Denver Museum of Science and Nature
Dinosaur bones
On Saturday, I cleaned my studio in preparation for making some new work. Literally, making the first voluntary step with intention is the first part of the creative process for me. While I had planned on working in the studio on Sunday afternoon, my family decided that they wanted to spend some quality time together. Imagine that – how could I argue?
We decided to visit the Science and Nature Museum in City Park where we have a family membership. I was hoping that Minsuk Cho’s Air Forrest, an art installation erected for the DNC would still be on display, but alas the piece was already dismantled, so we had to content ourselves with visiting the museum.
Mini Dinosaurs
Visiting the Science and Nature Museum is especially fun after Night at the Museum was released a few years ago. I think I laughed more than my daughter did and it’s become a family favorite. Last year, one of the teachers at my daughter’s school even took her class on an over night field trip to the museum – I can’t imagine anyone slept much.
Fossils – sorry about the glare
Fossils are really cool. Isn’t it amazing at what is preserved over time. I love the plant fossils and one of my favorite creatures is the trilobite – sort of an old school cock roach. I wonder what the fossils will look like from our era in another couple thousands of years. Our trash dumps are going to provide a treasure trove of information to future historians and scientists.
The best view of Denver can be seen from the 4th floor terrace at the Science and Nature Museum
We also toured the North American Indian Exhibit along with some of the wild life and country exhibits. I always take a close look at the pottery and other crafts. Pottery has a way of surviving thousands of years. It’s interesting and just a little daunting that the work I make today could become artifacts in the future. Sort of a big responsibility. There were some huge beer jugs from the Mayan culture that stood 3-4 feet high that were used to make and ferment grain into a ceremonial beer like beverage which were on display – had to point those out to my husband. 
We visited our favorite exhibits like Prehistoric Journey, Gems and Minerals, Space Odyssey, and I always enjoy seeing the special traveling exhibits. Right now, Extreme Ice is currently on view – my husband and I enjoyed the time lapse photo video exhibit by photographer James Balog. Since 2006, Balog has set up cameras at 27 glaciers in 16 locations around the globe that have captured glaciers melting in real time.
Continue reading if you don’t mind a little rant.
While the glaciers have slowly been melting for thousands of years, melting has accelerated dramatically since the 1980′s. Right now, the polar ice caps are melting at a rate of 1/8″ a year and while that’s not terribly dramatic, it’s expected that the rate of melting could increase to as high as a foot a year within the next 10 years. What is that going to mean for our coastal cities? Now, I’m not trying to preach about global warming here or suggesting the sky is falling, but as a human race, we’re going to have to be innovative and flexible to handle the consequences.
I know there are different theories on global warming and after some not so scholarly research on Wikipedia, I found this article on Ice Ages and the definition of such. We are apparently in an “inter-glacial” period, or a warming trend between ice ages which has lasted for the past 11,000 years (typical inter-glacial periods last about 12,000 years although some scientists believe the next glacial period (ice age) will not occur for another 50,000 years based on our planet’s position in relation to the sun and research from a previous long inter-glacial period). It is believed that elevated greenhouse gases and CO² levels occur during inter-glacial periods and that the planet earth has experienced 4 major ice ages. So how did those same levels of green house gases rise 11,000 years ago before the dawn of humans (as we look and think now) and their toys?
Scientists suggest that tectonic plate action, changes in the earth’s rotation around the sun, and possibly the sun’s position in the galaxy can change ocean currents and wind patterns, and may cause meteorites to enter the earth’s path, increase volcanic activity, trigger earthquakes and other natural disasters which cause an increase in the amount of green house gases and affect the earth’s temperature which in turn leads to melting glaciers. So, in that sense, glaciers melting is a natural and expected occurrence which has been taking place for billions of years. What is happening right now and why many are concerned about global warming is that the current inter-glacial phase we find ourselves in now has been melting at an accelerated rate since the dawn of the industrial revolution in the late 1800′s and has picked up even more speed since the 1980′s.
Did you know that glacial water is a main supplier of fresh drinking water? What happens when more and more of our water supplies evaporate or melt into salt water oceans? (Side note about salt water, Saudi Arabia has desalination plants that provide 70% of their drinking water.) Already, 1 in 5 people in the world don’t have access to fresh water. Depleting ground water, like our fossil fuel supplies is like constantly withdrawing money from the bank and never making a deposit. Eventually, there’s going to be nothing left even as the world’s population continues to grow unless we do something now to make technological advances and change. Otherwise, the next war on terror, if not the next world war isn’t likely to be about oil, it will be about fresh water. Or maybe we will become extinct ourselves like the dinosaurs.
