Green Issues in Design : Ecology Evolution: Abstract

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Abstract

“The epidemic psychosis of our time is the lie of believing we have no ethical obligation to our planetary home.”  Theodore Roesak

.(https://libquotes.com/theodore-roszak/works/the-voice-of-the-earth.accessed Aug.2019)

The reasoning behind this book has come from a comprehensive journal documenting a project brief for a Masters Degree at University Lincoln of which extracts can be viewed in (Appendix I /II)

Global warming, also referred to as climate change, is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth's climate system and its related effects. Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming.^] Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record, and in paleoclimate proxy records of climate change over thousands to millions of years.^{(http://thetechnews.com/2017/07/26/global-warming-scenarios//.accessed 25/08/2019.11.28am)}

Castro trophic tipping point of Global Climate Change. The point were the planets biodiversity, natural resources for energy, climate change and the eradication of our polar regions of our planet will reach us into an era were we will have lost the natural resources to service the human race, a world of non-biodiversity.

“This is already happening with the effects of serious weather changes, alterations in global carbon cycles, eco systems degradations, mass extinction, increases in demands of water food and energy needs. Potentially we can change the devastation we are in by changing our habits, it is a planetary emergency to avoid a global catastrophe. However many scientists believe change will never happen as the world is run via monetary values” (Appendix III:transcript Ten Billion years Director:Peter Webber:writer Stephen Emmott).

Therefore it is every bodies responsibility to live sustainable lives, just like it is our responsibility to put litter in a bin “consume less and strive to be carbon neutral”

The Anthropecene;Making sense of the climate change 

                     A good short definition of the Anthropocene is explained in (Appendix XII)


                                                 The Project Brief MA Design.

The story of our natural habitats and wildlife through the eyes of an ecology-based design perspective to develop and debate strategies and outcomes for a better and greener world thorough our own personal lifestyle choices is of what I’m trying to develop and analyze as a designer and a consumer.(Appendix II)

"Purposely looking at ways to reduce the impact on the environment by choosing more eco sound production processes, materials and longevity of design principles to create the most economically ecology effective products or services."

                               Looking closely at my dissemination development

Initially I created imagery to add to a tote bag as a reason to promote environmental and conservational issues connected to plastic pollution of our oceans.
Semiotics is an interesting  research value within  product design imagery "Semiotics definition, the study of signs and sign -using behaviour. it was defined by one of its founders, the swiss linguist Ferninand De Saussure, as the study of the life of signs within society and include emojis, road signs and corporate logos" described in the Britannica dictionary.(https://www.britannica.com/science/semiotics.accessed Aug.2019)Tote bags for shopping have traditionally been used to advertise company logos brands, statements connected to human nature ie I love ?, be green, save the planet etc.
A product with a design on it to add social impact, is about communicating  above and beyond its function. 
However in this case a tote bag has a function on the basis that it removes single use plastic use when it is used in connection to shopping and directly links to the concerns of  the campaign advertised.  Tote bags can be added and used to promote proto types within the range of fabrics and wall art created and the philosophy is that tote bags can be added to many ranges of products to exclude plastic use within consumer trading. Donations from sales could can also go to environmental campaigns including Antarctica Ocean Sanctuary and therefore act as advertisement for social change and the use of raising funds. These products can also be used as part of a package when purchasing from many ranges (removing the need of unnecessary packaging).

Slogan used on the back of Tote bags to promote Antarctica from depleting and it's eventual total loss of ice caps.                    The Green Consumer The green consumer and green activist is someone who is passionate about ecology and concerned with saving the planets natural environment. As Green peace Explains “People are passionate about peace, passionate about positive change through action. Together we are unstoppable.(GreenPeace.org.uk accessed July.2018).Research suggests that brands that establish a reputation for sustainability can inherit a younger millennial consumer base and build on their reputation for sustainable products. One aspect is even more clearer is that people wanting sustainable products also expect quality and durability within their purchases. As the guardian points out , explaining recent governmental reports on consumer behaviour.(Appendix XIV)

Green Issues in Design :Acknowledgements

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      Green issues in Design.   Acknowledgements.

                         

I would like to thank all those people responsible for helping me through my exploratory project brief discussing green issues within my MA Design course work.

