Interview 1-4

Who Did You Interview?

• Friend

Demographics That Might Provide Helpful Context for Their Responses

• 17 year old teen
• High School Student
• Reside in Seattle

Key Findings from the Interview

• Sustainability means finding a balance between what I'm using and the consequences of that.

"Just basically thinking about like, is it worth doing x thing based on the statistics surrounding y consequence

• My friend don't exactly have a lot of control over the sort of things that she buy at her house, but it's encouraged her to do things like use a reusable water bottle and re-use boxes and ribbons and bags and bottles that one thing or another may have come in.

Little things, really, but things nonetheless, I suppose.

• The last time my friend did something sustainable would be today, using her reusable water bottle. It's partly for not creating waste and partly because keeping her water bottle around her filled has become a habit.
• My friend's only concern about sustainability is finding that balance between what might be good for humanity and what is good for the environment.

"...but like plastic straws. Those aren't exactly the biggest deal, as they are about 1% of the trash in the oceans, but there's been a huge push to get rid of them. With that being said, there are people out there with disabilities and sensory issues who need to be using single-use plastic straws, because of their disabilities and/or sensory issues. And that's like a really little thing but at the same time I think it's worth mentioning. In terms of something more like conserving resources, my only concern is the thought of running resources dry, not only because humans need certain things but also animals. I'm not too horribly worried about it, but it's crossed my mind every now and again."

Who Did You Interview?

• Environmental Science teacher

Demographics That Might Provide Helpful Context for Their Responses

• 40+ year old
• High School Teacher
• Reside in Kenmore, WA

Key Findings from the Interview

• Sustainability is to use our current resource efficiently and sparingly and leaving additional resources for the future generation. When considering sustainability, it is crucial to take a look at the replacement rate. Evaluating the replacement rate and using resources accordingly and ensure future generations would still have sufficient resources.

It involves future thinking.

• History also plays a role in sustainability. Private property, as seen in the case of The Commons being fenced off, allowed for mines to be dug and cattle graze over without much afterthoughts
• GDP is one of the main obstacles in stopping sustainability. It does not measure other factors like pollutions emitted. Many manufacturers are contributing hugely to the GDP, yet are emitting countless greenhouse gases into the air.

To focus on sustainability, we need to put a lesser focus on GDP.

Who Did You Interview?

• Mom

Demographics That Might Provide Helpful Context for Their Responses

• 50 years old
• Consultant, freelancer
• Reside in Seattle Metro Area

Key Findings from the Interview

• Sustainability means what can I do to economically, environmentally, and socially to preserve the environment

"I do not own this earth, it was passed down to me from my ancestors. I will, too, pass it on"

• My mother is very against fast fashion. She refuses to purchase something just because its cheaper if it requires more resources and emits more pollution. When my mother goes to a fast food restaurant, she brings her own utensils to reduce waste.

Sustainability requires long-term view, not short-term convenience.

• My mother greatly admires my neighbor for using solar panels - in Seattle - a decade ago. She is also considering getting solar panels for our own house. My mom will definitely choose an electric car for our second family car.

"One of my concern is does it make sense to get solar panel in Seattle?"

• Another concern is whether the design for trash cans with recycle, compost, and liquid user friendly?

"For me, in a perfect world, I can face my child."

Who Did You Interview?

• Friend

Demographics That Might Provide Helpful Context for Their Responses

• 17 year old teen
• High School Student
• Reside in Greater Seattle area
• Is taking environmental science at school

Key Findings from the Interview

• Sustainability at it's base is preserving the environment.

New technological inventions can help to decrease waste.

• Just like our environmental science teacher said during class, new inventions like toilets that flushes with less water or even drinking water cleansed from waste water can bring us closer to having a greener planet.

More public transportation funding would be a great investment.

• Cars on the road is a huge obstacle. Seattle's public transportation is horrible. My friend live an hour away from the downtown area, but if he took the bus, it's going to take 3 hours and 2 bus changes. This is why when his family take weekly trip downtown, it's always via car.

Nordstrom or Amazon's paper boxes are such unnecessary wastes.

• Not only should people talk about redesigning cities, they should also redesign the shopping process. Those huge boxes my friend gets always ends up in the garage pile, or worse, in the recycle bin.