Gallery: Green Design Predictions For ...
Katie Fehrenbacher - Editor, Earth2Tech.com and Writer, GigaOM.com
Electric Car Crunch Time: Now that the first mainstream electric vehicles launched in late 2010 – the Nissan LEAF and GM’s Volt – 2011 will be the year that we will see if the demand for these cars remain high. I think in the short term, at least throughout 2011, the demand will be there, though it will take a good decade for EVs to make a dent in the mainstream vehicle market.
2011 will also be the year to examine how the Nissan LEAF and GM’s Volt perform in real conditions on the roads. Will LEAF owners be happy with a potentially fluctuating range, given a 100-mile range is advertised but the range could drop substantially depending on temperature and driving methods? I think the average owner will be satisfied, but some owners could be dissatisfied if they are not aware of the discrepancy before they buy the car.
Energy Software Innovation: At the end of 2010 the phone companies AT&T and Verizon made some significant moves into home energy management, and Verizon plans to launch a smart home and energy management pilot program in New Jersey in January. I think in 2011 there will be much more innovation in terms of software and web applications for home energy management. Intuitive UIs and well-designed gadgets in homes could make a real difference in terms of cutting energy consumption.
Using the Web to "Share Stuff” Will Explode: Car sharing, via companies like Zipcar, has taken off – Zipcar has 530,000 members and over 8,000 cars in its fleet. But the interesting thing is that research shows that people who join car sharing networks are more likely to join communities that share other stuff, like goods (Zilok.com), or apartments (Airbnb.com). 2011 will be a major year for sharing stuff via the web, as consumers get more comfortable with the idea and new startups begin to launch their websites.
I’ve been watching designers pushing the boundaries in green- and putting sustainable ideas front and center to the public for the past decade that I’ve been reporting on environmental issues. Keep going guys!! It’s working
It’s so inspiring to see green design continuing to become more than just a ‘passing’ interest – especially in New York. Great Article and looking forward to helping NY become ‘greener’ in 2011!
Some great predictions! Really enjoyed the contributions – especially the ones from Sarah and Bridgette.
What a great group of voices. I would have to agree with Kira Gould that the thinking professionals in the environmental disciplines will have to take charge rather than counting on a short term thinking political class. If we create undeniably superior designs and systems then the political process will have no choice but to support it.
Inhabitat…always keeping my optimistic for the future of green design.
I completely agree with Bridgette’s prediction that 2011 will be the year of green renovations. We’re already starting to see this with the multiple passive house retrofits taking place in NYC!
Let’s hope that “green design” becomes redundant in 2011!
My own predictions for 2011 were recently posted on my blog, in a summary of the emerging Living Economy. I summarized a few of the game-changing frameworks, and linked to a number of useful documents. Everyone welcome in that discussion:)”The Shift Hits the Fan”, on erikvanlennep(dot) com. Really, this isn’t an egregious self-promotion. Really.