Design 21: Social Design Network

I think almost every designer is interested in doing green design, but it feels like there is not that much info on what exactly qualifies as green design. My question is: What would you call the parameters of Green Design, is it carbon neutral? Is it recycling? Is it low energy? And how can we find more information on the specific greenness of different materials and processes?

As a young enthusiastic student designer, I often find myself looking for cradle to cradle solutions to design.

Recently I have faced the realities of finding a job soon and am beginning to learn the sad truth behind most of the jobs available in my area.

At the end of the day, everyone has a boss with deadlines and cost restraints. In addition to that, we all have a mortgage to pay. This poses the ever-so present question:

Is Capitalism, as a political ideology, sustainable for society and the environment? If so, how can designers create a system that will work for all of members of society, including the number-crunching corporations, and those lower on the socio-ecomomic level?

...and lastly, how can designers infultrate the main-streams blatent disreguard for green solutions?

It seems like green design today has become more of a marketing strategy with every company screaming that their product is green.

My question is, when and how can we make green design less of a commercial advertisement and more of a standard, inherit feature of all products? Would or could green design become so common place that it is common practice with all product design? And when this is achieved, what is beyond green design?

Even when designing ecologically "sustainable" products, what are your thoughts on the impacts of products on society? Sure, a product may be biodegradable or recyclable, but if a product creates a perceived "need" and was never necessary to human survival, are you just creating a newer shinier form of garbage?

The question is, can you create new, exciting, and important products that make positive impacts

Some product components are easily recyclable or biodegradable, but our waste management systems in the US are not set up to handle the recycling or composting of many of these components. i.e. Even if a product is made from recyclable plastic and placed in the correct recycling bin, it is still most likely to be landfilled.

Should we continue to design recyclable or compostable products that we "hope" will not be landfilled, or can we create products that are good for the planet that work within our current infrastructure? What are ways to accomplish this?