As a couple of my posts have been admittedly very gloomy, I take this opportunity to inform of something not so gloomy.
It's called Clearwater's Great Hudson River Revival.
Held one weekend in June a year, it's Clearwater's big event for the year. Attended by thousands of people from all over the country as well as from around the world it's a beautiful mix of local craftspeople, wonderful music from around the globe, education about the river, and it's also a great place to learn about different activists from the area (my favorites being the table to stop the spread of invasive bugs through firewood and the Planned Parenthood tables).
You can go as a regular festival goer for daily passes of $35 or $65 for the whole weekend or you can volunteer (which I highly recommend) for $46.50 (early-bird sign up) or $56.50. Volunteers do have to be members of Clearwater, which is not the worst place to be a member of and they do have to pay because they do feed you all weekend (the food is awesome with many vegetarian and vegan options) and have all the resources to make sure that you stay safe while volunteering at the festival. You can also apply for a "volunteer scholarship" that subsidizes your volunteer fee.
Another really awesome thing that Clearwater does is that it has at many of the music and story tents ASL (American Sign Language Interpreters) to accommodate for people who are hard of hearing or are deaf entirely. They also offer disability services throughout the festival.
Though this years line up has not been announced yet, you can be almost 100% certain to see an appearance on stage by Pete Seeger, founder of Clearwater. There have been appearances by Mavis Staples, Kris Kristofferson, Damian Rice, Arlo Guthrie, and many other well known musicians of all styles.
For all info regarding the festival check out Clearwater's website:
http://www.clearwaterfestival.org/
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
History Rhymes
Back in the 1990s, there was a huge scandal involving tobacco companies and the US Government on whether on whether or not cigarettes were addictive and in being so were the cause for the rise in lung cancer and death of many Americans. It was denied ardently by tobacco companies and many Republican in Congress. Eventually, the truth did come through but how many people had the tobacco industry already sentenced to death?
In the next decade, the big issue became global climate change. At this point in time, I do not believe anyone, can deny that there has been global climate change for the worse. But we still have people fighting to deny it! Fighting to make sure that legislation that could help stop the problem is not getting passed. And this is happening all over the world. To push forward, governments are letting the environment slip to the back burner in favor of letting natural gas, coal, and oil companies generate money.
We no longer have the time or the resources to deny global climate change. We have to stop our addiction before it kills us and the earth with it.
Here is a video I found via Upworthy that puts the two side by side.
In the next decade, the big issue became global climate change. At this point in time, I do not believe anyone, can deny that there has been global climate change for the worse. But we still have people fighting to deny it! Fighting to make sure that legislation that could help stop the problem is not getting passed. And this is happening all over the world. To push forward, governments are letting the environment slip to the back burner in favor of letting natural gas, coal, and oil companies generate money.
We no longer have the time or the resources to deny global climate change. We have to stop our addiction before it kills us and the earth with it.
Here is a video I found via Upworthy that puts the two side by side.
If I Die Young, Bury Me in a Mushroom Suit
Many humans in one way or another have a very odd fascination with death. I mean, I've thought about my imminent demise. I had already decided at the tender age of about ten or eleven that I wanted daffodils at my funeral (still do!) and that if I could, I would have a living funeral (thank you Tuesdays with Morrie).
But I don't think anything quite prepared my mother for the day I came home my senior year of high school and told her that I wanted to buried in a mushroom spore suit so that I could be eaten by mushrooms when I die and help save the environment one last time. Granted, mothers probably don't want to hear their children talk about what they want to happen when they die.
Before you think I'm actually crazy, take a look at this TED talk by artist Jae Rhim Lee and take a serious think about life after death.
But I don't think anything quite prepared my mother for the day I came home my senior year of high school and told her that I wanted to buried in a mushroom spore suit so that I could be eaten by mushrooms when I die and help save the environment one last time. Granted, mothers probably don't want to hear their children talk about what they want to happen when they die.
Before you think I'm actually crazy, take a look at this TED talk by artist Jae Rhim Lee and take a serious think about life after death.
