Appendix XI Sabastian Copland.

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   Appendix XI :   Environmental list and photographer

   Sebastian Copland

               

" Sebastian Copland is a photographer and environmental advocate using messages of urgent global significance for the world to revue and understand. His book Antarctica which he produced with Sir Richard Branson won him a Professional Photographer of the year award in 2007. Sebastian has been an international speaker of climate change crisis for many years. He has been warning of systemic transformations taking place in the polar regions from anthropogenic activities and their geographical consequences.He is also an explorer and has been listed in the worlds top 50 explorers globally. Copland has led expeditions across the Artic sea, Greenland and Antarctica and has reached both poles on foot. He has also produced documentary films including the North Pole and Greenland.

Human induced climate change is being researched by numerous scientists across the globe recognising the volume of the shrinking ice cap and “feedback effect” of melting ice caused by warming trends

The indigenous populations of the polar regions have been effected by climate change, their way of life and culture is under threat in the same way in which animals are being effected by the reduction of ice in the region. 

“For the Artic’s population 4,000 years of adaptive evolution have proven no match for the carbon economy’s global impact. The Artic was an ecosystem which worked in harmony, relying on a balance of behaviour, hunting cycles and seasonal migration. The poster child for climate change in the Artic may well be the polar bear and for good reason: the spreading retreat of the sea ice is challenging this magnificent preditors survival skills faster than it can adapt, endangering species the enevitable conclusion.

The Artic is one of the more hostile environments on Earth and it is also one of the more fragile.

While the loss of culture and biodiversity may seem like a sentimental tale and the price of doing business -it is really a cautionary one as the Artic foretells changes for lower latitudes. The polar regions act like an air conditioner for the world. Warmer temperatures and the melting in the Artic is already creating a feedback loop across our planet, with increased heat waves, droughts, and fires. Meanwhile, the melting of land ice and resulting sea-level rise is having consequences across the globe. On Nedar island, my Caribbean home, shifts in Ph balance of the ocean and rising sea levels add to the existing environmental stressors in marine environment. Climate change is affecting all areas and all people”. (Sir Richard Branson)

"Sustainability is about redefining the business landscape so that it works for the future. Since the start of the industrial age, growth has come at the expense of nature. But building wealth comes from learning how to work with nature and celebrate it. On the balance sheet, that means recognizing the well being of people and the planet in equal parts: one should not exist without the other. Our responsibility today is to acknowledge the warning signs and fundamentally redefined our attitudes towards nature and our actions, before they are redefined for .(Sir Richard Branson)

                                                       Ocean Theme

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

Appendix X Carbon footprint survey on different types of carrier bags.

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              Appendix X:Carbon Footprint Survey

Appendix IX : Green Issues:History of Conservation and Marine plastic pollution.

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      :Green Issues in Design

                       Appendix IX 

"marine plastic pollution as an emerging Anthropocene risk.

Human activities are capable of changing the normal functioning of Earth-system processes in ways that amplify risks to societies worldwide. One of the most conspicuous anthropogenic activities is the manufacturer, use and disposal of plastic. This synthetic material is so widespread throughout the environment that plastic is now considered as a geographical maker of the Anthropocene, the emerging epoch in which humans activities have a decisive influence on the state, dynamics and future of the Earth system. Most plastics took of rapidly since the 1950's, shaping the development of modern society. Global production of plastic resin increased from 1.5 million tons in 1950's, to 322 million tons in 2015.Estimates are during 2010, between 4.8 and 12.7 million tons of mismanaged land based plastic waste entered the oceans. The absolute amount is difficult to calculate, due to the many different sources and environmental transport pathways, but marine plastic pollution(MPP) is now ubiquitous in marine environment."(journal: marine Policywww.elsvier.com/locate/marpol ). " From a stratigraphic perspective, there is a clear Anthropocene threshold between pre-plastic and post plastic systems, but for a chemical pollutant to pose a planetary boundary threat,it's environmental exposure and /or its disruptive effects must be poorly reversible. Marine plastic pollution will always fulfil this condition, as the ultimate end-fate of most mismanaged plastics is the ocean. The ubiquity of plastic debris and the feasibility of its substantial removal from the marine environment, especially in the case of micro- sized particles , mean that exposure is essentially irreversible. Recent estimates suggest the presence of a least 5 trillion plastic pieces floating in the oceans. Plastic material has been observed in most domains of the physical environment, including biosphere, cryosphere's, ocean sediments and even the atmosphere, to the extent that lately been considered a stratigraphic marker of Anthropocene. MPP is accumulating around the convergence zones in the five subtropical ocean gyres and the Artic Ocean. These large-scale accumulation zones are a consequence of the effects of winds, oceans surface currents and the thermohaline circulation. Furthermore, concentrations comparable to those in the subtropical gyres have been recorded close to highly populated areas such as the Mediterranean Sea, bay of Bengal, South China Sea and gulf of Mexico. Organisms ingesting and later egesting MPP also play a role in the global distribution of plastic particles. The biological pathway cannot be halted or reversed. The weathering of macroplastics is a major source of the microsized plastic particles currently present in the marine environment.The main mechanisms for this are degradation by mechanical wave action,UV photodegradation, and changing genetic diversity. These properties cannot be inactivated. 

