We'd like to pass back a huge 'thanks' to Paul Allen, CAT's Co-Ordinator for the 'Zero Carbon Britain' Programme that the Centre has produced. Paul gave a talk about Zero Carbon Britain at the UN Climate Talks in Paris, 2015. This week Paul kindly shared some of his thinking with our own Green Design students who are made familiar with Zero Carbon Britain early on in their studies with us.
Our students are more likely to be asked to consider sustainability in their design practices on graduation nowadays due to CSR's or Corporate Social Responsibility Charters. Large companies such as Marks and Spencer, Nike and Heinz now build in sustainability to their procurement process - even when it comes down to services such as design of goods and packaging.
Here's a few pictures from the day's events:
Student Feedback:
Students attending the trip have been asked to feed back on a set of question so we can see their thoughts on reflection after the trip and lecture.
Margarett Passos
Had you heard of CAT before you came on this module?
No I hadn't
Decarbonizing our power generation infrastructure via renewables - can it be done, is it feasible? What will it take before changes on the scale suggested by Zero Carbon Britain could happen - government intervention or market forces?
In my opinion, power generation via renewable sources is possible and it's something that some countries are already starting adopt. I believe it depends on the country's environmental policy and history. Some less developed countries might look at renewable energy as a cheaper solution to power the country while others are still so dependent on fossil fuels that these changes might take a while to happen. As discussed in the lecture laws are one way to go, enforcing environmental friendly policies on all companies, and impose green lifestyles are things that might not work in a global scale. I think the solutions depend on the countries and that it should suit each one the best way it can.
Decarbonizing our transport infrastructure - electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered - are they feasible/have you heard of them? Air travel - is it feasible to lower it to the levels suggested in Zero Carbon Britain (?)
I've heard of a few projects involving electric vehicles, by using rechargeable motorways for electric cars, etc. I believe that it's a process. Electric cars are becoming more and more appealing to the current market and starting with cars and proceeding to public transportation, the transport infrastructures can become green themselves. As for air travel, I haven't personally heard of any other renewable sources that are able to reach air travel, but we will be able to gain the technology to do so.
Decarbonizing our food infrastructure (according to Zero Carbon Britain) means lessening our reliance on meat and it's various production methods. When grazing land is freed up, it can be 'better used' to grow crops (which ZCB says is a much more efficient use of it). What do you feel about this? Is it feasible? Would you personally want to lessen your meat intake in the week (unless already a vegetarian)? Does the very thought of this annoy you?
I quite liked the fact that Zero Carbon Britain worked with nutritionists to reach a solution that won't alter diets extremely, it will in fact make us healthier while still decarbonizing. I think that some changes are being made when it comes to food waste, but even today the distribution of food globally can be inefficient. I haven't heard of any country that altered their diet in order to reach such goal. It's a simple idea, and I personally if offered a vegetarian option that I would enjoy I go for it, and because I come from a country that lives also of not only meat but also fish, my diet already differs from the current meat intake of others.
Please tell us your thoughts, concerns and/or proactive suggests on the 3x most notable things seen on site at CAT (i.e. it could be one of the specific exhibits seen, or maybe the clever use of materials with specific buildings to help reduce CO2 emissions, or maybe their Cob Oven setup/Covered social area or maybe the food on site etc).
I tend to watch programmes that involve people designing their dream houses, and how they look for environmental friendly solutions when it comes to isolation and energy reduction. But it was great to enter a house and a room that is build in such way. Also the fact that the amount of energy that is used in houses without one actually thinking about it, was quite eye-opening. There was a panel in a house that showed the watt percentage used by household items, and it was quite interesting. The food on site also had not carbon footprint as it was grown on site and used no transportation, which made CAT almost as a country on it's own. They produce all the food, energy and infrastructures they need, and that could later on serve as model for the country.
Now you've had time to reflect, what 3x things gained from the CAT visit might you bring forward into your own ideas and developments for the various aspects of the eBike brief? Please explain your answers and any proactive suggestions in as much detail as possible.
The CAT visit was important for me as I gained more insight on the type of research that is being currently done on renewable sources of energy, transport and food. It also made me see the type of design challenges we could face when exposing this research to the public, as it can be intense and quite a heavy read and it opened my eyes towards what I might face with the eBike brief. I'm considering reaching design solutions that are environmental friendly throughout.
Katie Ledgerwood
Question 1
Had you heard of CAT before you came on this module?
I hadn’t heard of the centre for alternative technology before this module.
Question 2
Please tell us your thoughts, concerns and/or proactive suggests on the 3x most notable things seen on site at CAT.
