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A Step Forward for Georgia

Krystal Persaud — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:25:12 +0000

This blog is about sustainability and design — not politics. So, without delving too deep into political parties and the results of the overall 2010 elections, I will say that Georgia definitely stepped it up environmentally! Georgians were asked to vote yes or no to Amendment 4, which read:

Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide for guaranteed cost savings for the state by authorizing a state entity to enter into multiyear contracts which obligate state funds for energy efficiency or conservation improvement projects?

(__) Yes

(__) No

and the results ….

Woo! I am really excited to see what changes comes from this. I have to admit, I was nervous about the outcome of Amendment 4. Traditionally, Georgia is a republican state and severely lacking in all scales of environmental law — and let’s face it; stereotypically, its the democratic candidates that usually endorse environmental protection. Check out the map below — this state is Red with a capital “R”.

However, in this case “energy efficiency” = cost savings! Everybody loves cost savings.

Well red states, I must say, green looks pretty good on ya.

Energy = Money

Krystal Persaud — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 17:42:42 +0000

A powerful image.

http://mathiasmikkelsen.com/2010/10/amazing-facts-about-facebook-and-breakups/

The Impact of Travel.

Krystal Persaud — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 03:44:42 +0000

Recent topic I have been thinking about lately …

I love traveling so much. About a month ago one of my roommates called me a “gypsy lady” because I am always moving around, planning new trips, and on a plane to somewhere.

BUT

How can I justify the environmental impact of my travels? I can’t! Ah! It really tears me up inside. The only true way to have a minimum carbon footprint, is to travel by foot [or self-powered means]. Every once in a while I check out new carbon footprint calculators [not a stand alone to method measure your impact!] and my air travels send my score sky high.

Humph. So, what is the most environmentally friendly way to travel overseas? Is there one?

Closed Loop in Mandarin

Krystal Persaud — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:57:46 +0000

To offically end my Shanghai shenanigans, I present to you the Closed Loop logo in Mandarin. With the help of some of my Chinese friends, “closed loop” has been translated to “continuous loop”. This is the logo that I will be screen printing on the shirts for my generous Shanghai Sponsors!

To see photos from my trip, scroll down, or visit my flickr page.

Close Encounters of a Green Mind

Krystal Persaud — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:56:42 +0000

Alright I know the title is cheesy, but anyone that knows me knows that I love cheesiness. I’ve been thinking about some funny conversations I’ve had with people in the past about “green” thinking. Sometimes I cannot handle the ludicrous claims people say to me and it ends like the conversation pictured above.

I have a really hard time keeping my cool and explaining to people why it is important to recycle, compost, realize Hummers aren’t actually cool, buy local food, etc. when they have such an apathetic, crap attitude about it. I have gotten into some really heated arguments with my boyfriend and other close friends about environmental issues.

Why can’t everyone just shut up and recycle?

6 days.

Krystal Persaud — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:35:50 +0000

In 6 days I will embark on my journey to Shanghai! I can’t wait to attend the Cumulus Conference and exhibit Closed Loop there. I will be in China for approximately 2 weeks. The first week I will attend the conference, check out the World Expo, and generally explore Shanghai. The second week I plan on venturing off to smaller towns outside of the big city. One destination I am eager to see is West Lake (pictured below). A friend once said it was the most serene place he has ever been to.

Closed Loop Storytelling

Krystal Persaud — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:19:11 +0000

Many of you who know me know that I absolutely despise graphic design. It usually takes me a pathetically long time to design a layout that works. A lot of times it just frustrates me because I do not think I have a natural “eye” for it. Last night I was working on some posters for the exhibit — it was rough. I hadn’t been in a studio-like “time crunch” in weeks and needed to crank out some graphics last night.

Up above is one of the layouts I came up with. I always have a hard time describing the Closed Loop experiment through graphics — through trial and error, I discovered a bunch of photos of trash isn’t interesting or informative. The Closed Loop was really about me sharing my experience of living sustainably with a lot of people. So, I decided to go a more story-telling route with an illustration of me in my Closed Loop apartment and a first person narrative.

64% there!

Krystal Persaud — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:49:22 +0000

After two weeks of fund raising, I have a total of $830 dollars for my Shanghai trip! Just another $470 to go.

Thanks a million to everyone that made a donation! I recently acquired a screen printing kit and will get cracking on those Closed Loop shirts ASAP!

Closed Loop Cartoons (?)

Krystal Persaud — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:42:14 +0000

I’ve been working on some cartoons that tell the story and process of Closed Loop while I was in Lund, Sweden. I have been struggling with a fun way to depict Closed Loop — because looking at straight up photos at garbage isn’t all that intriguing — so I decided to try this out. Here is the beginnings of a scene …

Support the Closed Loop

Krystal Persaud — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:05:10 +0000

Check it out… Closed Loop is now accepting donations. Click the “DONATE” page at the top right for full details.