Lifecycles & Flows | Class 1 - September 4

LIFE CYCLES & FLOWS | WEEK 1: SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 !

LIFE CYCLES! FLOWS!


LIFE CYCLES & FLOWS | WEEK 1: SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 !LIFE CYCLES & FLOWS | WEEK 1: SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 !

INTRODUCTIONS!

JEN VAN DER MEER!!REBECCA SILVER!


JEN VAN DER MEER!

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REBECCA SILVER: I AM A MICHIGANDER!

FARM LAND. SHUTTERED FACTORES. !WHEN YOU GROW UP IN SUCH STARK CONTRAST, YOU ASK WHY.!

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LANSING, MI!

HOME OF OLDSMOBILE SINCE 1897. UNTIL IT CLOSED IN 1998.!!1970: 131,500 Residents; Peak Population.!1990: 127,000 Residents. 32,100 Manufacturing Jobs.!2010: 114,000 Residents. 18,400 Manufacturing Jobs.!!!!! 5!5!


THESE PROBLEMS ARE SYSTEMIC!

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GAS STATIONS WITH NO GAS. TRAIN TRACKS WHICH LEAD TO NOWHERE.!!


AND LINGER LIKE SCARS ON THE LANDSCAPE!

EARLIER THIS YEAR DETROIT FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY.!THERE ARE 78,000 ABANDONED BUILDINGS IN THE CITY.!40% OF THE STREET LIGHTS DO NOT WORK.!MICHIGAN IS THE ONLY STATE WITH A DECREASING POPULATION.!!! 7!7!


WHY?!

THE CLEAN AIR ACT PASSED IN 1970.!THE 1973 ARAB OIL EMBARGO SHOOK THE AUTO INDUSTRY. !

LARGE, GAS-GUZZLING CARS GAVE WAY TO SMALL, FUEL-EFFICIENT JAPANESE IMPORTS.!

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INNUMERATE OTHER FACTORS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS SITUATION.!

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TODAY WE OUTSOURCE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT !

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CARS FROM MEXICO. WATER FROM FIJI. ELECTRONICS FROM CHINA.!WE KEEP MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES. !BUILDING TOMORROW’S POST-INDUSTRIAL CITIES.!


PRODUCTION IS GLOBAL, IMPACT IS PERSONAL!

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HOW CAN I LEARN FROM THE PAST TO !DESIGN A BETTER FUTURE?!


REBECCA SILVER!

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CAREER: Recovering product designer, full-time sustainability maven. I’ve led sustainability initiatives with the Environmental Defense Fund, Walmart, Adidas, United Technologies Corporation and others. I aspire to create products and services customers love, while minimizing their environmental footprints.!!BFA: Industrial Design, Rhode Island School Of Design.!MBA: Business, Ross School Of Business, University Of Michigan.!MS: Environmental Science, The School Of Natural Resources And Environment, University Of Michigan.!


A FROG STEPPED INTO A POT OF TEPID WATER!

CURRENT EVENTS!


RADIOACTIVE PLUME COMING TO THE U.S. IN 2014!

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A radioactive plume of water in the Pacific Ocean from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, which was crippled in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, will likely reach U.S. coastal waters starting in 2014.!


PLAN TO BAN OIL DRILLING IN AMAZON IS DROPPED!

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The president of Ecuador offered the world what he considered an enticing deal: donate $3.6 billion to a trust intended to protect 4,000 square miles of the Amazon jungle and his country would refrain from oil drilling in the rain forest. “The world has failed us,” President Correa said as he withdrew the offer six years later.!


‘WE ARE FIGHTING FOR OUR SURVIVAL’!

Atolls are at risk of becoming uninhabitable if sea levels rise… “The Pacific is fighting for its survival. Climate change has already arrived," said Christopher Loeak, president of the Marshall Islands.!


IS CLIMATE CHANGE CAUSING EXTREME WEATHER?!

At what point do you realize you’re the frog in the boiling pot of water?!


QUIZ: WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?!

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AMOUNT OF CO2 IN THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE!

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‘WICKED’ PROBLEMS!WICKED PROBLEMS HAVE NO SOLUTION, YOU CAN ONLY MOVE THE NEEDLE. CHARACTERISTICS OF WICKED PROBLEMS INCLUDE:*!!1.  There is no definitive formulation of a wicked problem!2.  Wicked problems have no stopping rule!3.  Solutions to wicked problems are not true-or-false, but good-or-bad!4.  There is no immediate and no ultimate test of a solution to a wicked problem!5.  Every solution to a wicked problem is a "one-shot operation"; !6.  Wicked problems do not have an enumerable set of potential solutions, nor is there a

well-described set of permissible operations that may be incorporated into the plan!7.  Every wicked problem is essentially unique!8.  Every wicked problem can be considered to be a symptom of another problem!9.  The existence of a discrepancy representing a wicked problem can be explained in

numerous ways. The choice of explanation determines the nature of the problem's resolution!

10. The planner has no right to be wrong!!•  Rittel & Weber, Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning. 1973.!

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CLIMATE CHANGE IS A ‘SUPER WICKED’ PROBLEM!“SUPER WICKED” PROBLEMS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY FOUR ADDITIONAL FEATURES: *!!1.  Time is running out; !2.  The central authority needed to address it is weak or non-existent; !3.  Those who cause the problem also seek to create a solution; and !4.  Hyperbolic discounting occurs that pushes responses irrationally into the future!

!!* Quote from Source: Environment.research.yale.edu!

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WHERE DOES DESIGN FIT IN?!

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BEGIN BY LOOKING AT OUR IMPACTS!


INDUSTRY CONSUMES 28% OF GLOBAL ENERGY!

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0!

500!

1000!

1500!

2000!

2500!

3000!

3500!

