http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/21/green-environment-ecology-congress-us-supermarkets

The rationale for the sustainable design platform is due in part to studies that suggest the United States is a key contributor to worldwide waste and emissions.  Both of these factors have been associated with the natural phenomenon known as global warming.  Global warming is the assumed origin of most current natural disasters, from melting icebergs to California wildfires.  With the recent Noble Peace Prize and Academy Award winning An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore and the IPCC, this theory has received an abundance of mainstream public attention.  Several political leaders now proclaim the debate of global warming over.  (Stossel)  In spite of this, scientists still do not see eye to eye on the position.  In a May, 2007 FoxNews.com article, the National Climactic Data Center reported its findings that,

“Though we may be burning more fossil fuels than ever before,” coal, oil and gas, “that activity isn’t having any sort of discernible or proportionate impact on global temperatures.”  (Malloy) 

Even the Academy Award winning movie reports inconclusive science,

“Carbon dioxide is thought to amplify temperature increases, but (Gore’s) graph seemed to show clear cause and effect: When carbon dioxide levels rose, so did temperature.  It suggested that carbon levels controlled temperature.  But a real inconvenient truth is that the carbon increase came after temperatures rose, usually hundreds of years later.  Temperature went up first.”  (Stossel)

This unstable theory influences “green” initiatives, however without concrete proof of global warming; the solution is simply an experiment.

(If I must entertain you so that you will read my blog, then so be it….)

Okay, this will be the most “technical” post on this topic. If you will indulge me, I promise a special treat when we’re done. Here we go…

The industry in which I participate, Interior Design, is leading the way of Green and recently, the American Society of Interior Designers adapted a sustainable design platform that encourages its members to adopt the principles of Green design.

“Green design,” states ASID “is design that goes beyond being just efficient, attractive, on time and on budget. It is a design that cares about how such goals are achieved, about its effect on people and on the environment.” By participating, a designer or industry partner commits to; exhibit a Green example in their personal workspace, pursue and promote environmental education, and create new products that exemplify sustainability.

“We will practice sustainable design, and it will be the single most important part of our interior design practice.”(Associates III)

With ASID’s far-reaching influence, this platform essentially affects everyone that operates in the interior design industry. Students’ curriculum is focused heavily on sustainable materials, less on the skills necessary to perform the profession. Designers promote eco-friendly products to their clients, often advising a complete Green cleansing of a projects’ earth-unfriendly design. Clients are encouraged to enlist the services of Green designers over those who are not. Every design objective seemingly filters through a green screen.

Although ASID as well as environmentalists have admirable intentions, the Green initiative is a flawed position. My uneasiness stems from three simple facts.
1. The foundational science is debatable
2. The fashionable solution triggers an even greater problem and
3. The practice of Green promotes a lifestyle that includes ideas other than preserving the earth.

If we are truly concerned with future generations and the health of the planet, the approach with lasting impact is investment in lives.

People, not nature should be our most important goal.

thank you….here’s your treat! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpiIWMWWVco

here’s a great start to help de-myth “green” (thanks, Jo!)

Ok, so what is “red?” Well, before I can explain my red crusade I will have to first explain a bit about green. No, I have not gone completely Christmas crazy, the green movement I am referring to on this blog is environmentalism; red I will explain a little later.

Everywhere you turn these days someone is talking about going Green. From the energy crisis and gas prices to what we purchase and how we dispose of our garbage, going Green is the newest craze in America. Going Green used to be something only tree huggers did. Somehow it has moved from the hippy communes to the forefront of our everyday lives, and in my opinion (which I do have one) it has gone way too far. Over the next several posts, my goal is to introduce the flaws of the Green initiative, the deficiency of the solutions, and the dubious extent of such a lifestyle. I will then introduce what I believe is a more realistic solution, one that has greater potential to address the difficulties facing our environment today.

While this dissertation may lack my typical sarcastic and humorous nature, I beg you to bear with me until the groundwork is established, we can have fun later….