Considering design making, design practice and consumer awareness for a better future for our planet. Striving for a sustainable future, I would like to acknowledge a special mention to Felicity Shum who not only helped me on a practical level within print making but also within a mentoring role and friendship ,while I was processing through my academic philosophy and design practical work.

The main issues of concern within my project is based around current climate change issues and concerns for our oceans and wildlife which are currently under threat. While progressing through the different aspects of the courses curriculum I chose to specialize within a Green Peace Campaign “Antarctica Ocean Sanctuary.

I would like to thank Green Peace for their current and past climate change campaigning including their desires to ban whaling. Through their untiring approach from their early beginnings which through my own life experiences, I have watched and respected for many years.

May the diligence and struggles of climate change campaigning continue until the world becomes a global sanctuary without pollution and destructive practice via human mankind’s desire for monetary gain.

I would also like to make a special mention to Prince Charles and the Princes Trust for making my independent career possible allowing me to live a life style choice that incorporated sustainable fashion choices for my customer base and myself. Allowing me to be part of a new generation of eco conscious designers leading the way to improve production processes to include handcrafted items using natural resources reducing waste and improving choices for the consumer.

May Holden nee Leithhead (my Grandmother)

My grandmother May Leithhead fell walking in the Scottish highlands who influenced my desires and dreams for a natural world paying attention to my own impacts on the environment. She was an advocate to environmental concerns for our natural environment.

Appendix 1:Includes Extracts from Design Journal

The Green Peace Story Documentary: The Ecology fight for a cleaner World :You tube : The Green Peace Promotion : Short Clip You tube : End to Japanese Whaling in Antarctica :Youtube

Green Issues : Design and Lifestyle Choices

Eco Evo:Green Issues

Images of MA Show and MA Journal.

By Victoria Meadows

MA Design : Dissertation 

                                                     History of Conservation of Nature


The beginning of conservation and respect for nature can be seen through history starting from early history of mankind when nature’s wildlife and seasons were incorporated into early religions i.e Sun gods, sacrifices to improve weather changes and harvests. Customs and ancient ceremonies to pay homage to the earth’s natural surroundings can be seen through different cultures around the world.
Specific laws were created in medieval times to protect woodland for the pleasure of nobility and royals. After the Norman conquest large areas of land were annexed using forest laws.
Some of the first conservation areas of the early medieval period were granted mainly so that landowners and royalty could hunt freely. Knowing there would not be any depletion of game in their private woods by making it illegal to poach on the kings lands

Forest laws were extended in the 18^th century called the black law, hanging people for encroaching on to Royal hunting grounds. These laws extended to overseas colonies of which the remnants are used to create conservation areas today. Re wilding is a relatively old theory which is being used today to create new Natural areas of land to help reach  drawdown to prevent global warming
Conservation needs of today go far more than previously has ever seen. Individuals can become a movement of people activism, campaigning and demanding change through group discussions and using the world web. I have challenged this theory through my blog "NaturesArmour,blogspot.com and through my dissemination I added my blog to social media, it is also currently life on line. I have received enough feedback to increase my page reviews by adding to community blogsites to increase awareness of climate change, lifestyle choices and green design strategies within design.



                                 Environmental Impact of Humans

Historically humans have been having an impact on our environment since evolution evolved our planet and homo Sapiens became the super power race against most predators. When as hunters and gathers humans started to farm and domesticate animals we can see climate change being effected by mankind’s lifestyle. 


During the late 19^th century within Industrial Revolution a number of Artists and critics voiced their concerns. In regard to pollution. (“If only the geologists would let me alone, I could do very well, but those dreadful Hammer’s! I hear the dink of them at the end of every cadence of the Bible verses”.(John Ruskin, letter to Henry Acland 1851).
 As the textile designer, poet and social activist William Morris explains the need that "Nature and History Morris asserted were, or at least ought to be, the two great teachers of mankind. This statement shows in part Morris's environmentist values and is connected to the pre-Raphaelite art movement that includes the aesthetic movement. His hatred for the industrial revolution is well documented. When researching textile history we can see great changes during the industrial revolution created by Britain's technical innovations resulting in social change.

