Tag Archive for: Coffee

It’s hard to be green -Why green design to be the default option and how to do it

The following outlines how complexity can hinder good environmental actions, and how you as an environmental planner or product manufacturer can overcome it. And yes, I am going somewhere with the coffee story.

 

Hi, my name is Mona and I’m a coffee addict.

Seeing as it’s one of my only vises in life, I don’t really mind it. But it does mean that I am not a functional human being without my morning Joe, and that is what prompted today’s post.

 

I’m currently staying with some friends who are very techy. Their house is filled with robots, drones, and really cool gadgets. As well, their coffee maker is really advanced, you know the kind that has an inbuilt alarm so it can have the coffee ready for you before you’re out of bed. It also has an inbuilt grinder so you can get fresh coffee. Amazing, right? Wrong!

The darn thing never works, and in its effort to be as simple as possible, it only has one on/off button and a nob that also works as a button. This morning I spend 15 minutes trying to get it to grind the beans. 15! I’m not gonna brand shame so I won’t tell you the name of the coffee machine.

There were just too few buttons and no matter what I pushed, or in which order, it didn’t work. In the end, I gave up. I sat defeated and ate my breakfast with a glass of water.

 

 

Why am I telling you this? Because green design matters.

 

Because a coffee maker that’s too complicated to operate is a spot-on example of how our world is way more complicated than it needs to be.

And the same goes for acting environmentally friendly.

If you live in a westernized country or the metropolises of high-tech South East Asia, you probably have some sort of waste management and recycling scheme.

Those schemes have rules, and those rules are often really complicated and with a large set of exceptions. This is because of technical requirements from the waste treatment facilities. It makes recycling confusing for us mortals who just want to know how to sort our waste in the right way.

 

Likewise, if you’re gonna purchase a new car, and you want to get one that is environmentally friendly, what do you get? One with good mileage? An electric? A used car? Which is better? The answer is the same, ‘Well it depends…’

But we don’t want to dig into why there are so many differences in regards to buying an environmentally friendly car, we just want the answer: What is the best car I can buy if I care about the environment?

 

Acting environmentally friendly can be hard and complicated because our world is unnecessarily complicated.

If you promoting a greener behavior, or selling a green product, it is your job to make it as easy as possible for your audience/consumer, to do the right thing.

 

How to make sustainable products or services

 

Seeing as I still haven’t had coffee yet, I’ll give you the bare minimum.

Test it! Then test it. And then test it again.

If you’re asking someone to act in a different way, you need to test if what you are asking them is sufficiently easy and understandable. Test your message or product over and over until you have made it as approachable as possible.

 

I call this the Grandma Test.

Green Design How To

Edit (06.08.18): I was actually meeting my grandma after writing this, so I took the opportunity to put a face to the concept. Here she is.

If I can explain something in a way that even my stubborn, 82-year-old grandma gets it, then I’m on to something.

My formal education is Technological Socio-Economical Planner.

 

That fails the grandma test massively. Therefore I and most of my old uni buddies boil it down to the essence: Environmental Planner. Or as grandma says, ‘Something with environment.’

 

This is where the discussion of dumbing down usually comes up. I will say this until I am in my grave:

It’s not about dumbing down, it’s about removing unnecessary complexity.

I’m not a stupid person, nor am I a tech illiterate, but I’ll remind you that I battled the coffee maker for 15 minutes, and lost!

That’s what happens when things get too fancy.

 

Maybe when I have had my coffee, I’ll write the post about why humans always make things more complicated and what it means for our environment, and society as a whole.

 

For now, I highly advise you that whatever change you want to make in the world, you make sure that your actions are easy to follow and that you keep your instructions clear.

And on that note, I’m gonna dig out the old school Italian espresso maker, because that never fails me.

Want more caffeinated advice on pro-environmental behavior? Add me on LinkedIn or go to Somethinggreen.org to get your dose.

Cards Against Humanity — Climate Change edition (with a 2019 update!)

Cards Against Climate Change needs you — make your own card!

 

It’s been 4 years since that strong cup of joe sparked a climate change version of the popular game, Cards Against Humanity.

 

A lot of things have changed since then. We’ve seen the normalization of public environmental debate, the rise of Extinction rebellion and similar groups, and of course, the poster child of climate activism, Greta Thunberg.

It seems only right to update the cards to fit the current climate.

Introducing: Cards against climate change — 2019 edition!

 

 

In support of COP 25, I want to make an updated version that you can play at marches or other events.

 

Not sure what Cards Against Humanity is? Read the 2015 post below for a quick introduction. 

 

BUT!! These cards don’t write themselves.

 

Keeping with the spirit of the first 2 versions, and Cards Against Humanity’s open approach to making your own cards, this should be a collaboration.

 

 That means you!

Cards Against Climate Change

Here’s how you play

 

 

What do you think should be on the cards?

 

Who made an impact? What ecosystems can we make fun of? What controversial tools should we use against climate change?

 

To have enough time to make the cards and print them, let’s get all the suggestions in by the 17th. That gives us 10 days to be creative, and 2 weeks to print and distribute the cards.

 

What should be in the 2019 edition? Comment below to get your card in the new deck!

 

I will post the new version of the game on the website and LinkedIn. If you want to make sure you don‘t miss it, you can sign up for this newsletter.

 

I can’t wait to read your suggestions!

 

 

(Original 2015 post below):

Make Climate Change Fun again

 

I made my coffee WAY too potent yesterday, resulting in a crazy idea I had to try out.

CARDS AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
-High five bro!

 

High on caffeine, I thought it could be fun to make a Cards Against Humanity game, that you could bring to a climate march.

You can even play with people in other countries by sending them pictures.

 

It became a day-long project (before and after regular work hours), but the 1st version was done and up before I went to bed that night which, granted, was late due to the coffee.

 

Click the big, tasty button below, and get the 2nd version — now with even more cards, for added fun!

 

 

 

The cards are non-profit and are not a part of the original Cards Against Humanity series.

You can play it in combination with the original game, giving you such joyous results as:

 

‘In a surprising move, Bjørn Lomborg now advocates The Holocaust.’

 

Really, how can you not download them?

 

The cards are thought up by the joint effort and creative minds of me and these amazing people: Thank you; Yan, Helle, Mikkel, Niels, Charlotte, Nicholas, Sievers, Carsten, Dion, and McFadden.

 

So print them, and bring them to a climate march, or another COP21 event, near you!

 

Remember, you can play it with people around the globe who are also attending a climate march, by tweeting a picture of your card with #CAH_ClimateChange.

 

If you have a suggestion for cards, put them in the comments, or shoot me an e-mail.