I don’t know that it will be you or me that will witness this crisis, but it will be our children and their children. If we want to reverse or slow glacial melting, it has been proposed that we reduce our CO² emissions 50%. How can we conserve our natural resources and reduce man made green house gases? Well, for one thing, here in the US – we are dependent on fossil fuels and we waste a considerable amount of water. Reducing our consumption of both will be a step in the right direction. Next time you’re out watering your lush green carpet of a lawn, think about that person in the world who doesn’t even have drinking water. I’m always amazed that we grow carpets of green grass in Colorado where none existed before.
What else can we do personally? We could live in smaller homes, shop locally, eat real food (organic), drive less, support companies, activists and politicians who want to explore alternative forms of energy, notice what’s going on in the world around us, recycle, plant native vegetation, and live with the intention that we’re not going to break our communal natural resources bank. I don’t buy into the notion that we would wreck the global economy by making swift changes. People adapt – look at the link above at how Saudi Arabia desalinates 70% of their drinking water from the ocean. Here’s another article on desalination in the US – California is considering it, and Tampa, Florida has even decided to build a desalination plant. The draw back is that it takes a lot of energy – so until we explore alternative sources of energy, it’s not really viable on a larger scale.
Energy alternatives? Harness the power of the sun, wind and water. Installing solar panels is not cheap – but how much of a savings will $0 to low electric payments every month over a life time add up to? The only losers here might be the electric company executives unless they innovate and explore wind, solar and hydro power which many companies have already started doing.
Replacing a gas guzzler with a hybrid car might cost more, but consider that a Toyota Prius gets 44 miles per gallon of gas and would cost $1090.00 to fill up annually (basically fill every other week) provided you drove an average of 12,000 miles a year (a Prius has a gas tank capacity of 11 gallons and would cost $44.00 to fill at $4.00/gallon). On the other hand, my 1998 Nissan Pathfinder gets 16 mpg city, has a gas tank capacity of 21 gallons and costs $84.00 to fill up – to drive 12,000 miles a year, it costs me $3000.00 a year. This would be an annual savings of $1910.00 a year, not including a possible lower insurance premium and possible tax incentive. We are not ready to ditch the Pathfinder yet, because we have no car payment, it still drives and functions as it was intended when we first bought it. We are realistic enough to realize that we will have to replace it sooner rather than later unless we keep fixing it and convert it to some type of bio-diesel system so that we smell like french fries when we drive by your house – not a terrible thing, though it could lead to major munchies and a few extra pounds. Who knows what other potential energy alternatives for personal transportation will exist in the future?
I think people are afraid of change, but ignoring a problem exists doesn’t make it go away. Maybe it’s human nature to protect ourselves and our families – a sort of survival of the fittest. I am especially annoyed with people who retort with, I can afford it, therefore I can and will live in a huge house, drive a Hummer, buy more stuff with the idea that it’s disposable, etc. etc. Maybe people think that the new choices aren’t as comfortable as our old habits? I am not sure people realize that they are not the lowest common denominator.
I also worry about my chosen passion – ceramics. In the last post I wrote, I mentioned that my husband and I are going to add solar panels to our home and my studio in the next year to provide free electricity for our family and to my kilns and studio with a utility that doesn’t tax natural resources. The production of ceramics uses a lot of energy and the raw materials are mined from the earth. That said, I do think reusing a ceramic cup or mug is a better environmental choice than a Styrofoam or paper disposable cup. Pottery is durable, attractive and can last a life time. I am really excited about Energy xChange out of North Carolina – they have a studio for glassblowers and potters who fire their work in kilns powered by methane gas generated by decomposing garbage on a 6 acre landfill. If you know of similar programs or clay people using alternative fuels, I’d be interested to know more about them.
For the record, I’m not suffering from “green fatigue” or guilt – it’s just a topic about which I feel strongly. Behavioral changes take time and are uncomfortable at first. It’s not until something becomes a habit that it begins to feels normal. It just makes sense to look for and invest in alternatives and to leave this world a better place.
Possibilities abound,
~Cynthia
Meanwhile, Patricia, otherwise known as the author of Clay Mouse Studio tagged me last week and I agreed to play along but I got a little windy today, so I’ll have to post it tomorrow.
Jessica Sharrah
September 2, 2008 at 1:57 pm //
Family time, museum – fossils – very cool!
ang
September 2, 2008 at 5:10 pm //
your home page looks great, are you making digital decals or out-sourcing the making? sorry to be off topic its the 1st thing i saw today….
Linda Starr
September 2, 2008 at 8:45 pm //
Hi Cynthia, love the bowls (plates?) at the top with the bee and moth (or butterfly), they are very beautiful. What a great time you must have had going with your family to the museum.
