Earth Day, fifty years on

(Image courtesy of Kresge.org)

Earth Day, fifty years on, looks a lot different from the early Earth Days I remember.

Followers of this blog may recall my claim to be "older than dirt" (as a gardener who composts, I can confidently make that claim). I also am older than Earth Day.

As with many things in the 1970s, however, I came to Earth Day a bit late. Many schools in the US let out classes or didn't count absences, if students left campus to participate in peaceful demonstrations or "teach-ins" on April 22, 1970 (Seriously! What an awesome civics lesson!). But not my high school in conservative southwest Missouri!



No, we may have glimpsed a story about it on the news. And it may have begun in a bipartisan spirit of cooperation. But it would take a few more years, and my evolution into a "somewhat-hippie" college art major, before I actively participated in any observances of Earth Day.

An expanding movement

The first Earth Day was a mixed success, but the movement persisted, because the problems didn't go away. Decades of laissez-faire non-regulation of toxins in the environment had turned most of the "developed" world into a toxic mess.

I cringe when I hear about recent changes that make the Environmental Protection Agency less able to hold polluters accountable, or when supposedly-reasonable political leaders discount climate change.

The Cuyahoga River caught fire several times near Cleveland, OH, during the mid-20th Century. It got to be kind of a routine event. This is a photo from June 25, 1952, when it still seemed kind of novel. (historic photo courtesy of Wired)

That's because I remember when the Cuyahoga River could be set on fire by sparks from a passing train. And I remember rarely being able to see the mountains from Denver (while the view of Denver from the mountains was a reddish-looking haze of pollution). I also remember being in Kansas City for only a day, before I could wipe a layer of grime off my car from particulates in the air.

Denver smog alert, 1980s-era (photo courtesy of the EPA).

But the USA wasn't alone. Irresponsible governments and companies were freely destroying the whole world. So by the 1990s, Earth Day had grown into a global event. We all have a stake in our planet's health!

Fifty years on, "Earth Day is widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world."

But 50 years on, there's still a lot to do

Global climate change is still accelerating. Too many powerful people don't want to change, don't want to risk having to pay for cleanups, and don't seem to think they'll suffer too many consequences if they drag their feet.

On this blog, I've sounded the alarm about deforestation, habitat loss, extreme weather, and other aspects of climate change that affect us now--today.

And there's plenty we can do. Let's choose greater energy efficiency in our own lifestyles, advocate for climate-wise policies in our local, state, and national government,  and stay aware and informed.

Volunteer opportunities abound. So do donation opportunities. If we have more time than money, it's pretty easy to find and get involved in local clean-ups, community gardening efforts, educational work, or any of the many other initiatives.

There are as many different paths to a better future as there are people--but time is running out. Fifty years on, Earth Day reminds us that the cost of ignoring the problem is too ghastly to accept.

(Image courtesy of Earth911)

IMAGE CREDITS

Many thanks to Kresge.org for the "Happy Earth Day 50 Years" header, and to YouTube for the 1970-vintage video from CBS. I'm grateful to Wired, for the historic photo of the Cuyahoga River on fire in 1952, and to the EPA for the photo of 1980s-era Denver. And finally, many thanks to Earth911, for the "Happy Earth Day" greeting image.

Still time to create a better world

The Artdog Quote-Pairing of the Week 

Enough naysayers persist in positions of power to dangerously impede efforts to mitigate climate change. Most insist nothing is wrong with the world. Others claim it's impossible to do anything. 

But "impossible" is what the unimaginative tend to call the problem we haven't yet solved.

One of the most useful things we can do for our future is work hard to vote all of the former out of office. The other thing we must figure out is how to ensure that the second group (the "impossibles") were too pessimistic. God help us all if they're right, but meanwhile it's our responsibility to build a better world.

I kicked off last month with a video about climate change refugees. It featured a call to proactive action. This month, I've been pairing quotes about being proactive in one's life with quotes about climate change. If we resolve there's still time to create a better world, then we also must resolve to try!

