In the world today there are wicked problems all around us. Some wicked problems arise over time and have no end point or solution to the problem, while other wicked problems as humans we can prevent from happening. Wicked problems and sustainability go hand and hand, we need to start paying attention to what is around us and how we can make the earth a better place not just for us but for our future generations in years to come. A wicked problem is very different from a tame problem because a wicked problem is more extreme and can be deadly. The 11thHour film we watched in class was breath taking to see the issues in todays world. The film shows how we can reverse our bad habits to make a better place. Our second class we went to the Oklahoma State Museum of Art were we learned about sustainability that needs to take place in our oceans for example seeing pictures of washed up trash on the shores which is terrible for our environment. In my blog I will be touching on the subjects of Sustainability, the 11thHour Film, Wicked Problems, and The OSU Museum of Art.
Sustainability has changed and evolved over time and will continue to change. It was evolved because of issues we have faced which wasn’t a problem 10 years ago but it is now. For example: Biodiversity loss is a wicked problem because it is causing plants and animals to be forced to extinction. One of the reasons this is caused is by humans over fishing in the oceans. I think if people would take time to think of how people can get involved to help this issue we could make fish species not go extinct. I believe sustainability in the fashion world could be prevented for example using less harmful dies and reducing toxic waste that are dumped into water ways. The toxic waste goes into oceans killing sea life causing many species to go extinct. If we took time and effort to make a change, it would make a positive impact on our planet world wide.
The 11thHour film went into great detail about the following topics: Climate change, Biodiversity loss, Population growth, Deforestation, and Nonrenewable resources use. All of which showed the reality of how these wicked problems are effecting the earth and how our actions could make these problems less of an issue. This film opened my eyes more to see the long lasting effects wicked problems have. Questions I had over the video were: How can we prevent climate change? Is there an alternative way to not cutting down/ destroying trees? Lastly, how is our growing population hurting our environment?
On our second day of class our class had the opportunity to visit the Oklahoma State Museum of Art. The first exhibit, talks about the oceans being “washed up”. Washed up is also the name of the exhibit. When we walked in the first room we saw a variety of images laid out across the floor in shape of a wave or hook. The images started to be blue, with bright colors, sea life, and beautiful coral reefs. When you looked at the top to the wave it faded into very dark colors, gravel, trash, and fish bones. In my opinion I believe the series of images were placed in order to show that this is how our ocean are looking now and days to what they looked at. If we keep polluting our oceans, leaving plastic, and other trash in our oceans they won’t be pretty and blue they will resort to looking dark and dead. Another cool aspect to this exhibit were the man made objects made up of waste materials to look familiar and unfamiliar. They were made up of glass, plastic, and clay. One of my favorites was the look into the micro lens to see images on bigger scales. This gave me a lot of incite to seeing the problems in our oceans, and how we can prevent this wicked problem.
Within just our first week of class I have benefited from the 11thHour film and the OSU museum. It has really opened my eyes to seeing that we need to find solutions to these wicked problems are effecting us now and will be worse in the future.
My Sustainability Journey 