This may be as far as anyone needs to go if you’re headed down the rabbit hole of Climate Change education. As my investigation into the history of design moved forward the connection between Industrial Design and the heating of the planet has become more and more solidified. Therefore this book was an easy choice. For those familiar with Chompsky and Pollin’s efforts over the last 50 years, you won’t be surprised by their flat out unflinching and fully understood portrayal of the detrimental maneuvers human beings have made to bring about such a gloomy forecast as what’s presented here. The book presents a bleak future with the opportunity for people to make the right move described as “shaky at best”. Although, also in typical fashion, Chompsky’s thoroughness and intelligence somehow come across as optimistic. His complete 360 degree understanding of not only the negative prospects of climate change but also the positive and encouraging activities of the younger generation who lead the charge towards a carbon free future are presented in just the right way so that as you close the book it is with hope and optimism for a brighter future in mind.
My goal with these book reviews is always to find inspiration for Industrial Design. It’s hard to say if this book has much to offer in this area although if you look closely there is a new direction for the profession being outlined. I see the opportunity for design in our ability to educate and inform not only the general public but also other designers about their role in aiding and abiding the problem. Many don’t want to hear it. Throughout the duration of this reading I found many colleges and friends unable to understand why I would venture down such a dark topic. I had to remind people that it is not that I have chosen to learn about this topic, I have only been following the history of design and this is where leads as you reach present day and peak over the horizon into what the future holds if we continue doing what we’ve been doing without adjustment. The opinion seems to be that as designers, Climate change is not our problem, but I disagree and that is why picked up this book. When reading through the book one thing becomes undeniably clear, the primary issue holding back real change is people’s mindset. Designers who fail to see their role in shifting and shaping people’s mindset reveal a foundational ignorance of what Industrial Design was built on. Widgets aside, Industrial Design is about understanding how people live and how to shape that experience. To ignore that function of the job is what defines bad design more than anything else.
The good news is that overall designers are optimistic, dedicated, and increasingly aim for a better future. In this book, we see into the future bit and doesn’t look good. Although. as designers do, we see problems as opportunity. Opportunity to design products that communicate a relationship to what we use its effect on the environment. Opportunity to collaborate and convene with a cohort of corporate interests Like Amazon and Jeff Bezos, who after considerable public pressure from both inside and outside the company, set up the 5 billion dollar Earth Fund focused on shifting the negative effects of climate change. It will be challenging for new IDs struggling to get a foothold in the notoriously competitive landscape of design to consider turning away opportunities from the more nefarious corporate characters despite their lucrative salaries and greenwashed appearance. But in this book we learn why this sort of action is nothing less than mandatory if the human race will have any chance of avoiding a complete collapse of our ability to maintain organized society. In this book we learn how turning ourselves towards opportunity like Boyan Slat and The Ocean Cleanup Project have, which aim to undo the damage done after years of global neglect are a better path.
This book inspired me and I’m happy to communicate what I’ve learned from it. I’m eager to move forward in my design career with new direction and inspiration. I’ve found a new focus to advocate for creating a better world through design where the full capability of the human race can continue to grow and learn more. If this seems like something you’re missing in your own design practice, then I would definitely recommend this book find a way into your stack soon.
