World We Imagine I
Growing up in a family where my parents always ask me to pay attention to the usage of water, light, and electricity, I am sensitive to the consumption of resources around me. I was told at a young age that the longer I keep the air conditioner in the summer, the more harm it is causing to the environment. After growing up, the climate changes have worsened, and I had the feeling that awareness of energy consumption among people could, and need to be further improved.
I wish to develop a platform to effectively decrease non-sustainable consumptions in the society, and to promote sustainable energy uses. I may break this down into two main functions:
Encourage the efficient use of resources from a daily perspective. Here are some potential functions I have in mind now:
Energy recycling: if a user used less than a certain amount of electricity per month, the user is able to “resell” the unused portion for credit. The credit could be used toward other platform resources.
Plastic bag credits: similar to energy recycling credits, if a user uses recycled/eco-friendly bags, they will receive credits.
More to come
More importantly, I wish this platform could help change lifestyles through technology breakthroughs and adaptation of sustainable resources:
Subscription models for resource-sharing within each community
Promoting solar system usage: users could use credits to access free solar system electricity generation
AI-driven resource management helper: helping users to plan energy usage in a most efficient way
More to come
The platform could eventually evolve into a full ecosystem, with different legs of functionality that act together to promote sustainability. This is a hard thing to achieve, and I hope we could get closer to the goal of sustainability at some point soon.
One major challenge is the recording and calculation of the daily activities, which need to be thought about further. The ultimate goal is to help increase awareness of sustainability practices, and effectively decrease non-sustainable activities, and change them into sustainable ones.
Hi Maria, sustainability is definitely a big issue that needs to be changed in the world, and being able to make better decisions around it will definitely help change the world for the better. I really like your idea for plastic bag credits, and I think I have actually seen some places input this into their stores. I think when I went grocery shopping a couple times, they counted the bags I brought and gave me a 10 cent discount for each one I brought! I think this is a great initiative to promote sustainability in the world.
ReplyDeleteHi Maria, I really like how you’re turning your early awareness about resource use into a creative platform idea for sustainability! As a next step, you could start by testing one feature like the energy or plastic bag credits with a small group to see how people respond and what motivates them. You might also look into existing sustainability apps or challenges for inspiration and possible partnerships. Sharing your progress and inviting feedback from others could help you refine your platform and build a community that’s excited to live more sustainably together.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you focus on turning sustainability into part of daily life, not just a big abstract idea! One next step could be thinking about how to make the “credit” system feel motivating enough for consistent behavior change, maybe even adding a community leaderboard or shared goals. Love how intentional your plan is!
ReplyDeleteHi Maria, I really love your idea. Specifically with the plastic bags, there is a negative outcome if you don't bring your own bag(10 cents per bag), but it would be nice if there was also positive reinforcement for people that brought reusable bags.
ReplyDelete