I feel the same way you describe those children IP. I try to do what I can. I walk more. I live in a city where I have transport alternatives. I put everything I can in my recycle bin. I try to sell or give away things when I’m done with them, rather than toss them in the trash (thank god for craigslist). However, in spite of that, I feel I have no chance to make a real difference.
I think, society needs to ask the question, “do we want to burn out the earth as quickly as possible?” I don’t think there is anything wrong with answering “yes”. After all, many people choose that option for their lives, and we celebrate them (Jim Morrison, Joe Columbo, etc.). After we answer that question, I think people will make wiser decisions about what they do in quick measure.
Already though, I see signs of change. There is Home Depot’s announcement to have a ‘green’ product line. GM has canceled plans for for some gas guzzling new cars. Maybe things are changing?
A few random points to close with:
- Chrome is a wonderful process that has been given a bad name. When done properly, it protects steel from corrosion and creates a super hard barrier. It also can last for many years. Unfortunately, most people don’t chrome plate properly, even in the US…let alone China (remember, I worked in lighting for while rolls eyes).
Nickel plating is a better alternative. In fact, luminaires sold in Europe can not be chrome plated, they have to be nickel. I couldn’t find the difference in our samples.
Most of the chrome you see on cars is not chrome. It’s aluminum vacuum plated onto plastic. Polished aluminum has long been a cheaper alternative to chrome. All of the brightwork on old VWs is in fact aluminum.
- That NYT article on Home Depot pointed out two things that I thought were critical: 1. people, en mass, have not bought products based on energy savings or impact as of yet and 2. Home Depot says that customer’s have the idea that an environmental product is less effective than the alternative. I think those two statements sum up what should be done if we want to take action.
Let’s give people environmental products at the price they already pay. In Quebec, there are many refunds for products which use less electricity, thus subsidizing the higher cost. This program can be duplicated. The alternative, is an environmental sin tax to raise the price of bad products. Either way works.
The second point really came home to me as a product designer. How many cheap products do we throw away every year because it was designed badly? Probably a scary amount. We, as designers, can demand a higher standard for ourselves. Let’s make sure that we abuse our prototypes. Take another hour to make sure that everything functions properly. Follow up on quality control issues. If products aren’t prematurely breaking, or aren’t ergonomic failure, chances are that people are going to use them longer. Best part is…this is something we DO control!