Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Maintaining the Green Learning Curve by Beth Gillispie

Anyone invested in sustainable design and products, especially in the fields of architecture and design as well as signage, knows that new ideas,  products, and applications are emerging every day.  The challenge is to maintain our “green learning curve” in the midst of our busy lives.  It helps to network with like minded colleagues who are also passionate about sustainability, and it helps to stay connected with vendors, associations, and publications with a focus on green building.

I have found that one of the easiest ways to get a daily dose of inspiration and keep my learning curve strong is to use the internet to do the research for me.  You can stay current with just a few minutes every day (easier than an exercise routine!) by setting up a free GoogleAlerts account. Type in your key words, and each day Google will send you articles available on the web with those key words. For example, I have set up “green friendly signage” and “environmentally friendly signs” as some of my topics. Those of you who follow sports teams or other specific topics know that this is similar to having your own personal news delivered to your email each day.  The items are not always relevant, but there are often some jewels amidst the cyberspace asteroids, and for the few minutes it takes to scan the results you just might see an application that not only lifts your learning curve, but also your ability to innovate and provide more sustainable solutions yourself.

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