Green Options

I have a wacky idea: it involves the photo above (from the National Geographic archives, taken 21 Sep 1938 by The Day, New London, CT), the designer Mitchell Joachim, the PDF here from the Global Citizen Center, and an article in New York magazine, dated 2/7/05.See if you come to the same conclusion — or something better! 

I went to visit a friend, Cameron Sinclair, who’s doing great work through his organization, Architecture for Humanity. One person he mentioned in our conversation was Sheila Kennedy and her project Portable Light. From the website:

“Portable Light is an interdisciplinary research, design and engineering project to create and implement new models for energy efficient electrical power and lighting. Portable Light applies creative processes and strategic integrative thinking [...]

Arthur Shopenhauer said “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”

Above you see three cars, the Tesla Roadster, Wrightspeed X1 and the Tango… the Tesla in particular because of the company’s comparitively deep pockets, which would be in the Violently Opposed Stage (by the majors [...]

Ralf is another fellow I met at a Stanford event. And another product benefitting lots of people. “Whirlwind Technology has been taken to over 45 countries worldwide, providing the best in wheelchair design and construction utilizing local resources.” That quote’s from their site.I saw it in action. There was a woman attending the talk who was in a $4,000 titanium wheelchair. She was respectfully asked “Do you bang your toes?” [...]

Martin Fisher is an enthusiastic rulebreaker. And he’s on his way to making millions. Millions of products that help people in third world countries live a better life. In 1991 he co-founded ApproTEC (now KickStart.org) to develop and market new, appropriate technologies in Africa. He and his group have created over 29,000 new jobs, generating $37 million a year in new profits and wages — transforming subsistence farms into highly [...]

Reading The Cluetrain Manifesto was an eye-opener, a validation of stuff “I already knew.” I highly recommend it. Read Chapter One. The Cluetrain Manifesto observes that markets are conversations. Conversations consist of questions, statements, remarks, answers, and, most of all, listening. Cluetrain argues, convincingly, that because these conversations are happening more frequently and more openly — over the Internet — companies are becoming more transparent. They may think they’re operating [...]

“Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and perhaps weigh 1.5 tons.” (Popular Mechanics in 1949)It’s good to run across reminders like this. Our vision shouldn’t be limited by what we know today, but wide open to the infinite possibilities of our imagination.

I call it the “Jules Verne Effect” — [...]

Feel free to add to the list:  sustainable product design green products healthy materials rapid prototyping rapid manufacturing open source design tools open source industrial design low-impact finishes biomimicry cradle-to-cradle effective design reduce-reuse-recycle collaboration/cooperation low-impact materials optimized manufacturing efficient distribution low-impact use optimized lifetime end-of-life considerations there is no “away”

Product Categories for our Topics (next post) follow: Essentials – air, water and food… products and processes for human survival. Clothing —  what to wear! Shelter — spaces and places for living and working.  Energy — a power-full life.  Health —  healing and feeling good. Conversion — waste not, want not, have more… from composting to upcycling. Materials — elemental building blocks: biological and technical. Tools — making things easier. Movement — getting there. Connection — we are not alone: direct and indirect communication; knowledge; governance. Play — having fun along the [...]