So I'm here to explain why I'm wearing these ninja pajamas. And to do that, I'd like to talk first about environmental toxins in our bodies. So some of you may know about the chemical Bisphenol A, BPA. It's a material hardener and synthetic estrogen that's found in the lining of canned foods and some plastics. So BPA mimics the body's own hormonesand causes neurological and reproductive problems. And it's everywhere. A recent study found BPA in 93 percent of people six and older. But it's just one chemical. The Center for Disease Control in the U.S. says we have 219 toxic pollutants in our bodies, and this includes preservatives, pesticides and heavy metals like lead and mercury.
To me, this says three things. First, don't become a cannibal. Second, we are both responsible for and the victims of our own pollution. And third, our bodies are filters and storehouses for environmental toxins. So what happens to all these toxins when we die?The short answer is: They return to the environment in one way or another, continuing the cycle of toxicity. But our current funeral practices make the situation much worse. If you're cremated, all those toxins I mentioned are released into the atmosphere. And this includes 5,000 pounds of mercury from our dental fillings alone every year.
And in a traditional American funeral, a dead body is covered with fillers and cosmetics to make it look alive. It's then pumped with toxic formaldehyde to slow decomposition -- a practice which causes respiratory problems and cancer in funeral personnel. So by trying to preserve our dead bodies, we deny death, poison the living and further harm the environment. Green or natural burials, which don't use embalming, are a step in the right direction, but they don't address the existing toxins in our bodies. I think there's a better solution.
I'm an artist, so I'd like to offer a modest proposal at the intersection of art, science and culture. The Infinity Burial Project, an alternative burial system that uses mushrooms to decompose and clean toxins in bodies. The Infinity Burial Project began a few years ago with a fantasy to create the Infinity Mushroom -- a new hybrid mushroom that would decompose bodies, clean the toxins and deliver nutrients to plant roots, leaving clean compost. But I learned it's nearly impossible to create a new hybrid mushroom. I also learned that some of our tastiest mushrooms can clean environmental toxins in soil. So I thought maybe I could train an army of toxin-cleaning edible mushrooms to eat my body.
So today, I'm collecting what I shed or slough off -- my hair, skin and nails -- and I'm feeding these to edible mushrooms. As the mushrooms grow, I pick the best feeders to become Infinity Mushrooms. It's a kind of imprinting and selective breeding process for the afterlife.So when I die, the Infinity Mushrooms will recognize my body and be able to eat it. All right, so for some of you, this may be really, really out there. (Laughter) Just a little.
I realize this is not the kind of relationship that we usually aspire to have with our food. We want to eat, not be eaten by, our food. But as I watch the mushrooms grow and digest my body, I imagine the Infinity Mushroom as a symbol of a new way of thinking about death and the relationship between my body and the environment. See for me, cultivating the Infinity Mushroom is more than just scientific experimentation or gardening or raising a pet, it's a step towards accepting the fact that someday I will die and decay. It's also a step towards taking responsibility for my own burden on the planet.
Growing a mushroom is also part of a larger practice of cultivating decomposing organismscalled decompiculture, a concept that was developed by an entomologist, Timothy Myles.The Infinity Mushroom is a subset of decompiculture I'm calling body decompiculture and toxin remediation -- the cultivation of organisms that decompose and clean toxins in bodies.
And now about these ninja pajamas. Once it's completed, I plan to integrate the Infinity Mushrooms into a number of objects. First, a burial suit infused with mushroom spores, the Mushroom Death Suit. (Laughter) I'm wearing the second prototype of this burial suit. It's covered with a crocheted netting that is embedded with mushroom spores. The dendritic pattern you see mimics the growth of mushroom mycelia, which are the equivalent of plant roots.
I'm also making a decompiculture kit, a cocktail of capsules that contain Infinity Mushroom spores and other elements that speed decomposition and toxin remediation. These capsules are embedded in a nutrient-rich jelly, a kind of second skin, which dissolves quickly and becomes baby food for the growing mushrooms. So I plan to finish the mushroom and decompiculture kit in the next year or two, and then I'd like to begin testing them, first with expired meat from the market and then with human subjects. And believe it or not, a few people have offered to donate their bodies to the project to be eaten by mushrooms.