No answer.
James Campbell
(Andy - These Q's from the sheet at CAT as I understand)
How do we remove the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that we cannot wholly eliminate from industry?
• My proposal would be to increase oxygen by increasing the amount of plants and algae we already produce and secondly by introducing more renewable energy sources to our environments in place of fossil fuels.
In our zero carbon Britain research how do we propose to solve the problem of variable energy generation from renewable sources not necessarily matching up with the times at which energy is required.
• I would propose using mainly renewable energies for our main sustainability whilst using fossil fuel based energy only as back-up energy reserves and generally means using more bio-methane in
what percentage of the UK green- house gas emissions are caused by food production. what behavioral change would be required to reduce these emissions?
• I would propose to eat meat less in our lifestyles as I believe this is a difficult yet one of the most effective approaches, also to inform people of effective alternatives to foods such as soya in place of milk and suggesting the benefits to it over milk.
Overall, form looking at the information on the amounts of carbon produces from the different sectors of the UK society, langue and industry, what proposition are, as individuals able to reduces from the changes in our lifestyle?
• My proposition would be to greatly reduce the consumption of meat and dairy products we consume; this would be the more straightforward approach but others would be growing your own organic products to eating a more plant based diet.
secondly using less cars and perhaps using public transport more frequently or other means such as bicycles.
How might we extend our influence to reduce green-house gas emissions from the other sectors?
• Improving various city based infrastructures to promote alternate transportation, second proposal would be to convert garbage(biomass) to be converted to methanol and the process is more efficient than cellulosic ethanol we currently use.
Charlotte Bullock
1) No, I haven’t heard of CAT before this module.
2)
3) I really like the way the café at CAT use primarily fruit and vegetables grown on site and no meat; this shows the people that visit the site and eat at the café that food without meat are just as tasty and nutritious as those with meat in them. It could also encourage individuals to grow their own fruit and vegetables as it could act as a source of inspiration.
The edible flowers part of the site was quite eye opening as I had no idea that you could eat flowers, this would be another way to inspire people to grow their own and to use them in their own food at home.
I also thought the house called the “Whole Home” was really interesting as it gave lots of different ways to help reduce your carbon footprint throughout your house such as cutting down on the uses of baths and instead taking a shower as a bath uses three times more water than a shower which is three times more for the boiler to heat up. It also showed the uses of solar panels and how they can help throughout the average house.
4) I was considering seeing if I could do a recipe kind of page for the e-book which hosts lots of different foods which could act as a healthy eating guide for the person on the bike but as they will all be meat free, this would also help to reduce the carbon dioxide.
Solar panels would be used, if possible, to charge the batteries for the electric bikes at the Worcester Bike Network site. Whether there is a solar panel on each bike which powers each individual bike battery or if there is a bigger one which is connected to all of the bikes at one charging station and powers them individually.
Additional thought:
When there are not any bikes in the charging station, the solar power panels could be being used to power other things such as street lamps or it could be going into the national grid instead of wasting the energy before it is known how to store it. When it is known how to store it, it could work out how much it would need to charge up all of the bikes and then it could share the rest of it.
Our students are more likely to be asked to consider sustainability in their design practices on graduation nowadays due to CSR's or Corporate Social Responsibility Charters. Large companies such as Marks and Spencer, Nike and Heinz now build in sustainability to their procurement process - even when it comes down to services such as design of goods and packaging.
“The visit to the Centre for Alternate Technology was an essential moment during my process of understanding the principles of sustainable living. That was when I fully understood that it is my responsibility as a designer not only to look at materials uses, but also to be more aware of responsible (graphic) design and how crucial it is to (help) educate the public..” Design student comment.
“For me the inspiration came after our visit to the Centre for Alternate Technology… The visit not only meant that we got an insight as a designer, but after the Zero Carbon Britain talk led by Paul Allen the subject became a concern.. Which I think made me feel empathetic to.. How -we- can ‘fix’ the problem in our own way as designers.” Design student comment.
An interview with Paul at the Paris Climate Talks:
Here's a few pictures from the day's events:
 |
| Students note down points from Paul's lecture. |
 |
| Some of the re-used/re-purposed elements in CAT's grounds. |
 |
| The Sheppard Lecture Theatre - made largely out of compressed earth. |
 |
| Paul Allen takes a Q+A session after his lecture to our students. |
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| Students within the Sheppard Lecture Theatre. |
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| Paul Allen during his lecture - discussing some of the psychology behind marketing methods. |
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| One of the many natural areas on site at CAT. |
Students attending the trip have been asked to feed back on a set of question so we can see their thoughts on reflection after the trip and lecture.