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Faster-To-Master's "Growth-mindset quotes" page, for the quote from Audrey Hepburn. I also appreciate the two sources I accessed to create the Phil Harding quote-image. They are Phil Harding's own website, which provided the quote (Ref. 91f), and AliExpress, which provided the cool view of a bamboo forest looking straight up.

Why does the Earth so often have to die?

How many times and in how many different ways have we destroyed the earth?

One common scenario envisions an asteroid impact. 

The "we" in that sentence refers to science fiction writers. Yet again the other day, a friend read a book description out loud, and the rest of us could almost guess how each phrase would go before she said it. A "dying Earth" (COD not specified in this blurb) has been fled by the "last remnants of the human race" who are, of course, "desperate [for] a new home among the stars."

It doesn't matter which specific book she was reading about. It's a trope so common I'd say it's a cliché at this point.

A visualization of the destruction of Earth through war, courtesy of the Hellcat Fandom Wiki.

Is killing the Earth really necessary?

We're always screwing up the Earth in science fiction.

We over-pollute it, overpopulate it, blow it up (or aliens blow it up for us), fill it with fascists who drive us out, fill it with Zombies who drive us out, fill it with invading aliens who drive us out, we pave it, we run out of food, we run out of . . . you know the scenarios.

All are pessimistic views of our future, and the underlying idea is twofold: killing our mother is inevitable, and we'll find refuge in the stars. Somehow, somewhere.

Widespread environmental destruction is a very real danger, dramatized in this amazing photo of an out-gassing dump in Myanmar. Photo: Nyaung U/United Nations Development Programme 

I'd like to argue that neither is likely, but there's the oil lobby (to refute the first half). We've so far avoided the nuclear holocaust that haunted my childhood during the Cold War, but climate change might just do the job--for humans, anyway.

I imagine that even if we humans kill ourselves, the planet will do what it's always done: grow new things that are better-adapted to the new climate reality. Just look at the woods around Chernobyl.

Here's a modification of a Google Street View by Einar Öberg, exploring the idea of how familiar places might change
"after people." It was inspired by the 2009 History Channel project by that name.

And how 'bout that home among the stars?

As I've outlined in earlier posts, space is a really hard place to live, much less be fruitful and multiply. Microgravity makes everything harder, distances are, well, astronomical, and providing what humans need to survive is hideously expensive, at least right now.

So let's soft-pedal the destruction of earth already, people! We still have no good place to go!

We're very far, still, from creating a space habitat that can safely house space-dwelling families and provide for their childrearing needs.

Anyone who looks at a photo of the ISS can see we aren't currently able to create a viable long-term habitat in space. Who are we kidding, here?

Personally, I'd rather explore the ideas of the Solarpunk movement, which focuses on sustainable scenarios in science fiction. And yes, this means I'll talk more about it in future posts.

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Universe Today for the asteroid-impact visualization of Earth's demise; to the Hellcat Fandom Wiki, for the visualization of war on Earth; to the United Nations Development Programme for the otherworldly dump photo; to Einar Öberg  on Geek.com, for the visualization of "earth without people" via Google Street View; and to the Patheos blog "Evangelical" for the Interstellar screen shot.

This week it's wildfires--is there a way not to burn?

There must be few more horrifying things than to watch a wildfire come sweeping down a canyon straight toward you and your home. Yet it's more and more likely all over the world, thanks to global climate change.



That horror is alive and on the march in California this week, both in the wine country of the northern part, and in the Anaheim Hills near Los Angeles. Not so very long ago Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho were dealing with a similar disaster.

Each time the flames go up, we see these horrifying videos, and our hearts go out to the victims. But if you live in a fire-prone area (technically, that is, if you live anywhere, since fires can burn anywhere! But especially in mountainous forests or drought-stricken plains), is there anything you can do to beat back the risks, before you have to beat back actual flames?

Even if your home has a complex roof (multiple surfaces and places where debris may accumulate), keeping burnable debris cleared off can reduce your fire vulnerability.

As it happens--although nothing is foolproof--there are several things that home- and business-owners can do, to make their property less "burnable." The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) has published guidelines that lay out several strategies to help you fight the fires before they come.