Recent studies also highlight the importance of land-based breakdown of textile fibres as a source of microplastic. Thus , even if inputs of microplastic debris in the marine environment will inevitably continue to increase with an associated outlook of shifting exposure and complex effects on different ecosystems. A major uncertainty relates to the disruption of systemic connections between the physical and the living components of the Earths system. Here carbon sequestration illustrates the issues because the global carbon cycle is one of the biophysical foundations of the earth system. It links ocean processes with the atmosphere, biosphere, and terrestrial environment and plays a vital role in balancing the climate system. Mechanisms can be envisaged where MPP affects the ability of the oceans to sequester carbon  into the major global reservoirs of deep water bodies and ocean sediments,biological and physiciochemical means.

The consequences on the carbon cycle would only be detectable on a global scale, and after a considerable time lag. A biologically-mediated disruption to the long-term storage of carbon could occur if biological processes at the base of the ecosystem functions are altered because of the presence of plastic. MPP could alter marine populations through booms or collapses, including the extinction of keystone  species. MPP may also have the capacity to cause a biophysically-mediated disruption. The flux faecal pellets is an important component of the biological pump of carbon(including anthropogenic atmospheric carbon) to ocean sediments. Microparticles of polystyrene alter the properties and sinking rates of faecal pellets egested by marine zooplankton. Particulate material could thus interfere with the flow of carbon nutrients in the water column, affecting  the regulation of global  biogeochemical flows in turn affecting  the future trophic chains. The physical burial  of plastic materials may also  represent a shift in long term carbon storage, since it does not share the element ratio of living material. Recent estimates for the marine plastic debris range from between 86 and 150 million tons of plastic. A large fraction of the plastic known to of entered the surface ocean is not currently accounted for. It is ultimate fate is to be deposited(directly or through the biota) onshore or on the sea floor."

"MPP is a globally sustainability challenge, a clear example of the tragedy of commons, difficult to manage and govern globally. Plastic waste is being addressed by multinational frameworks."  (journal homepage:www.elsevier.com).

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

Appendix VIII In depth report of plastic waste

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  Appendix VIII: In Depth report on plastic waste  

                                                                                        

Appendix VII Eco-Friendly Alternatives

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(http://www.ecofashiontalk.com/2016/07/4-eco-friendly-alternatives-to-commonly-used-textiles/
APPENDIX VI: Eco Friendly Alternatives

4 Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Commonly Used Textiles

Posted On July 16, 2016

With sustainability efforts on the rise, more and more options are becoming available for designers looking to start an eco-friendly label, or for those shifting to their first sustainable collection. From plants to fish, below are a few of the many natural alternatives now available to replace harmful synthetic fabrics.

As sustainability continues to be the focal topic of discussion in all things textiles, more and more options are becoming available to designers looking to start an eco-friendly label, or for those shifting to their first sustainable collection. From plants to fish, below are a few of the many natural alternatives now available to replace harmful synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon.

Hemp – Hemp is one of the oldest domesticated crops known to man. It has been used for paper, textiles, and cordage for thousands of years, dating back to as early as 8,ooo BC. Hemp is categorized as a bast – a strong woody fiber obtained chiefly from the phloem of a plant, which grows on the outside of the plant’s stalk.

Unlike many fibers used in today’s apparel industry, hemp is grown without the use of harmful chemicals, pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. It is also a high-yield crop that grows very rapidly and with little irrigation (50% less than cotton), making it a very appealing and “clean” option for designers. Other benefits of hemp: tensile strength and durability (8x that of cotton), hypoallergenic, breathable, and UV resistant.

It is no wonder that Stella McCartney, Calvin Klein and a host of other labels now use the fiber in their apparel, with many others quickly catching on. Hemp can be used to make many products, including jeans, shirts, dresses, hats and bags.

Fish Leather – Fish leather is a great alternative to traditional hides. It is made from the skin of different fish species, such as salmon, perch and carp. These fish species are regularly consumed, and the skins would often be wasted otherwise. Fish skins are considered exotic and serve as a great substitute to the typical exotic leathers like as crocodile and snake that threaten endangered species.

The tanning process of fish skins uses far less chemicals than that of other animal skins, eliminating things like lye and acid that cause atmospheric pollution. They are very durable and their texture depends on the size and shape of the scale pockets, which can vary from 2mm to 2cm in size according to the species.

Fish leather is ideal for accessories, commonly used to make purses, wallets, jewelry and shoes. Major brands like Prada, Dior and Nike have all found ways to incorporate this material into their collections.

Tencel – Tencel® is a natural fiber known for its flattering drape and soft, luxurious hand-feel. It is the brand name for a fabric from a fiber generically called lyocell, which is owned by Lenzing Fibers of Austria.

Lyocell is made from the wood pulp of the eucalyptus tree. The fiber is produced with minimal impact on the environment – using a non-toxic solvent that is continually recycled during the production process – and economical use of energy and water. Further, eucalyptus requires fewer pesticides and far less acreage to grow than cotton, thus it is much more eco-friendly.

The fabric made from Lyocell is breathable and naturally wrinkle-resistant, making it a favorable material among major fashion brands like Patagonia, Banana Republic and L.L. Bean.

Flax – Flax is one of the most promising developments in sustainable textiles today. While most flax is grown and harvested for its grain and turned into food, its fiber can also be transformed into materials that look and feel similar to cotton.

Flax fibers come from the flax plant and are usually used to make linen, which is known to be one of the world’s strongest and most durable natural fibers. The bast fiber is one of the oldest agricultural crops in the world and is naturally pest-resistant. It also requires very little fertilization and chemicals to thrive, and little to no irrigation. The fact that every part of a flax plant is used makes it all the more eco-friendly.

Because of its tensile strength and breathability, along with its cool touch, linen is great for everything from apparel to bedding and various other interior textiles.