Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

Re-nourish is a nonprofit organization that provides online tools and advocates for awareness and action for systems thinking in the visual communication design community. We aim to help the practicing graphic designer, educator, and student make responsible and pragmatic sustainable design decisions for healthy people, planet, and profit.

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Best Estimate of GHG Avoidance/Reduction of This Project (Tonnes CO2 Equivalent/Year):

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Re-nourish is an open-source online tool with resources available to anyone in the world with access to the internet. We didn't want to apply a cost to this important information on sustainable design to allow anyone to get involved regardless of where they live or their background. 

We also write about the importance of hiring the communities involved in a design project as opposed to imposing Western views on a project. Specifically, we suggest to our readers/users to use these goals: 

- Eliminate waste 
- Renourish our planet (reparations for nature) 
- Renourish our souls with a beautiful object or service 
- Create reciprocity (a gift that creates an ongoing relationship) 
- Create with, not for ‚ inclusivity 
- Have a purpose, not just profit (improve quality of life) 
- Advocacy for marginalized voices (reparations for others) 

Systems thinking in design should result in a usable and beautiful object or service that improves not only our quality of life but nature as well. The term sustainability implies a net-zero impact on the planet (and us). At this moment, sustainable design would keep the current levels of damage the same. But to renourish goes a step beyond this to heal wounds and create a positive impact on people and the planet. This means designers must create to renourish (through systems thinking) rather than merely doing less bad (commonly called green design). We must create to not only slow the rate of our planet warming but also reverse it. We need to renourish and replenish what we damaged and took from the planet ‚ designed reparations for nature.

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