Design for a Planet in Peril

Energy and sustainability, Essay, Mike Silver, Mitchell Joachim, Politics and economics, Technology and fabrication, Urban Paradigms, XXL-XS

Architect’s role, Architecture’s challenge, Carbon-emissions, CO2 emissions, Designer’s role, Discipline, Emergent geographies, Essay, Global Awareness, Global discourse, Global food crisis, Global scale, Global warming, Greenhouse emissions, Health contributor, Health crisis, Interdisciplinary design, Interdisciplinary work, Multi-faceted strategy, Multi-scalar, Multiscale approach, New technologies, Planetary urbanizations, Prototype solutions, Shadows of technology, Timeless Model, Urban Health, Urban Paradigms

Published in "XXL-XS. New Directions in Ecological Design", 2017 -- https://lccn.loc.gov/2016938024

In 2013, the United Nations reported that world measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide had reached 400 parts per million (ppm), well above the safety limit set at 350 ppm by scientific consensus. More alarmingly, by continuing the use of outdated technologies the developed world is actively accelerating the total amount of CO2 pumped into the air each year. If we also consider expanding populations and regional conflicts over dwindling reserves, it becomes clear that environmental problems identified as far back as the 1950s will likely become more difficult to endure in the near term. Despite these facts and the hopeful developments of the Paris Climate Agreement (COP21), active denial of human-induced climate change continues to be a serious problem. Provincial politics and shortsighted economic policies are dramatically slowing the progress that our society must make in order to avert a catastrophe.