Some strategies require thinking WAY ahead--as in, when you're planning to build in the first place. Choosing your site is one important thing: building on hilltops or at the top of a steep slope with combustible vegetation downslope is like putting your house at the top of the chimney.

The University of California-Berkeley has created an online Builders Wildfire Mitigation Guide with lots of specific strategies builders can employ, to lessen the vulnerability of buildings to fire.

Flying embers can ignite an otherwise-fire-resistant building if they get inside unprotected vents.

Building for fire-mitigation includes things such as using less-burnable materials, designing to avoid collection-points for burnable debris, using vent designs that protect agains flying embers, and employing things such as intumescent coatings, that swell when exposed to fire-condition temperatures to block air flow, insulate against temperature buildup, and/or retard fire access to vulnerable areas.

Fire-rated rolling window shutters don't have to be ugly. These also offer increased security against burglaries.

Some retrofits also are possible. Flat, tempered-glass skylights resist fire better than domed plastic-glass ones. Fire-resistant shutters can help defend windows that otherwise might blow out under high-heat conditions. Re-shingling or re-siding in more fire-resistant materials is also a smart move.

Debris and brush beside a house: recipe for fire disaster.

But sometimes all it takes are awareness and taking common-sense precautions. How many times have you seen junk or debris piled up around someone's house, or bushes growing so close they brush the siding? Imagine a fire catching there. How quickly would the house go up?

Sadly, these gorgeous foundation plantings are within the 5-foot area of IBHS's Zone One. The "before" picture, while less beautiful, was safer from a fire-mitigation point of view! But there are compromises that can still yield a beautiful yard.

Most wildfire safety guides recommend you think of the area around your building in "zones." IBHS defines Zone One as the first five feet out from your building. IBHS recommends you should have fewer combustibles in that zone. Thus, be careful of too much brush or vegetation in that zone, as well as fences, decks, etc. that are made of combustible materials. Many other guides combine IBHS's Zones One and Two into a single, 30-ft. Zone One, while still emphasizing the "defensibility" idea.

This diagram clearly shows a nice collection of really smart fire-mitigation ideas.

Especially in ecosystems that have evolved to adapt for fire, many guides recommend planting native species, which are better fire-adapted, especially within your first 30-foot perimeter. Another common-sense precaution is avoiding "fire ladders," that is, bushes or shrubs under taller trees, that can offer more fuel for fires. Clearing brush and dry materials is not only fire-smart, but it can improve "curb appeal." Spacing trees and bushes farther apart allows them room to grow, and keeps fire from leaping from one to another.

Burning bushes underneath can doom trees that might otherwise survive.

We can never completely fireproof our homes, and some fires can't be stopped in time. But wouldn't we all love to be the "oasis of green" in the charred landscape if the worst happens, and a wildfire comes through? It's actually possible!

No, it's not photoshopped. Thinking in terms of defensible space really does save homes and lives.

IMAGES: Many thanks to CBS News for the video about mid-October, 2017 fires in California. I also appreciate the "Fire-Safe Marin" website's article on roof issues for the photo of the complex roof with burnable debris; Australia's Parks and Wildlife Service for the diagram of fire behavior on a slope, and the Indiegogo page for Ember Deflector vents, for the photo of embers flying around a gable vent. I am grateful to the Trident roller shutters page, for the photo of the green shutters by the patio; to the Firedawgs brush removal page for the photo of boards and dead bushes by a house; to Houzz website for the photo of the foundation planting; and to Tractor Supply Company's detailed graphic showing fire defensibility zones around a house. Many thanks to World Atlas for the photo of bushes burning underneath trees, to illustrate "fire laddering," and to the Ross Valley Fire Department's excellent article on defensible space, for the "miracle" photo of the unburned home.

Moral and historical responsibilites

The Artdog Quotes of the Week:

Today I present a study in contrasts.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon speaks for the global community on this one. United States leadership still persists in questioning the science to a greater extent than any other major nation. Including, unfortunately, this guy:

IMAGES: Many thanks to the World Economic Forum for the Ban Ki-moon quote (check the linked page for more good ones), and to Business Insider, CNN and Bill Nye for the quote graphic from the regrettable orange person. Unfortunately, Bill's solution failed to be implemented effectively.

