On my way to school today, I caught the second half of the Diane Rehm show on our NPR station. She had several guests on to talk about climate change, what it means for culture, and just how radically it will likely force us to change our lifestyles. One of the guests said it just meant that we would, out of necessity, change from a consumer culture, to one where our life's purpose is not "how many things we have." I don't think I'd mind that.
It's a subject that Elise Morin and Clemence Eliard took on with their installation, Wastelandscape, in Paris. The mounds of CDs, which are made of petroleum, are meant to evoke an urban oil slick. I thought, how interesting: everyone has a different way of relating to climate change, and expressing our thoughts and feelings about it. It is a subject that could be incredibly depressing, yet, it is something I believe that we must learn to talk about.
So, what is the best way to express environmentally conscious ideas or stories? For me, I think images are powerful, particularly images of the sea--like this stunning photo I found while surfing the net this afternoon.
The first, and deepest, impression made on me regarding the environment came through a coffee table book my father had--still has, on the bookshelf somewhere. Nothing like Jacques Cousteau to fill my young child-mind with wonder that the beauty of the ocean, and raise my consciousness to its fragility.
As an adult, I'd say that Michael Pollan's classic about the various options we have for feeding ourselves made a thoughtful impression on me, and continues to guide my choices when it comes to food for our family--not just for the nutritional value, but for the impact such choices can make on our environment as well.
What about you? What books (or movies, images or documentaries) have made the biggest impressions on you regarding the environment?
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