1). What is sustainability and how does it relate to your field and interests?

Sustainability is when the needs the of the present are satisfied without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Processes that are sustainable can be carried out multiple times without having negative effects on the environment or are inexpensive to use. 1

How does this relate to interior design?

This relates to interior design because any designer can choose to design things with sustainability in mind or not. I definitely can see sustainability becoming a bigger issue in the future and our choices as designers need to be based on the knowledge we have about issues like keeping our environment sustainable through our designs if that is something we decide to keep as a priority. The things designers choose to put in the spaces they design can support the house being energy efficient or not. Whether it be through using solar power for energy, or finding a more efficient way to heat or cool a house, choosing to design efficiently can help the environment and the people living in it.


2). What are the problems with energy and sustainablity?

First, what is sustainable energy?

Sustainable energy sources are sources that are not expected to be consumed within a human lifetime and contribute to the sustainability of the environment. This consists of renewable energy sources that are replenished naturally and even some unrenewable sources that are believed will last much longer than human civilization will need them. 2

Second, what are the problems?

There is a growing amount of concern that we are consuming more energy than we will one day possess, so finding ways to make energy sustainable seems important. This is done through processes that capture energy from natural sources such as wind, sunshine, and water. Also, some forms of energy sources such as fossil fuels can be harmful to the environment, so finding ways to produce energy that will put positive "nutrients" back into the environment rather than hurt it seems understandable.

Examples of different types sustainable energy sources and their challenges:

Found on Wikipedia

Solar cells use semiconductors to directly convert sunlight into electricity. Primary challenges with their use are low efficiency, energy-intensive manufacture, and power variability due to weather and nightfall.

Solar chimney plants use sunlight to heat a contained mass of
air, setting up convection currents that cause air to exit
through a chimney from which power is tapped. Primary challenges with their use are low efficiency, construction and maintenance of the large structures equired, and
power variability due to weather (a solar chimney has enough heat capacity to
function through night).
Wind power uses wind turbines to draw energy from
large-scale motion of air. The primary challenges with wind power's use are the
large areas required to produce useful amounts of electricity, and power variability due to weather.
Hydroelectricity uses dams to draw energy from the flow of water from high-altitude areas to areas with lower altitudes. Primary challenges with hydroelectricity's use are the environmental damage caused by the construction of dams, and the scarcity of remaining sites for power generation.
Biofuel uses products of plants, animals, and bacteria to provide fuels that can be used in a manner similar to fossil fuels. The primary challenge with biofuel's use is the availability of suitable feedstock in sufficient quantity for large-scale adoption.

3). What solutions are currently out there?

It seems to be that there are a lot of ways to get closer to a solution to become energy efficient, but we are not yet to complete solutions. In Cradle to Cradle it talked about putting windmills in farms to produce energy for their local community. Although they would take up a lot of area of land, the outcome would be a positive one because the owner of the land would be getting paid for the land use and the community would be getting clean and efficient energy. Also, in Cradle to Cradle it talked about heating a building for the people, not just for the fact to heat the building. The book also said that in California where most of the energy is eaten up by air conditioning, they are using solar collectors that are laid out as tiles on the residents roofs. This way, when it is hottest in the day, the sun is high and the solar collectors are working their best and it can meet the days peak demands much more flexibly than gas power. This is not all that is happening in California, the California Public Utilities Commission has set a goal to create 3,000 megawatts of solar-produced electricity by 2017 by creating a $2.8 billion ten-year program. 3 At present, most solar powered cells turn between 12 and 20 percent of the sunlight that hits them into electricity. 4

Even smaller steps can be taken such as putting windows in a business building that could open to allow the air from outside to cool the building or facing a house the direction that would make it ideal for the sunlight to reach it in the day and putting sky lights in a building can help energy sustainability.

Another step towards more sustainable energy is using solar water heaters. Over 100,000 have been installed in the U.S. making this one of the most common forms of solar energy. The water collectors heat water to use for washing, showers, and other domestic uses. 5 The picture on the left shows a biomass gasifier that operates using wood chips. Biopower is teh process of using plant and organic matter to generate electricity. This is produced in a way similar to generating electricity using fossil fuels but when replacing fossil fuels with plant matter, it creates a cleaner, renewable energy source. 6

Also, there are websites out there about using energy wisely, and getting energy from clean resources. One promotes using resources like the sun to heat water, making sure your using green power, which is a renewable energy form of electricity, and has articles on how to choose a heat system, the cost of using electrical appliances, and more. 7 This website has article on cost of appliances 8 and on choosing solar hot water.9 These are all good solutions to help make living more energy efficient.


4). What areas need more exploration around energy and sustainability?

I would say that if the population is going to embrace energy efficiency than it needs to be supported by our government. If they implemented a cost efficient way to get renewable energy to the masses, I think that the population would grasp it with open arms. I guess I would just say that ways to get it out need to be explored. I think everyone would agree it is a great idea, but how it is going to be accomplished and who is going to make it happen would be what I would wnat to know.


5). What conclusions have I found, specifically that I would like to take on personally?

Before reading Cradle to Cradle 10 or research this topic I did not know much of anything about sustainability. It actually amazes me how much has been done to make a safe, long lasting environment to live in. I would be interested to know how much energy can be produced from these different kinds of sustainable energy sources such as solar power and windmills compared to using gas or nuclear power. Also, I would like to know about how much it would take to keep these sources maintained and cost to run them.


Works Cited

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_energy
3) http://www.newsolarhomes.ca.gov/
4) http://www.nesea.org/buildings/info/solarelectricity.html
5) http://www.nesea.org/buildings/info/solarwater.html
6) http://www.nesea.org/energy/info/biopower.html
7) http://www.sustainable-energy.vic.gov.au/SEInfo/index.asp
8) http://www.sustainable-energy.vic.gov.au/ftp/advice/domestic/Appliances/Opcostselecappliance0_a.pdf
9) http://www.sustainable-energy.vic.gov.au/ftp/renewable_energy/shw/shw_factsheet.pdf
10) Cradle to Cradle, by William McDonough & Michael Braungart