Odd politics

The Artdog Quote of the Week:

Neil DeGrasse Tyson has a good point here, as usual. Problem is, E=mc2  doesn’t threaten certain industries' corporate profits. The climate change "controversy" stems from the same root cause (and had been promoted by some of the exact same people) as the "controversy" over whether smoking causes lung cancer (brace yourself: it does!).

IMAGE: Many thanks to the Climate Reality Project (check out their website!) for this image, and many other resources. 

Fires gone wild

The Artdog Images of Interest

Three major signals of climate change's onset are increased rates and ferocity of fires, deepening drought, and increasingly violent storms. Today's image focuses on fire.

Firefighters worked for days to control wildfires around Mecklenberg County, NC in November 2016. I hope this photographer didn't get singed, taking this behind-the-burning brush photo! Unfortunately, I couldn't locate a photographer's credit. 

This North Carolina fire was only one of hundreds (it's surprising, how difficult it seemed to be, to find a definitive total) that burned in the US in 2016. An interactive map of 2016 wildfires in California shows general locations by date range.

Total number of fires may be down, but total acres burned have doubled in 30 years.

A study released last October (2016) concluded that "human-caused climate change is responsible for nearly doubling the number of acres burned in western United States wildfires during the last 30 years," according to Bill Gabbert, of the Wildfire Today website.

IMAGE: Many thanks to WSOC-TV Channel 9 in North Carolina for the dramatic fire photo, and to Wildfire Today for the chart, compiled by Bill Gabbert, showing acres burned.

Tribulation

The Artdog Quote of the Week:

Does anybody else miss President Barack Obama the way I do? As usual, he's making good sense, here. Also as usual, a lot of people haven't/aren't/refuse to listen. Gonna be a squeaker, if it isn't already too late, I fear.

IMAGE: Many thanks to TodayInSci for this image.

Who needs weather satellites, anyway?

The Artdog Images of Interest:

In early March, the Trump Administration proposed to cut almost a quarter of the budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather satellite program, despite global dependence upon them (by both corporations and government) for accurate weather forecasting.

There seems little point to that, until one remembers that satellite photos make it harder to deny climate change. How so? Consider these photos:

This is a famous lake . . . famous for shrinking. These two photos are striking, but 2011 was a while ago. Check this more-recent update.

Yes, this is the controversial "snows of Kilimanjaro" photo. No, it's not idiotically simple; they do fluctuate, but the consensus is in, nonetheless--we're headed warmer.

Yes, polar bears can swim--but for how far? NOTE: they don't hunt prey while swimming.
Clearly there's a problem shaping up for all Arctic ecosystems when the ice recedes that much. Read an article about how diminishing sea ice is affecting European weather, as well.

IMAGES: Many thanks to Eureka Alert! the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, and NASA Earth Observatory, for the 1998-vs.-2011 photos of Iran's Lake Urmia, to PatFalvey's website (an article by Hannah Devlin) for the "snows of Kilimanjaro" photo, and to Weather and Climate @ Reading for the Arctic Sea Ice comparisons.

We need an intervention!

The Artdog Quote of the Week

It's April, the month of Earth Day--in a year when the environment seems more endangered than it has in a while. Don't expect me to hold back.

IMAGE: Many thanks to Earth: The Operator's Manual for this image. 

Three places to live and/or work that may change your mind about sustainable architecture

Although not everyone in the US Congress seems to have gotten the memo, in this age of impending global climate change people all over the world are seeking out new and better ways to live sustainably--and it's a very hot trend in contemporary architecture. Here are three visually striking examples you may find game-changing.

8 House in Copenhagen
Built in the shape of a figure 8 (if viewed from above), Bjarke Ingels' 8 House is a mixed-use development in a southern suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. 

The biggest innovation is the designer's idea to create an intimate kind of urban environment by "stacking the various ingredients of an urban neighborhood into layers," (Wikipedia) so the development's walkability and convenience is greatly enhanced. Other sustainable features include the strategic use of the "heat island" effect, and green roofs.

