Story of Stuff

Like many people, I realize that the earth is dying and that we can pretty much blame ourselves.  I spent about 10 years in Boy Scouts and was fortunate to have experienced and learned about environmentalism from a young age and as a consequence have looked for ways to play my part.

One reason I learned as much as I did was because of the way I was taught.  As years have passed, the complexity of understanding the environmental problem from the perspective of how we contribute to it has become nearly impossible to describe, so I was very happy when I came across this site – The Story of Stuff.  In it, the narrator does a great job of not only explaining the extent of the problem but the vicious cycle of consumerism and how it makes the problem worse.

It got me to thinking, and probably something you all ask – why should I care (as a web designer)?  It still matters.  Remember that the Internet has become a ubiquitous lifestyle for our culture, and what we do as web designers directly influences everyone who comes in contact with our designs.  In other words, you have that power to change the way people think!  Use that power to your advantage.

For my new round of UCD classes starting in 2008, we will be adding a new dimension to the mix – what sustainable production is and how our actions as designer/developers can influence people to react in a certain way. 

[pulled from Story of Stuff post]