Ever wondered how a plastic bottle gets from your nearest beach to one of the giant trash gyres? A cool interactive site can show you a path, using the help of a rubber duck to navigate. Drop the digital duck anywhere in the ocean, and Adrift.org.au will model the movement of plastic from that spot over ten years
Plastic pellets are getting into the food chain via the oceans and this is an international problem crossing ocean boundaries. We need plastic that will break down in the oceans.
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The documentary explores how urban environments impact and enhance human life and happiness based on a thesis presented by Danish architect Jan Gehl.
The human scale is investigated with a series of ten examples of cities from Hong Kong, China,New York,Copenhagen, Dhaka and Melbourne http://www.acmi.net.au/lp_human_scale.aspx The film starts with noting 50 % of the world’s population lives in urban areas and by 2050 this will increase to 80%. Life in a mega city is both enchanting and problematic. Today we face peak oil, climate change, loneliness and severe health issues due to our way of life. But why? The Danish architect and professor Jan Gehl has studied human behavior in cities through 40 years. He has documented how modern cities repel human interaction, and argues that we can build cities in a way, which takes human needs for inclusion and intimacy into account. This is the main thrust of thinking that drives Gehl and his associates: by building cities that encourage citizens to reclaim public space, the city (and even megacity) can become a more inhabitable space for humans. He also uses statistics eg How many people pass this street throughout a 24 hour period? How many percent of those are pedestrians? How many are driving cars or bikes? How much of the street space are the various groups allowed to use? Is this street performing well for all its users? Jan Gehl made his first studies in Italy and later he inspired the planning of Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, for 40 years. His ideas inspired the creation of walking streets, the building and improvements of bike paths and the reorganization of parks, squares and other public spaces throughout this city and in many other cities in the Nordic region. Around the world cities like Melbourne, Dhaka, New York, Chongqing and Christchurch are now also being inspired by Gehl’s work and by the developments in Copenhagen. This is probably a well know story by now, but really worth a revisit as I think about the power of art. I viewed the film 2012 Wasteland that follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys back to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump.
Filmed over 3 years he finds an eclectic group of 'catadores' or garbage pickers of the recycled materials in the dump. We get to know their back-story and the way this extraordinary act of art consequently changes their lives forever. Muniz's initial objective was to paint the catadores with the garbage, but something much more eventuates through his collaboration with these amazing people who engage in creating the actual pieces before they are photographed. It's more than a series of paintings as they begin to reinvent themselves. He recreates photographic images out of the garbage, that were exhibited in London, sold as individual art works and photographic pieces and generated prize money from various art and film awards... and the funds went back to the catadores. I was so moved watching this journey, to see these amazing people present with such dignity and the journey that Vik himself goes through. The power of the process is evidence of the transformative power of art. “We are not pickers of garbage; we are pickers of recyclable materials,” Tião, an impoverished Brazilian catadore, or trash picker, declares to a talk-show host. Film website at http://www.wastelandmovie.com/index.html Trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNlwh8vT2NU There's also a great short piece on TED about Vik Muniz http://www.ted.com/talks/vik_muniz_makes_art_with_wire_sugar.html So, what is the role of art in sustainability?,” asks the editor of The Guardian’s environment section, as they highlight a collection of animal portraits by Joseph Zammit-Lucia, and the accompanying article where Zammit-Lucia argues that for a truly sustainable future, we need more artists, novelists and musicians in the business world.
Rational, data-driven decision-making is largely ineffective when it comes to sustainability,because data is by definition about the past. Read the article at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/art-sustainability-imagination-create-change CONNECT ART & SUSTAINABILITY
Thursday 6 June 2013 Launch 4.30 - 7.30pm St Kilda Town Hall Auditorium, 99A Carlisle St, St Kilda Exhibit opens 29 May - 26 June 2013 http://www.enviroehub.com.au/index.php?nodeId=415 White Lace will be on exhibit For more detail on this piece go to: CONNECT ART & SUSTAINABILITY
Thursday 6 June 2013 4.30 - 7.30pm St Kilda Town Hall Auditorium, 99A Carlisle St, St Kilda Discover. Create. Have fun. Be inspired. Celebrate the connections between sustainability and the arts with free workshops, performances and more. EXHIBITION There will also be an exhibition of environmental themed artworks by local artists. The Gallery at St Kilda Town Hall 29 May - 26 June 2013 Monday to Friday 8.30am - 5pm http://www.enviroehub.com.au/index.php?nodeId=415 Project Reclaim (by moi) pieces will be exhibited.... very exciting! Is this public art or a building facade....either way it will have a great impact on the environment, thanks to the environmentally friendly wooden skin erected by French architect Stephane Malka on student housing in Paris.
The wooden skin is constructed on the exterior of buildings and consists of a host of pallets of varying dimensions that can be mechanically expanded or contracted, via horizontal hinges, to let in more or less ventilation and daylight as required. Malka hopes to showcase a sustainable and ecological alternative that does not require new construction by 'energyvores'. As well as its environmental benefits, it would certainly look incredible on the body of a skyscraper. http://sydney.concreteplayground.com.au/news/123650/buildings-grow-a-skin-in-the-name-of-sustainabilit.htm?s=newsletter&utm_source=Concrete+Playground+Sydney&utm_campaign=0d1944a710-SYDNEY_5_21_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a099cccd65-0d1944a710-201917809 The Melbourne Mussel Choir enables members of the public to monitor and celebrate the tremendous environmental services these organisms can provide. One third - a rotten exhibition Interview with Klause Pichler on Radio National's First Bite. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rnfirstbite/one-third---a-rotten-exhibition/4519310 The life of Austrian photographer Klaus Pichler changed dramatically when he chanced upon a UN report on how much food we waste globally.
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AuthorI’m influenced by contemporary issues and interested in questioning everyday patterns by intervening and provoking alternative forms of discourse. Archives
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