eye because of the frosted jar used that diffuses the rays of the LED to give off a warm glowing light.

USBCELL USB rechargeable batteries

I came across this product by Moixia Energy LTd, which seemed to be a pair of normal rechargeable batteries. The surprising aspect of this product is that it can hook up to any USB port to charge it. No more bulky charging stations needed, just a standard USB port. I find that this will be convenient when traveling.

Pharrell Williams Resource Center

I thought it was cool to see an entertainers name associated with sustainable.

-- Jonah

First Certified “Green” Project in the Philippines / Oppenheim Architecture + Design

Here is an article I read about the first certified Green project in the Philippines. In the Papanek reading, The Green Imperative, a key point mentioned was how to manage and preserve the earth’s recourses on a mirco level. It was interesting to see how a smaller country, like the Philippines are making steps to a more green environment.

--Jonah

The rise of a Sustainable City in the Middle Eastern Desert

Questions are arising about whether or not a sustainable city is possible in such an extreme environment such as the Middle Eastern Desert. Masdar is a small city that is being built in the UAE near Abu Dhabi. The whole idea behind it is to shift away from fossil fuels by incorporating eco-friendly approaches.

Recycling Bottle Caps

Thought this article was interesting since we talked about this in class Monday. This explains the reasoning behind why most companies do not recycle bottle caps.

Bottle Recycling in US is Still Just a Drop in the Bucket

Susi

Ark Hotel

The Ark Hotel is a enclosed self sustaining structure designed to withstand severe climatic disasters. The Ark houses its own greenhouse, water storage, and multiple ways to produce energy such as solar, wind and thermal energy. 

Top cliche industrial design selling pionts

This article lists selling points that we use as designer. It include the "green wash" trend in design.

The design of sustainability

This article has a section titled "the designer" which is the part i found interesting. It considers the designers impact through their design process. While designing a sustainable product we might waste paper, ink, etc.

Claytronics

I found this video I thought it was pretty interesting. Claytronics can revolutionize the design and manufacturing industry. Basically, small electromagnetic spheres are digitally aligned to your design and can even take on variances in color as well as shape from bikes to furniture to vehicles.

Heres a link to a different video

Versatile Outdoor Flat Pack Products

Delivering durable, high quality products while significantly reducing packaging waste and minimizing shipping distances.

No more flat tires?

Here is an example of a very simple and effective solution to a real problem. Although the tire itself is still made of petroleum based rubber, the tire will undoubtedly serve its user more effectively by eliminating abnormal wear due to underinflation. It is often the case that users do not keep their tires at the correct pressure which increases flats, the use of repair kits, the need for a pump, etc.. Are their trade-offs? Yes. The tire might take more energy to produce than a normal tire but it also lasts a lot longer.

Even NASA thinks sustainably...

I have heard about this before but it seems as though they are really taking this seriously and rightfully so. Home gardens make eating healthy more accessible while also helping the user grow more aware of their environmental responsibility.

Growing food in space alleviates many of the issues of space flight (weight, CO2 control, etc..) Now if only we can find money to fund space exploration....

If you haven't seen Waste Land check it out!

I watched this documentary a while back and thought it would be of interest to others. Definitely worth checking out as it relates to both art/design and recycling...

Brief Synopsis:

WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of "catadores" -- or self-designated pickers of recyclable materials.

Reclaimed Foam upcycled into award winning designs

A pair of designer taking foam packaging and doing something very innovative. This is great reminder and inspiration for designers to not take anything for granted. There is a chance for new innovation anywhere even in the packaging for our printers/computers. Also look at Andrew Bezzina award winning tooth stool at the bottom.

[img]http://www.stateofgreen.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/ChunkWorkshopped.jpg[/img]

Bamboo bicylce

I found this design pretty interesting. The bicycle is made completely out of bamboo and is extremely innovative. Future bikes can be grown and put together without the damaging effects of manufacturing.

Jog Your Way to a Charged Cell Phone

There is a now a way to jog your way to a charged cell phone. It fits into the sole of your sneaker and with each step you take, the device harvests the kinetic energy created. The energy collected from your moves could transfer to your phone!

Seventh Generation 4X Laundry Detergent Packaging Ecologic

http://www.sustainableisgood.com/blog/2011/06/seventh-generation-ecologic-laundry-packaging.html

This packaging for the laundry detergent has 66% less plastic in it. The fiber exterior not only is greener, it also stands out on the shelves, helping the brand not blend in with the rest of the detergents in the market.

I think if everyone starts making packages like this, and invests some time and money in finding even better ways to design greener packaging, it can help the environment, and makes the consumer feel not as bad tossing the packaging out in the garbage...