8 House, when under construction: the reason for the name becomes clear.

Everyone has an interesting view in 8 House.

Evening waterside view of 8 House.

O14 Tower in Dubai
Dubai is a product of its rulers' particular vision: wealthy from oil, but focused on making itself "cutting edge" in many ways, while the oil wealth lasts and can be used to build something more sustainable. Interestingly for a place literally built with oil money, there seems to be considerable support for sustainability in recent projects (could these guys please have a heart-to-heart with the Koch Brothers?). 

The 22-story O14 Tower's structure is specifically designed for the desert climate of Dubai, with a 16"-thick outer facade covered with circular perforations. The holes provide light and air, but the rest of the "exoskeleton" acts as protection for the windows, and a solar shield. A one-meter gap between the facade and the building inside also provides passive cooling because creates a chimney effect in which the hot air rises.

RUR Architecture's innovative design for the O14 Tower creates a visually striking building with many practical features.

The holes provide access for more than light and air, when needed.

This view of O14 Tower under construction gives an idea of its scale.

FTP University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Another example of innovative design that is much more literally "green" than our first two designs is the FTP University, now under construction in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (all the images are renderings, because the project isn't finished yet). 

Designed as something of a sustainable answer to the flat landscape and vertical buildings that dominate the city, the FTP University buildings are supposed to appear as "an undulating forested mountain growing out of the city of concrete and brick" (Vo Trong Nghia Architects). It actually will create more greenery than it is displacing as it is being built. 

An "undulating forested mountain" is coming to Ho Chi Minh City. 

It almost looks as if the forest has taken over--but looks can be deceiving Down below the "canopy," the humans will still hold forth.

Down under the trees it will be cooler and quieter. What a great place to study for one's final!

IMAGES: Many thanks to World Landscape Architect for the 8 House-under-construction image, and to E-Architect UK for the images of the courtyard and waterside view. All three photos of the O14 Tower are courtesy of Inhabitat. The renderings of buildings for FTP University are courtesy of Vo Trong Nghia Architects, designers for the project.

What's at stake? How do you see it?

Don't you agree?

IMAGE: Many thanks to Marian16rox on Tumblr.

Sun-Moon Mansion in China: Solar Powerhouse

The solar power sector of the energy market is growing by leaps and bounds--but nowhere faster than in China. Whether you see this as a positive or negative trend, it is changing the face of solar power generation.

The Sun-Moon Mansion is billed as "the biggest solar energy production base in the world," and was conceived as the headquarters of a solar energy production area that could parallel Silicon Valley as a source for development. It's certainly the most visually interesting power plant I've seen in a while. Here are some more views: 

IMAGES: The opening image of the Sun Moon Mansion is from an Eco Friend article, "Sustainable Solutions to Make Cities a Better Place to Live." The others are from the Inhabitat slide show about the place.

If this is true, what does it say about the US?

I'd like to see more people take this to heart.

IMAGE: many thanks to ClipSuper for this quote and image.

Now, THAT's Yard Art!

These are "Supertrees." They are part of the fascinating "Gardens by the Bay" project in Singapore.

Supertrees are vertical gardens. These are filled with ferns, bromeliads, and other exotic species. They're designed to replicate environmental niches, to preserve species from around the world.

The entire project is pretty interesting. Sponsored and funded by the government of Singapore, it shows remarkable foresight (Note: I live in a country where some state planning agencies with hundreds of miles of coastline to manage are not legally allowed to take the effects of global climate change into effect, so the "remarkable" bar may be set pretty low for me).

IMAGE: Many thanks to EcoFriend's "Sustainable solutions to make cities a better place to live," article.

Artdog Photo of Interest: Politicians Discussing Climate Change

This is a real sculpture in Berlin, Germany.

The sculptor is Isaac Cordal. The title is Follow the Leaders (2011), and it's part of Cordal's "Cement Eclipse" series.

IMAGE: Thanks for the image go first to Isaac Cordal's website, and second to the Sierra Club's Facebook Page, where I first saw it.