What I've learned from talking to these folks is that we share a common desire to understand and accept death and to minimize the impact of our death on the environment. I wanted to cultivate this perspective just like the mushrooms, so I formed the Decompiculture Society, a group of people called decompinauts who actively explore their postmortem options, seek death acceptance and cultivate decomposing organisms like the Infinity Mushroom. The Decompiculture Society shares a vision of a cultural shift, from our current culture of death denial and body preservation to one of decompiculture, a radical acceptance of death and decomposition.
Accepting death means accepting that we are physical beings who are intimately connected to the environment, as the research on environmental toxins confirms. And the saying goes, we came from dust and will return to dust. And once we understand that we're connected to the environment, we see that the survival of our species depends on the survival of the planet. I believe this is the beginning of true environmental responsibility.
Monday, December 16, 2013
What the Frack?
It was slightly comforting ( I use the word comforting hesitantly) to read this article online.
"Cuomo on Monday said a decision on shale-gas drilling will be 'one of the most important decisions we will make as a government, with far-reaching consequences.'"
Oh good. The (state) government is openly admitting that while fracking is a wonderful "right now" way to get natural gas it's possibly not going to be good for the long term. I say possibly because no matter how skeptical I am I do have pose the possibility that though fracking may pose threats to our personal and environmental health, it may not be the doomsday I sometimes make it out to be.
Yet, there's been a lot of talk about high levels of endocrine disrupting chemicals in areas that have a history of drilling spills. It rings some warning bells for me. When PCBS were being investigated the EPA said they were not going to test for endocrine disrupters and inhalation pathways even though non fish eaters were showing high levels of PCBs. When fracking was first becoming a huge issue people reported that their families were becoming sick for no reason and their pets were getting sick as well. People in the gas industry wanted nothing to do with these claims. Now that investigations are happening, investigations that are looking at the health of locals in areas with fracking I think it will be a lot harder for gas companies to push aside their accusations.
"Cuomo on Monday said a decision on shale-gas drilling will be 'one of the most important decisions we will make as a government, with far-reaching consequences.'"
Oh good. The (state) government is openly admitting that while fracking is a wonderful "right now" way to get natural gas it's possibly not going to be good for the long term. I say possibly because no matter how skeptical I am I do have pose the possibility that though fracking may pose threats to our personal and environmental health, it may not be the doomsday I sometimes make it out to be.
Yet, there's been a lot of talk about high levels of endocrine disrupting chemicals in areas that have a history of drilling spills. It rings some warning bells for me. When PCBS were being investigated the EPA said they were not going to test for endocrine disrupters and inhalation pathways even though non fish eaters were showing high levels of PCBs. When fracking was first becoming a huge issue people reported that their families were becoming sick for no reason and their pets were getting sick as well. People in the gas industry wanted nothing to do with these claims. Now that investigations are happening, investigations that are looking at the health of locals in areas with fracking I think it will be a lot harder for gas companies to push aside their accusations.
Controlled Burns
My mom is pretty awesome. She used to pack me bagged lunches for school. She gives really nice hugs.
But my mom isn't just awesome for being my awesome mom.
Mom also happens to be the director of the Nature Conservancy's Shawangunk Ridge Program. Which mean that Mom gets to oversee all the controlled burns that happen on the ridge.
A controlled or prescribed burn happens when a piece of land has hit a point of so much over-growth that it begins to become a danger to itself. Imagine a New England forest. There's a lot of leaf litter and downed branches and trees. All perfect fuel for a forest fire.
Note: Prescribed burns can also be used in farming, prairie restoration, etc. I am more familiar with it as a tool in forest management and thus will be talking about that rather than the other methods mentioned.
Forest fires are a natural part of forest ecology. However when humans began building homes in and close to a forest it only made sense to try to reduce the number of forest fires that happened. Less forest fires meant less property damage, less money lost, and less of a threat to human lives. It made sense.
