Global Warming Activism Graffiti

This street art shows the irony created by Climate Change Deniers as they continue to say they don’t believe in Global Warming when the facts are so clearly right in front of them. The graffiti just simply says “I don’t believe in global warming” with a large body of water cutting off the words global warming. This water is meant to represent the rising sea levels as a result of global warming.

There is so much evidence that climate change is real. Not just scientific evidence buried in articles that some people may not be able to comprehend, but it is so clearly visible in our everyday lives as well. The fact that some people still won’t understand that this problem is going on is emphasized by this simple street art.

Take a Look at the Future of New York

Works on Water is a collection of art works and performances that can be seen in June. These works aim to show the relationship between humans and water. This specific presentation, titled “Sunk Shore,” will provide an look into the future of Manhattan and what the city might look like as sea levels continue to rise.

I’m sure seeing this exhibition will inspire viewers to think about what they can do and what needs to be done by the city to protect from future storms as much as is possible so that humans and the oceans can continue to live in peace.

 

Fire, Water, and Ice—Graphed

Jill Pelto’s piece Landscape of Change combines bright, sweeping reds with swirling deep blues and spaces of white—each created in the effect of a texture. Simply looking at this watercolor painting, one can tell that the piece has many layers, both in color and texture. From the right corner of the page, Pelto evokes the depth of the ocean. Emerging from the waves, a glacial shelf rises to the bottom left, just a bit lighter in color, but clearly distinguished in texture. Division between earth and air is created by bright red, almost reminiscent of a fire. Finally, air spans the upper right space, but not quite, because surprisingly Pelto created something far from just air—she created a trend. In fact each element in her painting is a graph, scientific data gathered and then formed into a painting. Her sweeping skies and air are, in fact a graphical representation of the rise in fossil fuel use, and the deep blue ocean underlies a graph of the rise in sea levels.

In each of Pelto’s artworks, she incorporates links of the actual graphs she uses. Looking into these graphs, it is clear that there can be many, and at times might be deceiving or too dense. One of the sources she offers from NASA, showcases a large file of a 2015 global analysis. The graph incorporated into the red, fiery peaks represents El Niño and Global Temperature dating back to 1980. Even thinking back to our lecture, there are many aspects involved in climate change. While it may be difficult for us to combine this information when viewing them from a variety of sources, Pelto’s art allows us to view each element visually and perhaps even be more affected by the landscape rather than a series of numbers.

Image taken from:

http://www.jillpelto.com/landscape-of-change

Works Cited:

Schmidt, Gavin A, and Thomas R Karl. “Annual Global Analysis for 2015.” NASA/ NOAA, Jan. 2016, www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/noaa_nasa_global_analysis_2015.pdf.

Water Management and the Risk of Flooding in America

It is clear that the United States must take on some sort of project for the betterment of our water management systems.  With recent devastation caused by flooding from Hurricane Harvey, Irma, Maria, and others in cities like Houston, Texas and San Juan, Puerto Rico, the need for effective flood control measures are growing increasingly more necessary, particularly in coastal urban areas. Extremely effective flood control measures have been put in place in places like Holland already and the Dutch are dumbfounded as to why the US has not followed suit.

According to the CNN article, after a ravaging 1953 storm in Holland, a country that is 7 feet below sea level, began discussing plans to prevent such an event from happening again. To contrast, since 1953, there have been 11 category 5 hurricanes that hit the US and have caused billions in damage, not to mention the loss of human life.  By 1959, Holland had regulations and a plan of action to build the Delta Works, a system of dams and levees that now protect The Netherlands from catastrophic flooding. Although the project was costly, upwards of 5 billion dollars, this cost is nothing compared to the enormous cost of hurricane damage, both in terms of money and loss of life. Considering the magnitude and extent of these storms are only going to increase with the seemingly unceasing advance of global climate change, the US is long overdue for an improvement in their water management and flood control systems.

The fact that the Federal government has done nothing major to fix this issue of massive flooding, despite the technology being there for quite some time, is concerning.  Not only does not bettering the current flood control systems cost billions and billions of dollars, but it also costs hundreds, if not thousands of lives.  The technology is there, but the government is unwilling to take on the cost of it, despite spending billions per year on military spending, among other  things that seem increasingly frivolous. Although updates to flood control systems are overdue, it is not too late to still implement them; however, considering the current administrations ideas about climate change and government subsidizing public works, it seems that this will not be achieved any time soon.

Designed by Kids, Serving the Community

The key to sustainability is balance. How do we find a way to serve the community—economically and socially—but at the same time preserve the environment?  Children in P.S. 120Q found their own way to contribute a solution by designing a ‘green’ playground that would lessen toxic wastewater flow in their area of Flushing Creek Watershed. Previously, $500 million have been poured into cleanup initiatives in Flushing Creek; however, this park hits closer to home, bringing a more personal tie to the community and its kids (over a fifth of the population!). Designed by the students and faculty of P.S. 120Q, the park incorporates shrubs, trees, and pervious pavers with the potential to redirect and capture up to 500,000 gallons of water per year of rainwater in storm events. Furthermore, a synthetic turf field in the park harbors crushed porcelain from over 3,000 crushed toilets. The hope is that the porous material will serve to soak up at least an inch of rain water to alleviate stress on the sewer system.

