Saul Griffith Discusses Starting From the Global Warming Finish Line (Video) Saul Griffith shows off a highly detailed graph of his carbon footprint during 2007.Saul Griffith is an incredible thinker, and we at TreeHugger are quite the fan. So we were excited to see him speak at Compostmodern this weekend. Griffith spoke on how designers can start from their goal for climate change, and design products and solutions based on that goal. Click through to watch a video on how to pick your end target when it comes to global warming, as well as a hilarious slide that checks on designers' sense of humor. He goes on to talk about the radical action that has to happen NOW for that goal to be reached. Kind of daunting...kind of depressing. One of the best points Griffith brought up is probably the simplest - designers need to make energy consumption visible.
Oh, and about that slide... Energy Literacy: ETech 2008 - O'Reilly Conferences, March 03 - 06, 2008, San Diego, CA. The world has known, calculable amounts of energy are available. Let’s take a science (physics and chemistry based) look at all of the earth’s energy resources, both stored (nuclear and fossil fuels) as well as renewable (solar, wind, wave, geothermal, tidal, wave, photosynthetic). Looking at the sizes of each of these resources and comparing them to humanity’s energy consumption is far from depressing. Although humanity uses a lot of energy, there are very large sources of non-carbon producing energy that can be tapped to meet our needs.
If we are to make a big change in the way energy is produced and consumed we need an “Energy Literacy” that gives people a tangible sense of their energy consumption, and of what it takes to meet that. Saul Griffith, "Energy Literacy". Kirk von Rohr Design » Saul Griffith’s Energy Literacy Presentation. » Saul Griffith, “Climate Change Recalculated” IT Conversations | O'Reilly Media Emerging Technology Conference | Saul Griffith.
Saul Griffith’s game plan, a solution framework for the climate challenge, begins with a 6-step model. Assume changes in CO2 cause climate changes. Choose a temperature where we’d like to set the planet. From temperature, calculate how much carbon we can burn. Figure out what fuels we can burn. Analyze new energy sources. Finally calculate a new, survivable energy mix. Griffith then shows the audience how he calculated his personal energy consumption based on his lifestyle and the changes he will need to make to use no more than his share of the total energy resources coming out of his model.
Saul Griffith is an inventor whose innovations span industrial design, technology, and science education. Resources: Dr. Saul Griffith on Energy Literacy. Saul Griffith. Saul Griffith is an Australian American inventor. He is the founder or co-founder of seven companies, including Otherlab (where he is currently CEO), Makani Power, and Instructables. Early life and education[edit] Saul Griffith was born into an academic family, and encouraged to question all around him, to experiment as a process of learning, and to communicate effectively. He was educated in the public school system at selective primary and secondary levels.
He won a scholarship to study Material Science at the University of New South Wales where he graduated in 1997 with a B.MET.E. In 2000, Griffith graduated from the University of Sydney with a Master of Engineering degree.[1] He won a scholarship to MIT Media Lab to study towards a PhD that he completed in 2004. The subject of his PhD Thesis was "self-replicating machines". Current projects[edit] Saul Griffith leads the movement to explain simply and illuminate the technical and practical energy needs of the planet. Awards[edit] Saul Griffith on everyday inventions. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Based in Chicago but supporting non-profit organizations that work in 60 countries, MacArthur has awarded more than US$4 billion since its inception in 1978. With an endowment over $5.7 billion, the foundation provides approximately $230 million annually in grants and low-interest loans.
In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, also known as "genius grants", topics of interest to the foundation include international peace and security, conservation and sustainable development, population and reproductive health, human rights, international migration, community development, affordable housing, digital media and learning, juvenile justice, and public interest media, including public radio and independent documentary film. The Foundation also gives grants to more than 200 arts and cultural institutions in the Chicago area.[1] History[edit] John D.
William T. See also[edit] Howtoons. From the genius's mouth - Nov. 15, 2007. The caller ID on Saul Griffith's mobile phone read "unknown number. " He answered it anyway. "Experience has taught me that many good things come from unknown numbers," says the high-tech inventor and serial entrepreneur. This call was no exception: The 33-year-old learned he'd won a 2007 MacArthur Fellowship, the no-strings-attached "genius grants" of $500,000 over five years.
Declared a "prodigy of invention in service of the world community," Griffith was honored for his work as co-founder and lead inventor of several flourishing start-ups he spun out of Squid Labs, an R&D institution the MIT graduate and four partners created in a converted naval base in Alameda, Calif. Griffith has birthed companies developing low-cost eyeglasses, pull-cord generators for electronic devices, and even science-experiment comic books. FSB: When the MacArthur Foundation called to notify you, what was the conversation like? FSB: How do feel about the "genius" label? FSB: How did you start Squid Labs?