                                          

        Textile Technologies/Handmade

 Within the twentieth and twenty-first century we are seeing new transformations of design, manufacture and consumer interaction. As it is explained in The Handbook of Textile Culture "In  a post-industrial culture the artisanal, material cultures once marginalized as lacking the authority of symbolic meaning, or the capacity for abstract thinking, are becoming reconsidered as a source of knowledge. Integrating the techne-technique and technologies of manufacturer by hand and machine". A new collaboration of the old and the new, techniques, philosophies and theories of knowledge. 


                                  

        Design Choices and Lifestyle Issues

“The Romantic movement which included aestheticism were protesting over the destruction of idyllic rural life for a world of dark Satanic Mills written in William Blake’s 1804 poem.” (Lewis and Maslin.2018.206). One of the earliest environmental needs based action campaigns was created by the artist/poet Sir William Blake. He started an organization called the coal smoke abatement society which was founded in Richmond in 1898 which resulted in the smoke abatement Act including soot, ash and gritty particles.

Another well known campaign that ended in a riot was in Nottinghamshire when “artisanal textile workers broke machines to defend their wages against further declines. Known as the Luddites they began in Arnold, Nottingham, on 11^th March 1811, with over two thousand people marching and then smashing sixty-eight spinning frames”.(Lewis and Maslin,2018.206). 
Scientific revolution sprung into the new industrial world. An example of this is when in 1824 Joseph Aspdin patented a chemical process known as Portland cement which has since revolutionized building techniques. Electricity, the invention of the light bulb and the use of fossil fuels have contributed to today’s global warming.

A lot of new knowledge came out of the 19^th century including Darwin’s theory of evolution which set religious philosophy against scientists in fact Darwin did not publish his papers due to concerns via ridicule from religious leaders.

"In their seminal work, Cloth and Human Experience, Weiner and Schneider(1991) remark that 'complex' moral and sexuality, find ready expression through cloth. Indeed they argue, 'cloth has further organizational of social and political life', evoking ideas of tying or bringing together many different kinds of publics whether through the banners of the Suffragettes and Trade Unions or the wrapping of the fences at Greenham Common, or the laying down of Aids quilt or through addressing issues and relations that are not pre-given through kinship but are produced in gatherings and cooperations." (Jefferies.J.Wood Conroy.D.Clark.H(2018)The hand book of textile Culture.Bloomsbury.)


              

                                   Carbon Dioxide Spike

 Scientists are working across the globe

 researching how environmental strategies across the globe are being carried out in order to keep current and develop new emerging  techniques to reverse global warming. 

http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence(14.08.2019 3.00pm)this graph is based on the comparison of atmospheric samples contained in ice cores and more recent direct measurements, provides evidence that atmospheric C02, has increased since the industrial revolution.

   Ocean Theme

Oceans and sea creatures have been depicted within art and design since ancient Greeks and Romans and other ancient cultures, tribes and religions. I have chosen to use oceans, wildlife, natural flora, nautical imagery as my focus in order to improve knowledge of conservation and marine ecology of our oceans. The oceans contain a huge variety of life recent estimations conclude their are up to 2 million species found in and around coral reefs, the sea produces around half of all oxygen we breath( thanks to phytoplankton, tiny single cell ocean plants). The ocean also sequences large amounts of dangerous carbon dioxide. The ocean regulates our climate, cool waters soak up heat from the sun, they are a big part of our life support system. It is estimated that that 8 million tonnes of plastic waste is dumped in our oceans and it is set to double by 2025

Environmentalists

Ocean biologist Jacque Cousteau (1910-1997) was an inspiration when I was growing up and also for many people interested in ocean environmental and conservation issues.



Recently Jaques Cousteau’s grandson has been part of a series of documentaries highlighting environmental and conservation issues of our planets oceans. He specializes in oceanography which is looking into scientific aspects of our oceans to better understand what is happening due to pollution and global warming issues.

His grandson has recently also highlighted concerns in regard to melting ice gaps in Antarctica and has explained present forecasts are not accurate.

This graph by Nasa on line shows up to date figures going back to 1979.

                  
                                                                A clip from CNN News on Jacque Cousteau