Fair Well Reclamation

My time as a member of the Reclamation collaborative has come to an end.  From the unadulterated idealism of conceiving Planetarium through the sobering reality of breaking down Terrarium, the past nearly two years of co-creating, -participating, and -growing Reclamation has been a profound learning experience.

From the start, I always considered Reclamation an inclusionary amoeba of a project.  That consists, yes, of Drew Denny, John Matthew Heard, Edwina Portocarrero, Claudia Slanar, Morgan Gerstmar, and myself, but also and arguably more importantly includes Jennifer Styperk, Ben Segall, Charles Mallison, Sara Roberts, Tom Leeser, Norman Klein, Seth, Jared Woodland, Caroline Chang, Niki Roussou-Schindler, the students at the Whitman Continuation School, Emily Shaw, Carlo Martinez, Darrell T. Watson, Eddie Moreno, Hans, Hein, Jens, Jorge, Rand Vorhies, Jenna Eyrich, Eric Ritz, Lara Bank, Jantine Wjinja, Josine Siderius, Wouter Sibum, Tom Leeser, Norman Klein, Gerhard Schultz, Julia Holter, Amy, Angele, Erik, Nick, Rosan, Tjeerd, Cherelle, Denise, Devin, Kaj, Liam, Sabine, Sade, Brian, Daisy, Daniel, Jeffrey, Joelle, Maxime, Anh tuan, Annabeth, Ebru, Mike, Sara, Thomas, and Veronique of Richard Beharry’s Class 2S at Copernicus, Kristy Fenton aka Modern Witch, Robert Joe, Esq., Sade, Gerritt, Tonya, Trudie, Hazel Hill McCarthy, John Heard, Rachel, Daiana Feuer, Actually Huizenga, Big Whup, Dublab, Emily Lacy, God=Genocide, Geoff Geis, Human Ear Music, Leaving Records, Michael Nhat, Nicole Kidman, Sarah Cole, Jib Kidder, *SADIE. David Liebe Hart, Souris Hong-Porretta, Celeste Sunderland Gottfried, Gedda Ilves, Jungsoon Kim, Wook Kim, Sahn Kim, Grace Lee, Adele Seuhng Kim, Kathryn Heim, Amanda Estrine, Lee Wang, Wasana Punyasena,Corridor, Aaron Drake, Sarah Ibrahim, Gerard Olson, Teira Johnson, Daniel Pelt, Daiana Feuer, Amanda Jo Williams, Maxi Kim, Golden Hits, Matthew David, Jessilisa Moretti, Maya Gingery, Narinda Heng, Janice Lee, Alex Mack, Stephen van Dyck, John Martin, Hyesun Kim, Changsoo Kim, Jiyuh Kim, Jinhoo Kim, Hope Cho, Niko Solaris, Fritz Haeg, Jen Hofer, Jon Wagner, Steve Erickson, Bruce Bauman, Michaele Simmering, Joe Milazzo, Robert Dansby, Jonathan Rutzmoser, Erica Jackson, Samantha Cohen, Mady Schutzman, Jon Lindsey, Genevieve McCaw Becker, Charlie Becker, the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), the California Arts Partnership (CAP), Fritz Haeg, Global Inheritance, Environmentaland, Sea and Space Explorations, Dome Colony X in the San Gabriel Mountains, Hotel MariaKapel, Echo Curio, the Museum of Jurassic Technology, Gerhard, HVC Inzameling, Joop, Alice, The Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe, L.A. Record, the Mondrian Foundation, Treehugger.org, Ecofriend.org, Tidepooler, Hustler of Culture, Theme Magazine, the nice woman from the bookshop with the flaming red hair, the people at Snackbar Judith, the kindergarten teacher who reported us as anarchists to the Dutch police and press, all who chose and chose not to Constellate, Mola, Bibi, Jingjing, Moody, Zeus, anyone and everyone who came through our exhibits or read about Reclamation online or off, all who chose to participate in anything, all who chose to refrain, all who did or didn’t think about participating, him, her, them, you, me, it, and anyone I left out on account of a faulty memory and disorganized archive.

I always hoped anyone and everyone would claim Reclamation as their own, to use it and go with it without any permission from the collective, should you/he/she/it/we/they be moved to do so with whatever time and energy you/he/she/it/we/they were willing to spare—for it to become a viral something or other that might offer an alternative and/or an outlet to the pervading limits and dictates of dialogue on the grand themes of belief, our environment, our relationships, our space, and therefore ultimately, ourselves.  I continue to hope for, encourage, and look forward to this.

And so, though this is a FAIRwell to the Reclamation collaborative, it is not one to Reclamation, which I hope we all—group or no—continue to grow, nurture, and realize into a beautiful mess that even supercedes our idealistic horizons.

– Kyoung Kim

PRESS: Reclamation makes culture and televison headlines

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elsevier October 13, 2010

Submit to the 2010 FAIR Conference!

Dear Colleague:

I am writing to invite you to exhibit and/or submit to FAIR, an international conference to be held at Hotel MariaKapel, in Hoorn, Netherlands this October 2nd-3rd, which presents breakthrough, innovative, revolutionary, and visionary solutions for people and planet on what is fair. FAIR brings together the leading minds of as many people as possible to determine steps towards a Solution to the troubling, pervading, and systemic problem of unfairness.  To this end, we are actively seeking presentations, solutions, responses, and answers to the following pressing question related to fair-ness:

What is a fair way to deinstall and discard of the materials used for Terrarium at Hotel MariaKapel in Hoorn, NL?