My thinking is probably a little different than the mainsteam. I think the earth is cyclical and goes through ice melts every so many thousands of years. The reverse is what is thought to have killed off the dinosaurs. By the same token the population has grown exponentially which requires much more water for us all to live. Unfortunately, though, many conservation measures are penny wise but pound foolish. The producition of more efficient cars is great, but it consumes resources and produces CO2 too. The crushing of less efficient cars consumes resources to crush them and fillls the landfills. Recycling in some areas uses more resources than it saves, where my mom lived she saved cans and bottles and placed them at the curb, but she was required to wash them beforehand, which consumed water to wash them, and fuel to warm the water. Where I live I have to drive to a recycling center (17 miles away) to dispose of items, purchase something to store them in till I deliver them there, and if I don’t want ants in my car, would have to wash them beforehand. There needs to be much more research into conservation that actually conserves without consuming resources and without costing the public more dollars than they can afford to spend. Don’t get me wrong, I try to conserve every little bit I can, especially water. I try to educate those around me to water less as grass roots only go 6 inches deep, but my thoughts fall on deaf ears. I hate to say it, but, until a crisis hits, most folks don’t or won’t conserve as they should. But when they go to their faucet and no water comes out or they go to the gas pumps and it’s $10 a gallon or there is no fuel at the pump at all, then they might think seriously about what to do. Anyway it’s good to talk about ways to improve the earth and conserve the resources around us all.
I have read some are using waste or cooking oil to fire a (gas) kiln (like the cars which run on cooking oil). Here’s a couple of links: there was another one but I can’t find it just yet.
http://blanketcreek.com/prod_firing.asp
http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:OjdoDmbULUQJ:ceramicartsdaily.org/ASSETS/9EB5716102D24ED18FE24898BA443A7B/cmapr03vegoilbritt.pdf+firing+a+kiln+with+cooking+oil&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us
patricia griffin
September 2, 2008 at 10:24 pm //
Hi Cynthia – I think there are more than a few of us potters who are concerned about how clay work affects the environment. I often think about the fact that there already is too much stuff in my life and here I am making more stuff. Well, hopefully, it all goes to someone else’s life, but they probably have too much stuff too. Consumerism.
We installed solar panels on our home in Bakersfield, where it’s often 100+ in the summer. I have a studio (converted shed) there and fire a Skutt electric. It makes me feel somewhat better to know that my energy consumption is offset by the solar panels.
We got a diesel truck two years ago, with the idea that we would use bio-diesel. Not very practical for us. At the time, you couldn’t even purchase it within 70 miles of where we lived (though it’s made in our area). I think there is one distributor now, but practicality has won out and we fuel up with regular diesel when we use the truck.
Question: What do you do about wrapping items that people buy? I was trying to just recycle used boxes, but it got really difficult in the gallery. Nothing fit right and people left with these gawky packages. It was awkward. I just put in an order for bubble wrap and bags (paper with a recycle logo on it). But still doesn’t feel like the right thing to do.
Cynthia
September 3, 2008 at 5:34 am //
Hey Jessica – it was a lot of fun…what’s not to like about fossils??
Ang – If you’re referring to the bee and dragonfly tiles, those are actually lazertran decals (unfired) that I made here at home – works for non-functional items. I am going to be making my own decals however – I have the decal paper, the screens, and have just found an unleaded overglaze that I am going to buy. I just have to make the art that I want to screen.
Thanks Linda – just changed my banner so that it’s random. 5 different banners basically. I’m not sure if it’s confusing to people or not? The work you mentioned are actually wall boxes – haven’t made any of those in awhile.
I was sort of surprised myself that the earth goes through cyclical warming and cooling eras and that there have been times where it was completely covered with ice and then also no ice at all. When I started reading, my post went on a wee bit of a tangent because I was surprised at my find. I think you’re right too – until people are really hit in the pocket book, they’re not motivated to change. Although, I just saw that in Europe, gas has hit $10.00 a gallon! Ouch.
Even where I live in Denver, we have curb side recycling – the city gives every home a large rolling garbage can for recycling and picks it up every other week. Just today, I found several large card board boxes just tossed in the dumpsters all along the alley, not even broken down which takes up valuable dumpster space. I was tempted to go pull every single one out and paste signs on the dumpsters to please break the boxes down and set them out for recycling. It’s free for God’s sake – well not exactly free since our taxes pay for it! I’m not sure if the people doing it are blase about recycling, lazy, ignorant or just don’t give a damn.
On another note, thanks for the links to the waste oil gas kilns – that’s pretty cool. I’m going to investigate those. On another note, I would love to live in a rural area myself someday. I know it would mean more driving and not all those city services that I enjoy would be available. So, I really appreciate your perspective!
