The intriguing thing is, the waste society exorcise just seemingly disappears; that’s modern civilization, that’s the beauty of the system. When anything that is no longer useful just vanish, it becomes no longer a worry, no longer an issue one needs to regard. It becomes an intuitive convenience. There are components of society that we subconsciously take for granted, and one just happens to be the social infrastructure that regulates and mediates our social processes, and conveniently all is good.

But is all actually good? Is that, and should that be the end of our worry? One sure hopes so, but you very well know that this common environment is one closed ecosystem. In other words we are all shitting in one single pool. The reason we continue to do so is because consciously it appears that nothing is wrong, however, is what we cannot observe, non-existent? It seems to be so, and that is what we strive to believe. Is there no emissions when the sky is clear, no additives when the water is fresh? It makes no sense at all. Indeed vision can be very deceiving, and how well does this illusion flourish by our strive for ignorance. This is the disappearing act.

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“… one of the best ways for us to not sacrifice is with ethanol, because ethanol makes us feel like the energy crisis has been solved, and allows us to keep living the way we always have; in our cars… the great thing about ethanol is not only do we not have to sacrifice, neither do the oil companies, because to get 100 gallons of ethanol, you have to burn 129 gallons of fossil fuel. So, we can break our addiction to fossil fuels, without sacrificing our dependence on fossil fuels.”

Last year biofuels consumed a third of America’s maize harvest; filling up an SUV with ethanol expend enough corn to feed an average person for one year. Now consider feeding the other 2 billion people who lack food security due to various degrees of poverty; it is then merely common sense to comprehend that producing biofuel from food crops only mean further violating our global food security. This biofuel comparison chart produced by Seattle Post-Intelligencer displays just how devastating it could be if corn and soybeans were to replace only half of America’s fuel demand. It is even more unfortunate to hear about America and Europe’s subsidy programs upon this niche market. In the midst of this change in crop demands, the world is facing the most severe food price inflation in history, on a scale never seen before.

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“It came to me when I tried to classify your species, and realized that you’re not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment; but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer on this planet, you are a plague… ”

We are the perpetrators of fear. Fear not of our vulnerability, but how we are, and what we will become.

1. The Matrix, The Wachowski Brothers.
2. Overpopulation in the Philippines, madsnissenchina, Flickr.

1. Issue 16.06, Wired Magazine.

“… total energy use in the United States continues to rise, despite efficiency gains. Per capita we’re using more energy… “

“… a more efficient technology could create a rebound effect… the efficiency gains are wiped out by greater demand for the resource.”

“Take the introduction of a new, incredibly cheap, very efficient vehicle in India: the Tata Nano. It costs only $2,500, and luckily it gets around 47 miles per gallon. In many ways, it is encouraging to see India setting the bar so high with such a fuel-efficient vehicle. But even with that standard, can the world really afford to see millions of similar, new vehicles on the road, with their twin threats of increased oil demand and greenhouse gas emissions?”

The inherit threat of relying on efficiency (and technology) rather than decreasing consumption (and behavior) becomes the focus of this set of articles by TreeHugger. In it poses some of the prominent examples of this paradox through various scenarios from around the world. It ends in providing suggestions for social development through an intellectual course of action and change.

1. Beating the Energy Efficiency Paradox/Part II, TreeHugger.
2. Highway Jam, Kirpernicus, Flickr.

Earth hour was a global event, at least one that lasted for about an hour. It was for corporations and people like you and I who have a heart to reduce our environmental debt, but fail so because turning off the light for an hour is all we can do. It was for corporations to embrace propaganda, a credit for backing this cause. It was an environmental publicity stunt. It was a voluntary act of change. What Earth Hour isn’t is to inflict change on those who merely do not believe in a human component in environmental degradation. Those who rather leave the lights on or turn on more lights as a dark parody. It isn’t a permanent reduction in resource demand, let alone a reduction at all. It isn’t a definite solution.

What Earth Hour is however is an event that caused a mere 5 to 10 percent reduction in electric demands throughout the world, for about an hour. It is an event that brought together people and cultures from all over the world for a cause that is of their concern. It is a checkpoint for our society, for people like you and I, to embrace in long term actions to reduce environmental debt. It is a short breath of relief to our environment, and the slightest delay to our environmental collapse. It is an event to question why these acts of interest does not occur as a social norm and under one’s own discretion. It isn’t hard to do.

1. saveourclimate, Flickr.
2. Cities go dark to mark Earth Hour, CNN.

“80% of consumers want to buy energy efficient light bulbs; in 2006 only 6% of light bulbs sold were CFL.”

“54% of consumers could not name a company who supplied renewable or “green” energy.”

“80% of Americans are concerned about energy efficiency; only a few turn off their computers at night.”