Margarett Passos
Had you heard of CAT before you came on this module?
No I hadn't
Decarbonizing our power generation infrastructure via renewables - can it be done, is it feasible? What will it take before changes on the scale suggested by Zero Carbon Britain could happen - government intervention or market forces?
In my opinion, power generation via renewable sources is possible and it's something that some countries are already starting adopt. I believe it depends on the country's environmental policy and history. Some less developed countries might look at renewable energy as a cheaper solution to power the country while others are still so dependent on fossil fuels that these changes might take a while to happen. As discussed in the lecture laws are one way to go, enforcing environmental friendly policies on all companies, and impose green lifestyles are things that might not work in a global scale. I think the solutions depend on the countries and that it should suit each one the best way it can.
Decarbonizing our transport infrastructure - electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered - are they feasible/have you heard of them? Air travel - is it feasible to lower it to the levels suggested in Zero Carbon Britain (?)
I've heard of a few projects involving electric vehicles, by using rechargeable motorways for electric cars, etc. I believe that it's a process. Electric cars are becoming more and more appealing to the current market and starting with cars and proceeding to public transportation, the transport infrastructures can become green themselves. As for air travel, I haven't personally heard of any other renewable sources that are able to reach air travel, but we will be able to gain the technology to do so.
Decarbonizing our food infrastructure (according to Zero Carbon Britain) means lessening our reliance on meat and it's various production methods. When grazing land is freed up, it can be 'better used' to grow crops (which ZCB says is a much more efficient use of it). What do you feel about this? Is it feasible? Would you personally want to lessen your meat intake in the week (unless already a vegetarian)? Does the very thought of this annoy you?
I quite liked the fact that Zero Carbon Britain worked with nutritionists to reach a solution that won't alter diets extremely, it will in fact make us healthier while still decarbonizing. I think that some changes are being made when it comes to food waste, but even today the distribution of food globally can be inefficient. I haven't heard of any country that altered their diet in order to reach such goal. It's a simple idea, and I personally if offered a vegetarian option that I would enjoy I go for it, and because I come from a country that lives also of not only meat but also fish, my diet already differs from the current meat intake of others.
Please tell us your thoughts, concerns and/or proactive suggests on the 3x most notable things seen on site at CAT (i.e. it could be one of the specific exhibits seen, or maybe the clever use of materials with specific buildings to help reduce CO2 emissions, or maybe their Cob Oven setup/Covered social area or maybe the food on site etc).
I tend to watch programmes that involve people designing their dream houses, and how they look for environmental friendly solutions when it comes to isolation and energy reduction. But it was great to enter a house and a room that is build in such way. Also the fact that the amount of energy that is used in houses without one actually thinking about it, was quite eye-opening. There was a panel in a house that showed the watt percentage used by household items, and it was quite interesting. The food on site also had not carbon footprint as it was grown on site and used no transportation, which made CAT almost as a country on it's own. They produce all the food, energy and infrastructures they need, and that could later on serve as model for the country.
Now you've had time to reflect, what 3x things gained from the CAT visit might you bring forward into your own ideas and developments for the various aspects of the eBike brief? Please explain your answers and any proactive suggestions in as much detail as possible.
The CAT visit was important for me as I gained more insight on the type of research that is being currently done on renewable sources of energy, transport and food. It also made me see the type of design challenges we could face when exposing this research to the public, as it can be intense and quite a heavy read and it opened my eyes towards what I might face with the eBike brief. I'm considering reaching design solutions that are environmental friendly throughout.
Katie Ledgerwood
Question 1
Had you heard of CAT before you came on this module?
I hadn’t heard of the centre for alternative technology before this module.
Question 2
PowerQuestion 3
- Decarbonizing our power generation infrastructure via renewables can be done because you can use renewable energy sources such as solar, geothermal, hydro and tidal; these produce energy and heat. Also wind energy, on shore and off shore provides an energy supply. The gorverment could help changes by providing free solar panels for every house, they could also adapt a marketing campaign to make the public aware of the options that are avaliable to help achieve the zero carbon britain scale.
Transport
-I think electric cars and other economical modes of transport are feasible as they are being used now. And by people walking or cycling when its not necessary to drive is also helping. I dont think the air travel could be lowered as much as they want as I think to many like to go on holiday and travel that they wouldnt be willing to give it up.
Food
-I think it’s definetly feasible to reduce the amount of meat we eat but it’s whether people would be willing to do this. I personally don’t eat a lot of meat anyway so I would be willing to give it a go .
Please tell us your thoughts, concerns and/or proactive suggests on the 3x most notable things seen on site at CAT.