But less naturally occurring forest fires meant that when they do occur, they are larger and have more fuel to burn meaning they are harder to control. The solution that makes the most sense then, is to have controlled burns.
It's easy to understand why some people might find this counter intuitive. Many a time my mom has had to answer to cries of "carbon dioxide!" and "you're killing trees!" The answer to these cries is relatively simple.
Controlled burn
Forest fire
Controlled burn, the fire fighters are in control of the situation
Forest fire, there are so many ways it can go wrong
Controlled burn, the trees are barely charred, and there is room for regeneration of diverse plant life while maintaining what has taken years to grow
Forest fire, same effects but it will take a lot longer for the trees to come back. They will survive. The bottom photo is from Texas after a fire. We stopped forest fires to the human advantage but when we can't stop them what do we lose?
I will say however that controlled burns are not always the best medicine. There are places where there are factors that make it impossible to do a controlled burn. Even on the Ridge, wind speed and velocity, temperature, and rainfall all make a play into whether or not my mom will call off a controlled burn because a controlled burn under the wrong circumstances can get out of control.
Doctor's Warning?
Use with caution.
But my mom isn't just awesome for being my awesome mom.
Mom also happens to be the director of the Nature Conservancy's Shawangunk Ridge Program. Which mean that Mom gets to oversee all the controlled burns that happen on the ridge.
A controlled or prescribed burn happens when a piece of land has hit a point of so much over-growth that it begins to become a danger to itself. Imagine a New England forest. There's a lot of leaf litter and downed branches and trees. All perfect fuel for a forest fire.
Note: Prescribed burns can also be used in farming, prairie restoration, etc. I am more familiar with it as a tool in forest management and thus will be talking about that rather than the other methods mentioned.
Forest fires are a natural part of forest ecology. However when humans began building homes in and close to a forest it only made sense to try to reduce the number of forest fires that happened. Less forest fires meant less property damage, less money lost, and less of a threat to human lives. It made sense.
But less naturally occurring forest fires meant that when they do occur, they are larger and have more fuel to burn meaning they are harder to control. The solution that makes the most sense then, is to have controlled burns.
It's easy to understand why some people might find this counter intuitive. Many a time my mom has had to answer to cries of "carbon dioxide!" and "you're killing trees!" The answer to these cries is relatively simple.
- One controlled burn is going to a lot less damage in terms of carbon dioxide than one forest fire.
- The trees can handle it. They're built to do so naturally and once again, one forest fire would do a lot more damage to them than a controlled burn.
Controlled burn
Forest fire
Controlled burn, the fire fighters are in control of the situation
Forest fire, there are so many ways it can go wrong
Controlled burn, the trees are barely charred, and there is room for regeneration of diverse plant life while maintaining what has taken years to grow
Forest fire, same effects but it will take a lot longer for the trees to come back. They will survive. The bottom photo is from Texas after a fire. We stopped forest fires to the human advantage but when we can't stop them what do we lose?
I will say however that controlled burns are not always the best medicine. There are places where there are factors that make it impossible to do a controlled burn. Even on the Ridge, wind speed and velocity, temperature, and rainfall all make a play into whether or not my mom will call off a controlled burn because a controlled burn under the wrong circumstances can get out of control.
Doctor's Warning?
Use with caution.
The Glass Eel
This is a Glass Eel.
This is an American Eel.
This is an Electric Eel. This is not a post in which to learn about the Electric Eel.
This is a post to learn about the Glass Eel, which grows up to be an American Eel (rather like a pokemon). Eels are one of those animals we don't really think about but are rather important and kind of mysterious. Eels like many other animals that live in bodies of water, play an important roll in the food chain, not only to other animals, but also to us humans.
Do you like a spicy eel roll? That's possibly an American Eel that you're eating.
Attention has recently been brought to these creatures as scientists are beginning to grow concerned with their numbers. That's why the American Eel Project was started by the Hudson River Estuary Program along with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (the two often work hand in hand).
But let's back it all up.
