The Story of Cap & Trade

This video is another in a series featuring Annie Leonard, who previously presented us with The Story of Stuff and the Story of Bottled Water. In The Story of Cap & Trade Annie introduces us to the concept of cap & trade in our current state of industry. It is quite frightening to know that our planets well being is being wilingly sacrificed by several few with power in order to profit from economic gain. Though her point about "paying back our ecological debt" would do its fair share in striking fear into those who are still oblivious to the fact of our declining environment.

All is not doom and gloom however. Several companies are now getting on the bandwagon of ensuring their actions as an enterprise do as little harm as possible to our environment. This would only bode well for a future where our resources currently look pretty bleak. The consumption of these raw materials are now at an alarming rate. Changes done now are imperative to the sustainability and future of our planet.

Design For Life

The series featuring Philipe Starck does give us IDES students a real insight to the inner workings of the design world we ourselves are vying to get into. Though Starck himself might be portrayed as an egotistical prick, the knowledge base and experience he has does show through when dealing with the projects the various participants undertake. Anyone can have ideas, but to have ideas good enough to have clients pay for them, and design as a job does require a very high level of commitment, enthusiasm and hard work as the participants on the show general tend to illustrate.
Another great point that Starck tries to plant into these young designers, is also to look at their own designs, and question whether or not it could be turned into a necessity. Starck challenges them to design for a purpose, rather than to come up with something, only because they have to. This really does put what we have done so far in studios into perspective. Enabling us to be more consistent in our future designs as we learn from our tutors and experiences that we encounter in life.