Today is Blog Action Day 2009, and this year’s topic, selected by popular vote, is climate change. 

If you haven’t heard by now, there is a lot of scientific evidence that the earth’s atmosphere is changing due to man-made side effects of the consumption of fossil fuels.  Along with the atmospheric changes come weather and elemental changes such as melting glaciers and loss of habitat, rising oceans, droughts and loss of potable drinking water, tsunamis and hurricanes.  There is a tipping point, beyond which we cannot stop the mounting effects that will destroy much of the life on this planet.  It’s probably the single biggest challenge of our generation, and may be the defining act of humankind, how we respond to this self-created crisis.  So what can we, as designers, do to positively affect climate change?

Live, work and design sustainably.  Take a serious look at your workplace, your home, and your designs.  Do they incorporate sustainable principles?  Are you taking every possible measure to reduce your consumption, reuse what you have already and recycle anything else in a responsible manner?  Are you considering environmental and chemical factors when selecting products and finishes?  Do you provide a transparent service to your clients and educate them?  Are you educating yourself with the latest information on products, services and eco-design techniques?  (Furnicology.com can help you here!)

Reduce your carbon footprint.  One of the most effective actions designers can take is to travel less.  That means utilizing modern technology like teleconferencing and video chats to have meetings with clients and manufacturers.  Check out www.dimdim.com for a simple, totally free way to conference over the computer.  Take public transportation as often as you can.  Carpool.  Get the most out of every trip and schedule effectively.  Walk and cycle more often.  It’s good to get out of the office once in a while, especially when you’re doing it sustainably.

Tune up your home or office.  Make sure that your building is functioning as effectively as possible, by servicing your HVAC, updating inefficient windows or adding window film, replacing incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Lamps  (CFLs) wherever possible, installing occupancy sensors on lights, turning the heat down 2 degrees and wearing a sweater, and updating faucets and toilets with low-flow fixtures.  If you don’t have the right to decide if and when those actions get taken, speak to the person who does.

Find creative ways to incorporate sustainability and eco-consciousness into your daily routine.  When you pull that huge lint ball out of the dryer hose (which improves its efficiency), use it to stuff your next pillow on a materials board.  While you’re assembling that board, forgo the toxic adhesives and use magnets, Velcro, or just throw it all into a tray loose and let the client feel the materials.  Utilize PowerPoint or other digital media for group presentations instead of making multiple paper copies.  Once you start thinking green, there are many possibilities every day to make better, healthier choices.

Contact your government leaders and representatives and let them know how you feel about climate change legislation.  OK, so this one isn’t just for designers but it’s still important.  Tell your government leaders via email or phone that you want them to participate in the Copenhagen Summit in December and help create an agreement that is Fair, Ambitious and Binding (FAB). If you live outside the United States, use this tool to contact your leaders.  If you are in the United States, call President Barack Obama on 1-202-456-1111 or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on 1-202-647-6575.  Also, the Senate Finance committee are about to vote on the topic of funding for the Kerry-Boxer Bill.  What we need is an allocation of 5% for international adaptation, 5% for clean tech-transfer, and 5% for forest protection. The House climate bill in June allocated just 1%, 0.5% and 5%, respectively for those provisions.  Contact your Senator and tell them what you think.  Now is the time to speak out, no matter who you are, even if you’ve never gotten involved in politics or don’t consider yourself an activist, it just takes a moment to make a difference.  One phone call is worth a hundred emails in terms of impact, but any action is a good one, as long as you’re bringing positive attention to climate change.

We are not at the tipping point yet; it’s on the horizon.  It may seem like a huge battle, and I won’t sugar-coat, it’s going to be rough, but we really can design a world that our children’s children can inherit.  Thanks for everything you do, and keep up the good work!