Industry! Transport! Other**! Non-energy use***!

Mill

ion

Tonn

es O

il Eq

uiva

lent

(Mto

e)!

Consumption by Sector!

WORLD ENERGY CONSUMPTION (2010)!

Other Source*!

Biofuels and Waste!

Natural Gas!

Oil Products!

Crude Oil!

Coal!

* Other source includes geothermal, solar, wind, electricity and heat, etc. ** Other covers residential, commercial and public services *** Non-energy use covers those fuels that are used as raw materials in the different sectors and are not consumed as a fuel (such as petrochemical feedstock)


INDUSTRY CONSUMES 28% OF GLOBAL ENERGY!

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EXERCISE: WHAT ROLE DOES DESIGN PLAY?!

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IRON & STEEL!CHEMICALS & PETROCHEMICALS!NON-FERROUS METALS!NON-METALIC MINERAL!TRANSPORT EQUIPMENT!MACHINERY!MINING & QUARRYING!FOOD & TOBACCO!PAPER PULP & PRINT!WOOD AND WOOD PRODUCTS!CONSTRUCTION!TEXTILE & LEATHER!OTHER!!!!!


DESIGNERS INFLUENCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT!

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Without answers to these questions that people are seeking, there are limits to the role consumption can play in our shift to a more sustainable economic model. As product designers we have the means to uncover these answers, and communicate the backstories of the things we make.!

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PROVOCATION!


EXERCISE: IF OBJECTS COULD TELL THEIR STORIES!FIRST: Dump out your backpack.!SECOND: Pick an object that is intriguing to you.!THIRD: Take half an hour to find out five new things about the history of the object or how its manufactured.!FOURTH: Present your findings to the class, and a story about yourself.!!RULES: !You must leave the building. !Interview at least 3 strangers.!No internet allowed. !Bring back photos as evidence.!

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IF OBJECTS COULD TELL THEIR STORIES!

PRESENTATIONS!!


GOALS & EXPECTATIONS!

CLASS RULES!!GOALS!!SEMESTER OVERVIEW!


CLASS RULES!

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1.  Email/call if you will be late or miss a class.!2.  Lids down when a fellow student or guest speaker is speaking.!3.  Laptops are for note taking and project work/only.!4.  No phones during class.!!


COURSE GOAL!

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As creators, know what’s in the stuff you make. Eco-design is not a spectator sport. Take responsibility. Take action. Lead conversations. Become the environmental expert. !!Think 10, 20, and 100 years ahead. !


OVERVIEW OF SEMESTER!1 | September 4: Life Cycle Assessment Core Lecture!2 | September 11: Stocks – Energy & LCA Tools Introduction!3 | September 18: Stocks – Materials!4 | September 25: Stocks – Water!5 | October 2: Stakeholders – Corporations!6 | October 9: Stakeholders – External Stakeholders!7 | October 16: Environmental Impact Core Lecture!8 | October 23: Midterm Presentations!9 | October 16: Transport & Further Exploration on Impacts!10 | November 6: Manufacturing!11 | November 13: Point of Purchase and Consumer Use!12 | November 20: End of Life!13 | November 27: Will Reschedule for Thanksgiving Holiday - Fieldtrip!14 | December 4th: Final Presentations!15 | December 11th: Final Presentations!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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CLASS ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING!ASSIGNMENTS!•  Mid-term presentation & project dossier; interim gut-checks!•  Final presentation & project dossier; interim gut-checks!•  Readings + Leading two class discussions on readings (5 Groups)!!GRADING!25%: Showing up prepared/verbally participating!15%: Class readings & presentations!25%: Mid-term presentation & dossier!35%: Final presentation & dossier!!!!

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CORE PRINCIPLES OF LCA!

LCI, LCA, AND LCIA!!GOALS, FUNCTIONAL UNIT, SCOPE & SYSTEM BOUNDARIES!


LCA: BY THE NUMBERS!LCI – LIFE CYCLE INVENTORY ANALYSIS!Identify and quantity energy, water, and materials usage and releases!!LCIA – LIFE CYCLE IMPACT ASSESSMENT!Assess the ecological and human impacts and effects of energy, water and material use and environmental releases identified in the inventory analysis.!!INTERPRETATION!Evaluation of the results with understanding of uncertainty and assumptions used to generate the results.!!

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GOAL & FUNCTIONAL UNIT!GOAL!Help guide designers in the development of new products and services, toward a net reduction of resources and emissions. !!Additional Goals Could Include:!• Establish baseline information for a process!• Provide information and direction to decision-makers!• Support product certification!• Support public policy!• Identify data gaps!• Rank the relative contribution of individual steps or processes!• Support broad environmental assessments!!

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GOAL & FUNCTIONAL UNIT!FUNCTIONAL UNIT!The unit of comparison that assures that the products being compared!provide an equivalent level of function or service.!!Example: Paper vs. Plastic!Function is to carry groceries; functional unit could be defined as a specific volume/weight of groceries (3 lbs of groceries)!

•  COFFEE!•  PAINT!•  LIGHT BULB!!!

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NEXT STEPS!

FIRST ASSIGNMENT!!NEXT WEEK PREVIEW!


ASSIGNMENT: PICK A PRODUCT!

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THIS PRODUCT WILL BE THE FOCUS OF YOUR CLASSWORK FOR THE ENTIRE SEMESTER!!

Designer Chair!

iPhone App!

Water Filter!

Takeout Packaging!

Backpack!

Infant Toy!

Lamp!

Non-Phone Tracking Device!!!!


ASSIGNMENT!

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BY END OF CLASS TODAY!1.  Specify your product: Brand, customer, price-point!!BY NEXT WEEK (PRESENT AT BEGINNING OF CLASS)!1.  First draft of goal and functional unit!2.  First draft of customer/product profile!!!