The 11th Hour

Directed by Nadie Conners and Leila Conners Petersen, The 11^th Hour addressed the environmental issues that currently plague Earth. Towards the end of the documentary the blame and the doom was put aside and the problems were addressed with hope and inspiration in mind. Demand in the field of design is changing; sustainability is a new challenge that designers are forced to face. In the film one of the speakers said, “Re-design design itself.” As new resources are integrated into production in place of the old, and new limitations are put in place, the products that are designed will have to be different. Further, the priorities of production are changing; what was important in the past may have no place in the present or future. That is to say, as oil is phased out of use, a new form of transportation may have to become the norm and automobiles might have to leave the market. Perhaps that is a stretch, but the idea is that design is going to cause change and be changed. As the documentary explained, it is important that designers look to nature for inspiration, learn how to work with the environment rather than without or against it. One reality that the world must face is, just because it can be produced, does not mean that it should be.