Buildings last a long time, and training people to design them and their interiors doesn't happen overnight either. Given that buildings are responsible for 40% of the greenhouse gases that we are generating, it is critical that the schools inculcate green design into every student now.

I must have done OK at a previous panel discussion at Ryerson School of Interior Design because they invited me to their year end show "The New Black." They take green design seriously at Ryerson: "Environmentally conscious design is more than just a trend. It is the future of the design industry."

I particularly liked Heather Shute's "Designed to be thrown away" reconsidering the usefulness of single use objects by offering them a second life. They are elevated to a pedestal and recognized as thoughtful design elements."- a ceiling of empty bottles, a tunnel of woven plastic shopping bags, all integrated into an old distillery warehouse.