CAT (Blog Task)

1. Had you heard of CAT before you came on the module? If 'yes' then please give an idea where you'd heard about them.

No, I hadn't heard of CAT before our visit.

2. Please give your thoughts on the 3x most notable points raised in the sustainability lecture on site. For example it could be methods of reducing CO2 discussed, the varying views of the 'future' given the issues of oil and climate change or maybe the idea of 'real worth' with materials and artifacts (i.e. remember Jo explaining that one torch would appear to be the most sustainable but in practice another was simpler and more effective).

• I thought it was definitely an eyeopener when Jo said that one their goals at CAT was to achieve a 100% cut of carbon emissions, which would address all parts of society. This seemed highly ambitious to me, yet it also seems to be necessary.
  
  
• I also found it worrying to know that we in Britain were using up more than our fair share of the planet. If everyone behaved as we did, we would need three planets to sustain us. It seems that some cuts would have to be put in place.
  
  
• In regards to this, Jo explained that a lot of countries didn't have a healthy balance. For example, poorer countries were not using up many resources, yet they were also poor places to live. And in Britain and America, living conditions and education were great, yet we were using up too much. Jo explained that Cuba was a country that had the best balance; it wasn't using up too many resources, yet it was still a good place to live in terms of conditions and education. 
  
  
• I also knew that oil was running out, yet I had no idea that metals such as copper had about 40 years left if we continued to use it the way we were, while led and zinc have only about 20 years left.
  

3. Please give your thoughts on the 3x most notable things picked-up while at CAT (i.e. it could be one of the specific exhibits seen, their self sufficiency with solar etc and/or maybe the clever use of materials with specific buildings to help reduce CO2 etc).

• I was interested in the alternative materials they used to keep their buildings running smoothly. Like using sheep wool as insulation, for example.
  
  
• There was also a house that you could look around and throughout its different rooms there was information explaining how you could make your home more energy efficient. 
   
• They had installed an electricity-generating photovoltaic (PV) roof and next to it they had a panel to show how much energy it was generating at the moment (600 watts when we visited), how much it had generated since installation (61566 kWh) and how much Greenhouse Gas emission had been saved (35092 kg).

4. Now you've had time to reflect, what 3x things gained from the CAT visit might you bring forward into your ideas and developments for the sustainable packaging brief?

• Thinking of what materials would be the best to use for project. For example, I learned that some metals take more energy to produce than others.
  
  
• I was also inspired to experiment more with different materials, those that might not seem as obvious for the job.
  
  
• Making sure my packaging is energy efficient and doing its bit toward helping the environment.