SchoolArts - May/June 2011

Design and Ecology
Shape Our Environments

impact on the planet than
those of nature. One rea-
son is that nature takes
millions of years to make
changes, whereas many
areas of human design
double their impact every
eighteen months or so.
So today, when we
look at our natural eco-
systems, which sustain
every life-supporting
function on the planet,
we have to factor in
the impact of human
design innovation.
Design and human
innovation influence
the health of ecosys-
tems that provide the
things that sustain
the short run. For example, public
pressure was able to slow down the
distribution of genetically modified
organisms like golden rice, which
helps people in developing countries
who suffer from chronic vitamin
A deficiency. Some say this delay
resulted in the unnecessary deaths of
hundreds of thousands of people.

Marty Rayala

Design and ecology have an uneasy alliance because they are two sides of a coin that determines the future of the planet. Ecology is the study of the natural world; design is the planning and creation of the human-made world.

human societies and our general well-being. That which was previously shaped by planetary ecosystems is now partially influenced by human design. Through design innovation we are shaping life processes and adaptations, the distribution and abundance of organisms, the movement of materials and energy through living communities, and the evolution of ecosystems.

Natural Design vs. Human Design Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory and the concept of adaptation are cornerstones of modern ecology. They bring to light the amazing designs of nature that have evolved over millions of years. Human design has become such a powerful force in the last 100 years that design innovations have, for better or worse, often had a greater

Are We Up to the Challenge? Many fear that we are not up to the challenge—that we underestimate the complexity of planetary ecosystems and are making decisions that are ultimately endangering our very existence. These people call for stopping or slowing down the design innovation process, but attempts to stop innovation are only effective in

Investing in the Future

The only sustainable direction for the future of our planet is to make sure future generations are well-educated and are provided with the design thinking knowledge and skills necessary to design a future that works for everyone on the planet. Design thinking, assisted by artificial intelligence, is being used to solve critical problems leading us toward becoming a type I civilization. A type I civilization has achieved mastery of the resources of its home planet (type II of its solar system, and type III of its galaxy). We are only about three quarters of the way toward becoming a type I civilization.

A tremendous amount of design
innovation is nec-
essary for the sur-
vival of our planet.
If we teach com-
ing generations to
apply design think-
ing skills to solving
real-world problems, we can create a
future that is not only sustainable, but
worth living in. The young design-
ers in our schools have the capacity
to create design innovations that can
provide us with an incredible and fan-
tastic success.

Design thinking could be the only path we have toward creating success for our planet and the future of civilization, and is something schools will need to take seriously in the twenty-first century.