who killed the electric car.

The video begins with a parody of your traditional wedding, except for all the participants are mourning for the death of an idea. 1996 was the beginning of electric cars, and the idea began in California. However a decade later, they are no longer seen. The history of electric cars began 100 years ago, where cars were more electric than gas as they were quieter and smoother. The question is, why did gas cars overwhelm the electric? This is because gas cars were mass manufactured, faster, and cheaper in comparison. By 1920, the gas car, and modern automobile are now the rave.

The video delves into how cars caused the amount of population, in some states of the US, known as the “black cloud of death”. There are tremendous effects of this pollution, due to studies showing that because of the pollution caused by these cars caused cancers and respiratory problems. Every gallon of gas burnt, adds 19 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the air. This is a global warming gas, leading to the rise of the earth’s temperature, thus leading to wild changes in our climate, with causes of polar ice caps melting, and thus water levels rising.

The video focuses on the General Motors EV1, and talks about how approximately 5000 electric cars were designed and manufactured by companies such as GM, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Nissan and Chrysler. There are various opinions offered as to why the industries killed off the electric car, and Wally Rippel offers his thoughts on how the companies didn’t want to lose monopolisation over transportation and fuel over the decades. However, others such as Dave Barthmuss argues that it failed due to a lack of consumer interest in the market, as it was a relatively high price to pay for the range of 80-100 miles per charge.

Not only does the film argue the death of the electric car, but it also branches out to touch on subjects such as hydrogen vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and other developing technologies. It features interviews with celebrities who have owned and driven the car, e.g. Tom Hanks and Mel Gibson. There is also a more technical aspect where there are interviews conducted with engineers and technicians who lead the development of the electric car.

All in all, the video was an interesting watch, and provided inside to the history of motor vehicles. It shows us that designs today have evolved over the years, and as designers, we should be aware of the changes involved. It was not a one –step simple process, but rather a trial and error of consumer wants and needs to determine how to go forth with an idea. Or in this case, go forth with the death of an idea.

video blog: how things are made & giving packaging a new life.

The six videos of “How it’s made” consist of mini documentaries of how certain things were invented. These mini videos provided insight recycling as an alternative, and reiterates how materials can be used for other purposes, rather than simply being disposed of.

The cardboard box is told that it was made by pure accident, through a man named Robert Gares. This led to further developments into different shapes and structures, made by corrugated cardboard. The video explains how corrugated cardboard is made, held together by glue, made from water and starch, in order not to contaminate what the box may later store.

The second video talks about packaging tubes, and how it is made of aluminium. Each tube is made from disks about the size of coins, and the video expands on how its prepped and formed. Through impact extrusion, the tubes are made, and the metals are then hardened through 250 tonnes of pressure.

The third video talks about tetrapak packaging. This includes packaging for things such as eggs to fine wine, designed with freshness in mind. There are three layers, the plastic, the paperboard, and the foil. This allows it to be leak-proof, and recyclable whilst giving products a long shelf life. They are made entirely from recycled materials, and this is more environmentally friendly than other sorts of packaging.

The “How It Is Made video – aluminium cans”, talks about how versatile and reusable aluminium can be. The sheets are as thin as construction paper, and the video demonstrates how it is turned from a large sheet into cans. It follows how the body of the can is made, and shows the entire process from forming, to trimming, to washing. There are 6 steps of washing it, to ensure that is perfectly clean and shiny from all the chemicals. There is a rotational printing system, and varnish is applied over the printing, printing over 1800 cans a minute. There is also a water-based barrier sprayed on the inside to protect the drink from tasting like metal.

Glass bottles and jars are also covered in this series of videos. They are made with less energy than making metal. There is about 6 raw materials combined to make glass, and the video explains how these materials are combined. A furnace is used to melt the materials, to create molten glass, with a similar texture to honey. It is then fed into bottle forming machines.

The last video about plastic bottles and jars speaks about how much more popular it is becoming. Most bottles are made from a material called PET, combining new pet droplets, with recycled ones, to create what we know as plastic bottles found in supermarkets to store mineral water, and other such drinks.

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DSD GPANL recycling Paper – talks about how the paper is sorted and dissolved. It goes onto explaining how its the second most important secondary material in German paper mills. Any impurities and printing inks are removed. Then other raw materials are added to create the desired paper quality, in order to produce rolls of paper and cardboard.

DSD GPANL Recycling Tetrapak – these composite packs that house things like beverages, sauce are manufactured from different materials that are tightly bonded together. Due to recent technological changes, there is no need to sort the composite cartons by hand as there is now an infrared unit which does this for workers.

DSD GPANL Recycling Tinplate – they are magnetic and lifted out of recyclable waste streams by magnets, and then later processed. About 15,000 of these steel slabs are manufactured in Germany, and can be recycled as often as desired without any losses in quality. These may also be later used in railway lines, car bodies, or in bottles.

DSD GPANL Recycling Aluminium – the aluminium industry processes cans, caps and lids are sorted and separated. It is then processed without any problems, following the steps of melting, casting and rolling. It is then manufactured into sheets for further production of packaging.

DAD GPANL Recycling Glass – glass is sorted by colours, as it cannot be mixed with clear glass if it has a coloured glass fraction of more than 10%. Machinery at glass plants separate glass shards, bottles, and fragments, to product various material streams. With the increasing technology today, even pieces less than 50mm can be sorted correctly, and then it is scattered and examined by a computer. It is a computerised system which then melts it to reshape and reuse.

DSD GPANL Recycling Plastics – Due to today’s improving technology, we are now able to recycle most plastic packaging. It is separated. These plastics are then used in objects such as children’s toys in manufacture.

DSD GPANL Sorting Innovations – this video talks about sorting plastic packaging. It delves into the sorting technique, and explains how it sorts it into sizes, and then further extracts paper from the packaging using a larger water washer. Aluminium is also removed through a current separator and this video shows how the machinery does it.

Overall all the videos have shown what recycling materials can do, and as designers we should look out for how by using recyclable packaging, we can make a difference in the world. We should be leaning towards a more biodegradable aspect, and thus these videos help us to understand the types of packaging out there.