That’s awesome, Patricia! Is your kiln powered by your solar panel system? Is your utility bill greatly reduced? I might have to email you for more info since I am serious about adding them to my home. I was just reading an article in Sierra Magazine or maybe it was even the Sunday paper about a guy in rural NM who decided to live off the grid for a year as an experiment and who converted his car to run on waste oil. The home wasn’t really an issue and quite easy to do – but getting fuel for his car was. He relayed how he had to visit all the different restaurants in the area, dine there and convince them to save the oil for him. They eventually did, as he tells the story – 15 pounds gained later, he found a fuel source for his car and even converted some of the local people. At the end of his experiment, I think he decided to stay there and continue his life.
As to packing supplies – I am not a production potter, so my output is not great. But, I recycle boxes and I use 1″ bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts. I’m happy to say, that after putting the word out to people, I am often gifted with these items and will often find a garbage bag full of peanuts or bubble wrap on my front porch. I haven’t purchased either in a long time. I think people are grateful that they know someone who actually wants these things… When I was running low, I did research more environmentally friendly packing supplies and found potato starch peanuts and recycled cardboard ones – I’d have to find the links.
Melody Madden
September 3, 2008 at 5:36 am //
Great post Cynthia. I found it wonderfully interesting as well as educational. Thanks
Mary T.
September 3, 2008 at 6:09 am //
I love the Museum and loved it more when it had the old name, but as I understand it a lot of things are changing, for the better by my way of thinking although not that for all volunteers and staff, with the new president and head of the relam. I hated going on to work my shift after the overnights, but the kids have a lot of fun. You can’t help but learn stuff when you spend some time there and it was a neat place to volunteer at for almost 10 years.
Today I’m off to the zoo to hopefully get some shots of animals I can draw from.
Earth warming and green house gases are a big topic to tackle. There are pros and cons on each side. My thinking is that humans, even the futureists, think in a straight line. Earth almost never acts or reacts in a straight line. I also happen to think that being wasteful of resources is the height of human stupidity. My cell phone makes calls. It receives calls. That’s all I want on an emergency basis. My house is small compared to houses now. How many square feet does one person need? We each have about 600 sq ft. Just about right in my eyes. I do believe when you grow up on a farm the issue of misuse of resources are just bred into your bones. Maybe we need to each farm our own gardens for sustance?????
LB
September 3, 2008 at 6:56 am //
I love fossils, too! I have one that I will incorporate into a piece someday!
Linda Starr
September 3, 2008 at 7:42 pm //
Hi Mary T, I am not sure what you mean about your comment that growing up on a farm says misuse of resources is bred into your bones – can you tell me what you are referring to? Have I read your comment incorrectly? Or are you saying that growing up on a farm makes a person more aware of the best use of resources. If so, I agree, as I don’t believe growing up on a farm predisposes one to misuse resources, on the contrary, I believe the reverse is true. Most farming families, unless they are a giant corporation, have a hard road to tow. My husband and father grew up on farms, and they used every bit of resources at their disposal as judiciously as they could and to their best advantage. For instance, my husband’s father’s family cut ice from a lake nearby and used the ice as refrigeration during the summer months, they also used pine pitch to seal their roofs. My father’s family gathered restaurant left overs which they fed to their pigs and they peeled potatoes with shale rock they placed in a wash tub and whirled around by hand instead of using an electric appliance and then they canned the potatoes. I am farming many vegetables and fruits here to sustain or supplement my family’s food supply and I try to conserve as best I can, but growing more than I need or can store effectively, but less than I can sell is not cost effective either. I agree there’s a lot to be studied and examined in many areas and locations with respect to conservation and the earth’s resources.
moreidlethoughts
September 4, 2008 at 4:00 pm //
I only get time to visit occasionally, but I usually land on a provocative post. I loved the museum piece.
Yes, this recycling thing is tricky, especially if one has to drive miles to “do the right thing.” And down here, almost 100% of our rubbish is imported from Chinese factories which have abysmal safety/pollution policies. I’d like some hand-woven baskets like the ones made by women’s co-ops in Third World countries, but our strict quarantine laws mean they are either banned or cost squillions to have fumigated.
Ride a bicycle? Yes, but only on a designated bikeway, not along a skinny strip of tarmac, inches from thundering SUVs!
It’s a toughy, isn’t it!
Judi Tavill
September 4, 2008 at 6:48 pm //
Tag…you’re it:
http://juditavill.blogspot.com/
MAKUstudio
September 5, 2008 at 6:10 am //
Tag, you’re it! Go to http://www.MAKUstudio.blogspot.com to read the rules! I see Judi tagged you too!!!