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.