shade tree

energy final project

may 2013

goal:

to help the environmental movement get away from this...

"Read ‘Communicating the Science of Climate Change,’ published in the October 2011 issue of Physics Today..."

google images

1

negative imagery

2 

 confusing charts & graphs

climate progress

1

unrelatable banter

"If you want to know how to debunk those who peddle bunk, LIKE this post!... A Climate Flowchart To De-Confuse the Confused - And To Defuse The Confusers"

2

sarcasm + politics

"Climate change is poised to turn New Mexico into a dust bowl, so of course NM State U may pick a denier for its President."

...with an often very disconnected non-network between actors:

environmentalists + scientists

companies

the public

makers...

"...before you put leaves and an attractive couple cycling on your website, you need to have a strategy."

- Futerra Sustainability Communications

in other words,

i want to help develop smart, effective environmental communications to affect consumer culture and resource conservation...

using:

- smart applications of user experience (UX) (design+tech+psychology)

- audience-appropriate messaging 

- awareness of mainstream culture

- and realistic understandings of "barriers to entry."

in other words,

no more graphs,

no more maps,

no more shaming,

no more politics.

can we create a better network between:

communicators 

  environmentalists

communicators 

          environmentalists ------- scientists

communicators 

     makers ------- environmentalists ------- scientists

communicators 

     makers -------   environmentalists  ------- scientists

|

|

public

Project:

1 part kinetic sculpture

1 part data representation

1 part simple technology

1 part environment (heat)

Early Ideas:

turn this data

into something visual.

pneumatic pistons that respond to ambient heat:

ideally, this sculpture would be installed outside, where artificial heat application would not be necessary.

Boyle's Law:

The absolute pressure exerted by given mass of an ideal gas is inversely proportional to the volume it occupies if the temperature and amount of gas remain unchanged within a closed system.

But...issues:

ice?

heat?

shade?

shape?

Same project, different data.

cumulative damage:

-18.2% change 1970-2011

What I didn't like

What I did like

Brainstorming for Inspiration

Reconceptualizing

Finding relevant data

Refashioning the piece (slightly)

Title