I am reminded our conversation in class about the ways in which green infrastructure can be such a helpful mechanism, and yet must fit into the theme or personality so to say, of the community. We have seen examples of ‘sponge’ plants and shrubs incorporated into sidewalks or little islands, but what more perfect way to fit into the community than to bring it all back to those who will be the community’s future? Not only is the park a lovely sight—beautifully constructed lines connecting all parts in an organic and colorful manner—but it is also functional, combining elements of greenery with porous ground and material. Flushing Creek itself is also incredibly polluted and congested due to many forgotten, yet abused waterways. I think that bringing such young minds together and showing them that compromise for urban sustainability can bring many benefits despite challenges is an important message for both their future, and ours.

Images taken from:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nycwater/sets/72157687293644073/with/37344958402/

Works Cited:

“New, State-of-the-Art Green Playground, Designed by Students at P.S. 120Q, Improves the Health of Flushing Creek.” New, State-of-the-Art Green Playground, Designed by Students at P.S. 120Q…, www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/press_releases/17-086pr.shtml.

Not Listening Can Hurt

We have always heard about the horrible things humanity has done to the environment. The oil spills and waste pollution are just some of the ways that our oceans are being contaminated. We feel guilty because we are shown images of the creatures and the filth they have to endure. However, there is another type of pollution that may be lesser known: noise pollution. In this New York Times article, oysters, as well as other marine life have been hurt badly by “commercial shipping, oil exploration, recreation and even scientific research.” The oysters close their shells when they feel distressed to block out the noise. However, this deafens them to the important biological noises that are part of their way of life. Although it might not seem as though we are hurting the environment because we can’t see the effects as clearly, they are nevertheless just as critical as other types of pollution. We have to be conscious and consider all of the human impacts on the environment, not just the obvious ones.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/science/oysters-noise-pollution.html?smid=tw-share

Using “Toxic Art” to Advocate Water Sustainability

Water sustainability can be carried out in multiple ways. John Sabraw is an artist that works with environmentalists and scientists to do research on streams polluted from abandoned coal mines in Ohio. He also works on making a fully sustainable art practice that produces eco-conscious art. His recent art pieces, called “Toxic Art”, were made from pigments created from the acid polluted mine runoff. These vibrant art pieces are not only beautiful to look at, but also brings awareness to the pollution of our world’s waters due to humans and industrialization.  Continue reading “Using “Toxic Art” to Advocate Water Sustainability”

water sustainability

Last week I submitted a discussion question saying, do you think people don’t know much about protecting the earth or just don’t care? I recently asked my family if they turn off the faucet when they brush their teeth, and they all said of course!! But I know that they don’t really pay much attention to sustainability. I think it’s just something we do, because we’ve been told to do it forever. However, there are so many more things we can do, that are just as simple and easy, yet don’t do, because their importance isn’t stressed enough. If water-efficient shower heads, low-flow taps, and dual flush toilets have been invented, why do we still use the old ones?

climate change on a smaller scale

https://twitter.com/GabiCohen6/status/924732806063972352

When I hear climate change I immediately rematch the whole Day After Tomorrow movie in my head, or I picture Florida submerged under water. However, when I simply googled climate change, I learned that Europe’s irregular weather is causing problems with their olive production. In one part of Italy an untimely frost comes right when the trees should bear fruit, and in another it is extremely hot one day, followed by a week of fog and rain. Too much rain makes them grow too much, causing worms to invade them. Too little rain makes the leaves dry up. The owner had to literally buy shipments of water every day of the summer. While olives are not the most important thing in the world, I chose to tweet about this, because like the article says, “No one will go hungry if there’s not enough olive oil on the market. But the impact of climate change on such a hardy and high-end product is a measure of how global warming is beginning to challenge how we grow food.” If people don’t believe the drastic changes Earth will go through because of climate change, they might think it’s bizarre when they can’t get olive oil from its native country.

Equitable Development and Climate Change

With growing concerns over climate change, it has become increasingly necessary to discuss and plan development changes to fit the changing climate. Some residential and commercial buildings near flooding zones, or areas that may become flooding zones in the future, need to be retrofitted to be able to withstand flooding and other climatic events.  However, these developments need to be made equitable, meaning it must impact and serve people with at least some semblance of equality. If this does not occur, it can lead to augmented problems for already disadvantaged people.

However, this kind of equitable development may not happen under the Trump administration. According to the The Nation article, the Trump White House has ended some Obama-era EPA reforms that enforce equitable development and maintain federal standards for development. As the article argues, this may lead to inequitable development that could upend communities of color and/or poor communities in the case of large natural disasters caused by a rapidly changing climate.

As the article discusses, New York has made some strides in equitable development after Sandy. Evacuation plans for seniors and people with disabilities living in public housing. However, there is still more to be done and it is unsure how this can be accomplished considering the Trump reforms to the EPA and standards on development.  Equitable development is a necessary thing, particularly in a world that has a changing climate that could potentially impact some more than others.  Equitable planning and development must be apart of the discussion concerning climate change and what society can do about it.