Top Takeaways, Thoughts, etc. from Sustainability Inspired Innovation and Design:
- I am more conscious of my behaviors. I’ve always been conscious when it comes to the human aspect of consumption (ex: who made my clothes and what conditions they were working in), but I spend less time thinking about the environmental impact. However, I’ve noticed that I recycle more since starting this course, that I think more about my own consumption, and generally am more aware of the impact that my choices can have on the environment and on others.
- The design process seems less intimidating now. I’ve mentioned this is other blogs, but before this course, the design process seemed unapproachable and overly technical. The way it was broken down in class made the process much more approachable and enjoyable. This knowledge is very useful, and I’m sure that I will use it in the future.
- I now have a more expansive view of sustainability. Before this course, I only thought about sustainability in terms of the environment. Of course, the environment is a large part of it, but I never considered the social aspects of sustainability. In the beginning of the course, Professor Luchs said, “Sustainability is about thriving and flourishing.” I never would have connected those before the course. Sustain is can be defined in many ways: “strengthen or support physically or mentally”, “cause to continue or be prolonged for an extended period without interruption”, or “uphold, affirm, or confirm the validity of”. All of these can be applied to the environment, but they also can be applied to our everyday lives and well-being as well.
- The world is not as bad as it seems. In the beginning of the course, we read a series of articles that told us a lot of good things about the world. And, at the end of class today, we talked about similar things. One of the things that I loved most about this course is that many of our readings, videos, etc. sought to remind us of the positive things happening in the world. I can be a bit of a pessimist sometimes, but these readings brought the optimist out in me.