No answer.
James Campbell
(Andy - These Q's from the sheet at CAT as I understand)
How do we remove the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that we cannot wholly eliminate from industry?
• My proposal would be to increase oxygen by increasing the amount of plants and algae we already produce and secondly by introducing more renewable energy sources to our environments in place of fossil fuels.
In our zero carbon Britain research how do we propose to solve the problem of variable energy generation from renewable sources not necessarily matching up with the times at which energy is required.
• I would propose using mainly renewable energies for our main sustainability whilst using fossil fuel based energy only as back-up energy reserves and generally means using more bio-methane in
what percentage of the UK green- house gas emissions are caused by food production. what behavioral change would be required to reduce these emissions?
• I would propose to eat meat less in our lifestyles as I believe this is a difficult yet one of the most effective approaches, also to inform people of effective alternatives to foods such as soya in place of milk and suggesting the benefits to it over milk.
Overall, form looking at the information on the amounts of carbon produces from the different sectors of the UK society, langue and industry, what proposition are, as individuals able to reduces from the changes in our lifestyle?
• My proposition would be to greatly reduce the consumption of meat and dairy products we consume; this would be the more straightforward approach but others would be growing your own organic products to eating a more plant based diet.
secondly using less cars and perhaps using public transport more frequently or other means such as bicycles.
How might we extend our influence to reduce green-house gas emissions from the other sectors?
• Improving various city based infrastructures to promote alternate transportation, second proposal would be to convert garbage(biomass) to be converted to methanol and the process is more efficient than cellulosic ethanol we currently use.
Charlotte Bullock
1) No, I haven’t heard of CAT before this module.
2)
Power:
I think that it would take the government to give some kind of incentive to the public whether that is giving them the renewable power generators for free or with some money off the cost. The main problem for the renewables, in my opinion, is their storage. The public aren’t going to want to go from having power 24/7 to only when the suns out or the winds blowing. For the public to be okay with the change, the power would need to be at the same flow as it is using fossil fuels. I don’t think nuclear power is something that the world should be getting involved with.
Transport:
The same kind of answer as before is necessary for this question, if electric vehicles would need to have the same amount of power as petrol/diesel fuelled cars otherwise people wouldn’t want to make the swap between the two unless they were 100% for helping to stop global warming. I do think that electric vehicles and hydrogen powered vehicles are all feasible as they obviously work otherwise they wouldn’t be released onto the market but I personally don’t think they are as reliable as there isn’t half as many electric car charging points as there are petrol stations meaning that the UK especially aren’t really set up for the change yet and owning an electric vehicle is more hassle because there is nowhere to charge it.
Food:
For me personally, I can take or leave meat, especially beef but I know a large amount of people that wouldn’t be impressed with this type of change. At the same time though, if beef became less available in supermarkets then people couldn’t buy it anymore so it wouldn’t necessarily be a choice made by the individual but it would help to lessen the reliance of meat. I’m not entirely sure that individuals would lessen their meat intake unless it was enforced by taking it away from them as some people don’t care enough to have the self-control but for me personally, It wouldn’t have any effect on me.
3) I really like the way the café at CAT use primarily fruit and vegetables grown on site and no meat; this shows the people that visit the site and eat at the café that food without meat are just as tasty and nutritious as those with meat in them. It could also encourage individuals to grow their own fruit and vegetables as it could act as a source of inspiration.
The edible flowers part of the site was quite eye opening as I had no idea that you could eat flowers, this would be another way to inspire people to grow their own and to use them in their own food at home.
I also thought the house called the “Whole Home” was really interesting as it gave lots of different ways to help reduce your carbon footprint throughout your house such as cutting down on the uses of baths and instead taking a shower as a bath uses three times more water than a shower which is three times more for the boiler to heat up. It also showed the uses of solar panels and how they can help throughout the average house.
4) I was considering seeing if I could do a recipe kind of page for the e-book which hosts lots of different foods which could act as a healthy eating guide for the person on the bike but as they will all be meat free, this would also help to reduce the carbon dioxide.
Solar panels would be used, if possible, to charge the batteries for the electric bikes at the Worcester Bike Network site. Whether there is a solar panel on each bike which powers each individual bike battery or if there is a bigger one which is connected to all of the bikes at one charging station and powers them individually.
Additional thought:
When there are not any bikes in the charging station, the solar power panels could be being used to power other things such as street lamps or it could be going into the national grid instead of wasting the energy before it is known how to store it. When it is known how to store it, it could work out how much it would need to charge up all of the bikes and then it could share the rest of it.
