No longer are the words 'global warming' uncommon in todays world. The phenomenon is responsible for cataclysmic changes in our world including droughts, tougher hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters. The amount of carbon dioxide that is pumped into the atmosphere is incubating our planet, warming it up and causing it to fight back. Devastating amounts of human lives have been lost through events which can be linked back to this changing climate, yet it is still on the rise.
We live in a world that is culturally used to comforts such as cars, electricity on demand, fresh water and such. We seem to have grown so dependant on the accessibility of such resources without giving too much thought to their deliverance to us. Every time we drive our cars, we are personally responsible for increasing the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere - however, given the other options, a car is the fastest and the most comfortable form of travel. This reasoning can be applied to almost everything and it is this reasoning that we must change if we are to reverse the damage already done to our planet.
As Industrial Designers, climate change should be at the forefront of every object we concieve. It should become as important, if not more so, as form and function. We are responsible for creating the products that people so desire because that is our job, and that is what creates an economy. This sort of thinking needs to be abolished if we are to succeed in fighting climate change. Products need to be designed with the environment in mind, whether it be with recyclable materials, expanding its life cycle or decreasing the effect its waste has on the planet. Industrial Designers pride themselves on being lateral problem solvers; creative. It is important now more than ever to show the world that we can help to solve the problem that is global warming.
No comments:
Post a Comment