This is the Sargasso Sea:
This is where American Eels have their humble beginnings. They spend about a year floating around as larvae in the nutrient rich waters (and most likely some of them become a nutrient rich meal for someone else) before floating and swimming up on ocean currents to find their ways into East Coast freshwater rivers and streams. During this process they hit their rebellious teenage phase and become Elvers:
Mind you, their teenage rebellious phase ends around the age of five years old and they spend most of their lives being adults and eating. American Eels can live to be about 35 years old.
But something that makes them very special is that once they are done growing, the eels swim back out to the Sargasso Sea, spawn, and die, leaving the next crop of larvae to swim up to take their places. While this may not seem very special, it took scientists quite a long time to figure out and they have only quite recently figured out the pattern.
Fast forward. I'm in my sophomore year of high school taking biology. My dad (Hudson River Estuary Education Coordinator) contacts my high school biology teacher about a potential extra credit project; monitoring eels at Black Creek in Esopus (NY). The whole idea of the project is to collect data on how many glass eels were coming up into various creeks and streams the are part of the Hudson River watershed.
This project requires:
-a fyke net
-buckets
-a scale (gotta weigh them!)
-Many, many volunteers!
Up and down the Hudson there are schools, boy scout troops, and many others some working with a group and some not, making sure the nets were consistently checked daily. After weeks of collecting data, our results are compiled into a report that is now on DEC's website that help the official scientists understand what eel population levels are doing and where they are (and where they aren't) migrating to.
To sum up a remarkably long post (sorry about that) here are the actual points you should take away from this:
1. Eels are very special.
2. It's important to have programs like this one that get students (especially those in the city) out in the water getting the data and getting their hands dirty.
Links for more info:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/49580.html
http://pages.vassar.edu/casperkill/eel-in-the-casperkill/
This is an American Eel.
This is an Electric Eel. This is not a post in which to learn about the Electric Eel.
This is a post to learn about the Glass Eel, which grows up to be an American Eel (rather like a pokemon). Eels are one of those animals we don't really think about but are rather important and kind of mysterious. Eels like many other animals that live in bodies of water, play an important roll in the food chain, not only to other animals, but also to us humans.
Do you like a spicy eel roll? That's possibly an American Eel that you're eating.
Attention has recently been brought to these creatures as scientists are beginning to grow concerned with their numbers. That's why the American Eel Project was started by the Hudson River Estuary Program along with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (the two often work hand in hand).
But let's back it all up.
This is the Sargasso Sea:
This is where American Eels have their humble beginnings. They spend about a year floating around as larvae in the nutrient rich waters (and most likely some of them become a nutrient rich meal for someone else) before floating and swimming up on ocean currents to find their ways into East Coast freshwater rivers and streams. During this process they hit their rebellious teenage phase and become Elvers:
Mind you, their teenage rebellious phase ends around the age of five years old and they spend most of their lives being adults and eating. American Eels can live to be about 35 years old.
But something that makes them very special is that once they are done growing, the eels swim back out to the Sargasso Sea, spawn, and die, leaving the next crop of larvae to swim up to take their places. While this may not seem very special, it took scientists quite a long time to figure out and they have only quite recently figured out the pattern.
Fast forward. I'm in my sophomore year of high school taking biology. My dad (Hudson River Estuary Education Coordinator) contacts my high school biology teacher about a potential extra credit project; monitoring eels at Black Creek in Esopus (NY). The whole idea of the project is to collect data on how many glass eels were coming up into various creeks and streams the are part of the Hudson River watershed.
This project requires:
-a fyke net
-buckets
-a scale (gotta weigh them!)
-Many, many volunteers!
Up and down the Hudson there are schools, boy scout troops, and many others some working with a group and some not, making sure the nets were consistently checked daily. After weeks of collecting data, our results are compiled into a report that is now on DEC's website that help the official scientists understand what eel population levels are doing and where they are (and where they aren't) migrating to.
To sum up a remarkably long post (sorry about that) here are the actual points you should take away from this:
1. Eels are very special.
2. It's important to have programs like this one that get students (especially those in the city) out in the water getting the data and getting their hands dirty.
Links for more info:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/49580.html
http://pages.vassar.edu/casperkill/eel-in-the-casperkill/
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