"Fred Doyle" <fdoy
...@nycap.rr.com> wrote in message
...
| Drew wrote:
| > Fred Doyle wrote:
| >> I hadn't been aware of the Designers Accord until I saw it mentioned
| >> in the NY times today. It seems like an interesting concept. Would you
| >> participate in an organized movement like this?
| >>
| >>
http://www.designersaccord.org/index.html | >>
| >> Fred
| >
| > I would and could, yet I try to do all those things already.
| >
| > So how 'bout you, Fred. Would you take the pledge? Give us the "whys"
| > and "why nots".
| >
| > Drew
|
| I'm sure you now by now, I don't have a simple yes or no, why or why not
| to the question.
|
| I'm focused on the web for the next 18-24 months at a minimum. I'm not
| sure how the web would fit in with this manifesto. How does that role
| fit in with, "Initiate a dialogue about environmental impact and
| sustainable alternatives with each and every client." Should I be
| encouraging people to view the site with renewable electric energy
sources?
|
| I should "Rework client contracts to favor environmentally responsible
| design and work processes." Huh? How does that fit in with a web focus.
| What's an environmentally "responsible design and work process" when
| your talking about the web. I encourage people to recycle their coffee
| cups and soda bottles at work. Is that enough? What else should I do?
|
| Educational institutions (like my employer) are one of the specific
| groups they invite to participate in this effort. According to the
| guidelines they should, "Measure the carbon/greenhouse gas footprint of
| your firm (includes operations and client engagements), and pledge to
| reduce your footprint annually." Already there.
|
| They should also, "Initiate a dialogue about environmental impact and
| sustainable alternatives with every student and colleague in your
| educational program. Rework curricula and assignments to emphasize
| environmentally responsible design and work processes. Provide course
| content, lectures, and assignments that focus on strategic and material
| alternatives for sustainable design." They already do.
|
| Those are an organizational commitment. I already work for a fairly
| environmentally conscious employer. We have an Office of Environmental
| Sustainability and a substantial "Go Green" effort.
| (
http://www.albany.edu/gogreen/) We've hired a Director of
| Environmental Sustainability. We're making investments to reduce waste
| and our carbon footprint.
|
| Personally, I've helped the effort by helping them prepare materials and
| promote their efforts, but that's not even listed on the guidelines of
| things to do.
|
| I think I already did, "Advance the understanding of environmental
| issues from a design perspective by contributing actively to the
| communal knowledge base for sustainable design" just by posting this
| here. Is that enough?
|
| They admit that "The barrier to entry for adopting the Designers Accord
| is deliberately low" but is what I do already enough? They are not only
| low, they are vague.
|
| And just because I can't help but be a curmudgeon, they also say, "The
| goal of the Designers Accord is to bring the creative community together
| as a social and cultural force to create positive impact. We will do
| this by educating ourselves and our teams about environmental issues,
| and talking to each and every client and customer about environmental
| consequence."
|
| Ok. If I want to bring the creative community together and create a
| positive impact by pointing about all the sources that postulate that
| global warming is a myth thereby educating us and every client and
| customer about the hyperbole of the stated environmental consequences,
| is that OK too? (I'm asking a question, not saying I believe that). I
| believe as much in debate and the marketplace of ideas as I do in
| environmental sustainability. Could I take their pledge and still do that?
|
| Fred
You just made my point for me.