Carbon Negative Cement

The company, Novacem has won an award for their Carbon Negative Cement as the winner of its second annual MEDIUM Award for Material of the Year. They have made a revolutionary solution to reducing carbon emissions in the construction industry that will not have a negative carbon footprint. It replaces the calcium carbonates used in cement formulation with magnesium silicates, and by using a low-temperature production process that runs on biomass fuels.

Read this while ago and i found it interesting.

EarthShip BIOtecture

Patagonia's Common Thread Initiative

After yesterday's lecture, I found this new Initiative from Patagonia set to be affective fall of this year.

misc website...

Walmart is doing its part...

1 dress 365 Days

The uniform project started in 2009 when a woman decided to wear the same dress for 1 year. She didn't spend any money on clothing but wore the gifts she received from people around the world. The dress withheld the 365 days and she used the publicity to raise money for non-profit organizations. Uniform Project has now had various women do the same thing for 1 month and has raised thousands of dollars for many different causes. This is a perfect example of the re-use of a product. It shows just how far a little black dress can go.

Bag the Box

This video I found a while ago is really interesting... Every time I buy a product that comes in two different packaging (usually a plastic packaging inside a box) I wonder why the company did not choose to get ride of the box and just sell the product in one package instead of two...

link: http://youtu.be/ytL8B9CQ8rI

Getting Rid of the Shoe Box

Packaging material really hurts the earth. And shoe boxes are responsible for millions and tons of waste. Not only does it use up trees but it also uses a lot of energy and millions of liters of water. Puma found a solution to change the whole packaging design by eliminating the box.

http://www.puma.com/cleverlittlebag

Mark Boyer Chicago to Replace Old Yellow Streetlights With Energy-Efficient Lamps Read more: Chicago To Replace Old Yellow Streetlights With Energy E

Though money one of the main reasons they are changing the blubs out for ceramic metal-halide lights, this is still a great move for a city of this size. Not only are the bulbs efficient, they are also going to be saving the city around 1.8 million dollars. I also thought this story was interesting because we have similar lights here in San Jose which are awkward in that they blend in with the traffic lights. I would like to see the city address these street lights in some way similar to Chicago.

Living sustainably as a design student

As design students we don't always live the most sustainable lifestyle. From spraying harmful chemicals onto our projects which go into the air, mixing cancer-causing chemicals without a mask on, to cutting harmful materials in a room full of people at 3 am to finish a project is not exactly being friendly the the environment. This article gives some pointers on how to live a healthier more sustainable life as a student.

Eco Friendly Plastic Bottle Design for Coke

While doing the reading I was reminded of this article I read about a while back about an eco friendly square coke bottle design. The project just about summarizes the types of considerations we should consider as designers such as the impact of transportation, packaging, and materials.

Scientists Find a Bacterial Strain That Recycles Newspapers Into Biofuel! Read more: Scientists Find a Bacterial Strain That Recycles Newspapers Into

so it looks like newspapers are useful for something. by using a bacterial strain found in animal droppings, scientists are turning newspaper into butanol to power cars.

Now you can really think green!

Recompute is a desktop computer that is a low impact product, it is designed to reduce the environmental impact through the products life, ie. manufacturing, ownership, and disposal. Though it uses corrugated cardboard and is glued together with white glue, the die cut process and its unique shape show other ways in which something that is seemingly green, but has certain drawbacks can be green in other ways.

adding to the panda poop article

Scientists Find a Bacterial Strain That Recycles Newspapers Into Biofuel!

Susi

Organic additives allow plastic to be biodegradable

EcoPure is an organic additive that makes plastic biodegradable in landfills. By adding just 1 percent of this additive to plastic during manufacturing, the plastic product will naturally breakdown in these microbe rich environments. I'm interested to see how long it actually takes for this process to complete?

Panda Poop, Biofuel? Scientists say yes

Panda poop seems to contain certain enzymes that break down plants enough to make biofuel. I see this as relevant because it is just another way we can avoid the rising costs of ethanol and corn production for fuel. As well as a chance to really push the idea that biofuel can come from many sources and we just need to look harder to fix the problem.

-tommy

Dieter Rams says Good Design is Environmentally Friendly

Some say Dieter Rams is the godfather of good design. Some say his iconic designs have influenced most Apple products, including the iPod. Whatever the reason, Dieter Rams is recognized the world over for creating a an organization that creates products that people want to own forever. Lucky for us, there is a great exhibit that just opened at the SFMOMA in San Francisco. This would be a great weekend trip for anyone in this class, this program, or in design.