These are some of the statistics released by a recent EcoPinion survey demonstrating the lack of influence of green branding. In fact it seems that the resonance of green products and services return to global corporations who are often critiqued about their environmental obligations. They are able to provide false resolutions through marketing and corporate branding, so called “greenwashing”. “Consumers largely have a neutral, wait-and-see stance on company commitments and leadership on renewable energy, energy efficiency and the environment.” This merely reflects the fact that, though consumers like you and I are aware and conscious about our green obligations in the shared biosphere, little is often done to withdraw from the capitalist rabbit hole that has engulfed our culture and society. The corporations and the market should cater for the needs of the consumer, rather than pushing irrelevant and tactless branding that deceives our perception of our actual demand. Be invited to share a mutual commitment for our environmental health.

1. treehugger » ecoalign.

Revised on February 26, 2008.

There is no doubt that in the contemporary society, the media is flooded with facts and propaganda about increasing environmental concerns. Whether you believe them or not is irrelevant in this discussion, but how have they shaped your awareness and behavior? Do you believe that the claims on a product are true? Under the influence of various media exposing the issues of marketing dishonesty, it is hard to find anyone that blindly does. The fact that you are somewhat aware of what you’re consuming, you have already taken the necessary first steps in being a conscious consumer. What if it was exposed that the food you and your family consume is nourished by the acidic rain from industrial and vehicle emissions, or toxic chemicals decomposed into the soil originated from half way around the globe, should you then be concerned ofthe consequences and adverse health effects of your consumptions? The green culture is no longer only about forests and recycling, smog and pollution; it compromises with personal health and social wellbeing. The ethics and values of this aggregate, intricate society can hereby be called into question. Concerned about health care? This is where it should begin.

Greenwashing is a term to define misguidance and false accusation in the consumer market about broadcasted, but not actual, efforts on environmental practices. The color green in fact does not defy an interest in environmental responsibility; the label hybrid does not represent zero fossil fuel dependency. Do you believe that upon consuming an item that is labeled as green or environmentally friendly, that you are exempt from environmental responsibilities and obligations, leaving you to believe that you are morally guilt-free? Just how greenwashed can you be?

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The intention of design should include purpose and course. Intelligent design dictates the intellectual property of design that I have referred, design that extends beyond aesthetics and leads to an absolute solution. The solution should be direct and intuitive; users guided through productivity and function by an innate conscience of efficiency and sustainability. If the purpose of locks and handles were to ensure privacy or commend access, this example by designer Arnaud Lapierre supposedly represented such philosophy by an intelligent solution. If the room is accessible then it is visually and intuitively represented by an extruding handle. If not then the handle is retracted, hence no handle, no access. It needs not delicate locks and colored indicators that represent the condition of the room, the solution is efficient and straightforward, addressing the situation by a direct interpretation that it satisfies.

Products are solutions to problems, yet they often promote further problems than it regards. The problem with the contemporary society, beyond the billions of “problems” our society is plagued by, is a false apprehension and gratification of course and order. The effort to increase global awareness of the environmental crisis is a respectable beginning, but is immensely insufficient. For one the campaigns leave little to know for how the individual should comprehend, and second what little can be done by the collective population. The problem actually, is dictated by the multinationals corporations that exploit our world for their profits. Consider the automotive industry, one of the leading sources of environmental impact. The consumer environment is command and controlled by de facto multinationals. How are no emission electric automobiles rejected in environmental agendas? Are we to believe that hybrids are the absolute solution to environmental impacts? The government tends to think so, only because both the automobile and energy sectors exert prominent forces on economical and political influence. This leaves burden on aspiring directors and designers, to dictate a healthy consumer environment that respects our environmental obligations by means of intelligent design.

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I love design, no doubt. Design should not only be visually appealing, it should convey substance, course and purpose. Design means more than meets the eye; beyond aesthetics, design defines intention, plan and execution. I hate the fact that there are designs that had not engaged any intellectual thought processes; they are just there to fill and exploit the market, to make us feel like there is a void in our life that should be cared for. I hate the fact that this world is gladly cruising to a dead end.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against pure artistic design. But as the world enter a phrase of imminent environmental collapse, it is worrying that the people, us, do not feel an urgency to change the lifestyle that is leading us to our demise. We are, the frog in the pot. Perhaps blame is on the leaders or producers, but for certain is that these directors also react and adjust to the society and culture. Choice and consumption is eventually on the shoulders of the public, at the core of society.

If you share a similar passion for design and sustainability, or have general thoughts and responses, please leave a word or two, or get in contact, and let’s explore ideas, critiques and solutions, together.

1. Desk in Morning, echo4ngel, Flickr.