Assignment # 1 - Sustainability
Group Topic: LIGHT
What is SUSTAINABILITY and how does it relate to your fields and interests?
The definition of sustainability is the "ability to provide for the needs of the world's current population without damaging the ability of future generations to provide for themselves. When a process is sustainable, it can be carried out over and over without negative environmental effects or impossibly high costs to anyone involved." But what does this mean to you and I, versus the chemists and the environmentalists? IF PROFESSOR KENNEDY COULD SEE ME NOW! (WARNING: What you now will read is what I learned in my Social Issues of Enviornmental Systems class taught by Kennedy, props to you brotha!) So take a journey with me back to the "old days", ya know of Pioneers and stuff. The attitude the people had back then about the world and it's resources was called a "Frontier Attitude" as Kennedy called it. This attitude meant that no matter what, there is always more land and more resources to exploit and use. They probably said stuff like, "Hey! We cut down all the trees in our once lush neighborhood. But its cool cause if we just head west, there are tons of other trees over there. PROBLEM SOLVED!" Well, soon people came along from new generations with a "Spaceship Attitude". These people realized that these resources they were using were not going to be around forever. The reason it is called the "Spaceship Attitude" is because it refers to FUTURE generations. They wanted to preserve these resources and use only what was absolutely necessary so that their posterity could also have these resources. Sustainability is just a present day theory of the "Spaceship Attitude".
But how does this relate to design? Based on the "Hanover Principles", designers should rely on natural energy flows. Since my topic is light, an example would be using natural light or solar energy in a design. Also a designer is responsible for design decisions he or she makes due to human well-being. They have to respond to climate, weather, location and other factors. It is also extremely important to eliminate waste and to know the life cycle of products they are using.
What are the problems with light and sustainability?
The most obvious problem with light and sustainability is education. Sustainable light design is a rising issue, but most people wouldn't know how to incorporate sustainable light resources.
Another problem is that a lot of light sources the average American uses are extremely inefficient. Some have short life and others use, incorporate, or expel toxic materials.
What solutions are currently out there?
The main goal of sustainable light is to maximize as much natural light or daylight as possible and reduce electrical energy consumption. Some companies, Philips Lighting for example, have developed a fluorescent lamp that average 70 percent less mercury (one of those toxic materials) than the industry average for fluorescent lamps. They are also increasing the life of their lamps to reduce the impact of their products on the environment. GE even gives an award for sustainable design, which is a facet of the GE Edison Award program, to those designers and projects that "minimize the use of energy, maximize the use of daylighting, avoid skyward illumination, and ensure system durability and maintainability."
What areas need exploration around light and sustainability?
In my opinion the exploration that needs to be done with sustainable light is finding an inexpensive RESIDENTIAL solution. There are companies that are trying to improve industrial sources of lighting for large scale commercial projects, but from what about the common man? Another problem that needs more attention is light pollution. Light pollution is the illumination of the night sky caused by artificial light sources on our planet. It comes from streetlights, billboard lights and so on. This whole idea of "light pollution" might sound a little silly, but it is actually becoming a problem for astronomers. Since the 1950's, an increase in the use of artificial lighting has reduced our ability to view the night sky.
What conclusions have I found specifically that I would like to take on personally?
I would just like to make a shout out to all those beautiful people that buy efficient light sources. In all honesty, I would buy these sustainable light products if they weren't so expensive. Now don't let me get ya know, I am only being honest. Hopefully when I get my own fantastic home on my private beach, my future husband, a.k.a. recently separated from Angelina now married to me Brad Pitt, he will buy me all sustainable light products for our beautiful home. Or...if for some odd twist of fate Brad stays with Angelina, I will just incorporate a lot of natural light in my home!
What is SUSTAINABILITY and how does it relate to your fields and interests?
The definition of sustainability is the "ability to provide for the needs of the world's current population without damaging the ability of future generations to provide for themselves. When a process is sustainable, it can be carried out over and over without negative environmental effects or impossibly high costs to anyone involved." But what does this mean to you and I, versus the chemists and the environmentalists? IF PROFESSOR KENNEDY COULD SEE ME NOW! (WARNING: What you now will read is what I learned in my Social Issues of Enviornmental Systems class taught by Kennedy, props to you brotha!) So take a journey with me back to the "old days", ya know of Pioneers and stuff. The attitude the people had back then about the world and it's resources was called a "Frontier Attitude" as Kennedy called it. This attitude meant that no matter what, there is always more land and more resources to exploit and use. They probably said stuff like, "Hey! We cut down all the trees in our once lush neighborhood. But its cool cause if we just head west, there are tons of other trees over there. PROBLEM SOLVED!" Well, soon people came along from new generations with a "Spaceship Attitude". These people realized that these resources they were using were not going to be around forever. The reason it is called the "Spaceship Attitude" is because it refers to FUTURE generations. They wanted to preserve these resources and use only what was absolutely necessary so that their posterity could also have these resources. Sustainability is just a present day theory of the "Spaceship Attitude".
But how does this relate to design? Based on the "Hanover Principles", designers should rely on natural energy flows. Since my topic is light, an example would be using natural light or solar energy in a design. Also a designer is responsible for design decisions he or she makes due to human well-being. They have to respond to climate, weather, location and other factors. It is also extremely important to eliminate waste and to know the life cycle of products they are using.
What are the problems with light and sustainability?
The most obvious problem with light and sustainability is education. Sustainable light design is a rising issue, but most people wouldn't know how to incorporate sustainable light resources.
Another problem is that a lot of light sources the average American uses are extremely inefficient. Some have short life and others use, incorporate, or expel toxic materials.
What solutions are currently out there?
The main goal of sustainable light is to maximize as much natural light or daylight as possible and reduce electrical energy consumption. Some companies, Philips Lighting for example, have developed a fluorescent lamp that average 70 percent less mercury (one of those toxic materials) than the industry average for fluorescent lamps. They are also increasing the life of their lamps to reduce the impact of their products on the environment. GE even gives an award for sustainable design, which is a facet of the GE Edison Award program, to those designers and projects that "minimize the use of energy, maximize the use of daylighting, avoid skyward illumination, and ensure system durability and maintainability."
What areas need exploration around light and sustainability?
In my opinion the exploration that needs to be done with sustainable light is finding an inexpensive RESIDENTIAL solution. There are companies that are trying to improve industrial sources of lighting for large scale commercial projects, but from what about the common man? Another problem that needs more attention is light pollution. Light pollution is the illumination of the night sky caused by artificial light sources on our planet. It comes from streetlights, billboard lights and so on. This whole idea of "light pollution" might sound a little silly, but it is actually becoming a problem for astronomers. Since the 1950's, an increase in the use of artificial lighting has reduced our ability to view the night sky.
What conclusions have I found specifically that I would like to take on personally?
I would just like to make a shout out to all those beautiful people that buy efficient light sources. In all honesty, I would buy these sustainable light products if they weren't so expensive. Now don't let me get ya know, I am only being honest. Hopefully when I get my own fantastic home on my private beach, my future husband, a.k.a. recently separated from Angelina now married to me Brad Pitt, he will buy me all sustainable light products for our beautiful home. Or...if for some odd twist of fate Brad stays with Angelina, I will just incorporate a lot of natural light in my home!
posted by kfotheringham | 8:53 AM
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