Sustainability Summit Keynote

The keynote on the Hillside campus was not to be missed. Nate Young opened up by talking about Art Center's commitment to Sustainability and again about the visualization of the future student. A designer who interprets the world, develops projects in a relevant context, considers human usability, steps into the gap [and stands for something] and applies the creative process to any application.

There was a highlight reel of the past two days by Art Center Graduate Film Students. Then a special address by John Mizroch, from the US Department of Energy. He spoke of the problem of energy, and the need to diversify in its resources. His final thoughts were on the need to embed sustainability in our lives, don't compromise [especially as designers], think big and reminded us that there is a large opportunity in developing this future.

Stuart Townsend [who just finished he directorial debut on a film about the Seattle Protests] gave an honest introduction to the keynote speaker, Paul Hawken. I need to review the tape I took of Paul's address. There were many good points, the key take away for now, follows. If you look at the data [about the climate, environment, the state of the world, etc] and are still optimistic, look again. It is the people you should look at and be optimistic. We don't need any more heroes, now we just need more human beings. We are doing amazing things that should inspire and motivate. Our imagination is an amazing resource we need to take advantage of.