Please find below more information on FAIR and how you can play an integral role in making ours a fair-er world.  Please also note that ALL submissions that meet the DEADLINE of WEDNESDAY, SEPT 29th, will be accepted and presented at and during FAIR. Also, please forward this freely, as everyone is welcome to participate (afterall, it’s only fair…).

I sincerely hope that you will find the time to participate in this experiment-of-a-guerrilla-but-nonetheless-real-and-hopefully-fun-and-enlightening-conference.

Sincerely,

Kyoung
Conference Director-Coordinator-Intern-Specialist-Consultant-Freelancer-Peon
2010fair.wordpress.com / reclamationproject.org / hotelmariakapel.nl

**********************

Overview of FAIR

FAIR is: Art fair. Science fair. Book fair. County fair. World fair. Trade fair. Fair world. Fair trade. Bid fair. Fair deal. Fair use. Fair work. Fair statement. Fair and square. Fair ball. Fair sex. Fair skin. Fair surface. Fair off. Fair enough.  Fair health. Fair weather. Fair weather friend. Fair fight. Fair play. Fair game. All’s fair in love and war… Held during the closing weekend of Reclamation’s TERRARIUM at Hotel MariaKapel, FAIR asks artists, researchers, policy wonks, lawyers, psychologists, waste managers, event organizers, gamers, skaters, and school children, among others, to offer solutions ranging from the practical to the fantastical on how to discard of the materials used for the installation in a way that is “fair.”

Submission Guidelines

1) Answer the question “What is a fair way to deinstall and discard of the materials used for Terrarium at Hotel Maria Kapel in Hoorn, NL?” in any medium you see fit.  How you interpret the question is up to you.  How you answer the question is up to you.  Submissions can be as short or as long as you wish; in any language (or no language) you want; as simple and complex as you desire.

2) Include the following information with your submission:

• NAME as you would like it to appear on the program
• BIO of 50 words or less
• TITLE of your occupation
• CITY and COUNTRY of your current residence or work
• IMAGE of yourself for the FAIR website (2010fair.wordpress.com). A photo/drawing/image–all works.

4) Send your submission via email to info@reclamationproject.org or via post to: HMK { HotelMariaKapel }, korte achterstraat 6, 1621GA, Hoorn, NETHERLANDS

5) Submissions must be RECEIVED by Wednesday, September 29th, 2010, Midnight GMT.

To learn more about Terrarium, go to reclamationproject.org or http://www.hotelmariakapel.nl. To learn more about Hotel MariaKapel, go to http://www.hotelmariakapel.nl.  To find answers to FAQs, read below.  To find answers to more questions, email info@reclamationproject.org with additional questions you may have.  To see what’s going on with FAIR, go to http://www.2010fair.wordpress.com.

FAQ

Q: What is Terrarium? What is it made of?

A: TERRARIUM is an installation and event series created by the Reclamation collective, which recombines practices of art, worship, and exploration in spaces and smashes together with the environmental discourse. TERRARIUM provides a space to share ideas, make a mess, and meditate on our relationship with the environment and thereby, each other.  The TERRARIUM installation was created with used materials collected from the Hoorn recycling center and Hotel MariaKapel from previous installations.  Used materials include lumber, bricks, stones, wine and beer bottles, broken plates and popped balloons from a carnival, plastic bags, old rope, dirt, glass, plexi, nails, screws, paint, plywood, paper, l-brackets, sheets, an organ, cords, water, mirror, eggshells, cardboard, and probably other things I am forgetting at this moment. “New” materials include screws, lightbulbs, wires, plants, silicon, L-brackets, water, fish, fish food, and other materials I am forgetting at this moment.  It is approximately 1 truck container worth of materials.  The installation was built by the four current members of Reclamation (Drew Denny, John Matthew Heard, Kyoung Kim, and Edwina Portocarrero) who were invited to Hotel MariaKapel by the fantastic Jantine Wijnja, Josine Siderius, and Wouter Sibum.

Q: What do you mean by “fair”?  Fair to what or to whom–to Reclamation, Hotel MariaKapel, Hoorn citizens, the Dutch, the world population, children of the future, animals, the planet, the oceans, aliens?  What do you mean?!

A: That’s what we want to know from you.  Please enlighten us.  Seriously.  FAIR is not about what we’re thinking, it’s about what you’re thinking.

Q: What kind of submissions are you looking for?

A: We are looking for what you submit.  In any medium, any genre.  There are no parameters beyond an attempt to answer the question by the deadline.  Video, audio, typed, hand-written, paper, diorama, performance, fluxus, bar napkin or coaster, composition, drawing, food, math problem-esque solution, sculpture, simple, complex, long, short, theoretical, practical, fantastical, feasible, hypothetical, technical, metaphorical, litigious, vague, detailed, etc. etc.—it’s all fair game.

Q: Who is participating in FAIR?

A: We are asking a myriad of people to participate, ranging from artists to engineers at MIT, human rights lawyers, school children, teachers, waste managers, event organizers, writers, musicians, and my mom, among others.  Please feel free to invite anyone and everyone to participate in FAIR.

Q: What about my mom?

A: Yes.  We’d love for her to participate.  Please forward this to her, as well as your father of course, and others who you think might be interested.  The more cooks in this kitchen, the better.

Q: How will my work be presented if I am not in the Netherlands?

A: All of the submission for FAIR will be presented in the gallery of Hotel MariaKapel in fair-like fashion.  Depending on the work submitted, we will have booths and tables set up, as well as projectors and screenings, and schedule presentations throughout the two days.  We have 2 projectors that can screen video, Powerpoint, and other multimedia solutions can be offered.  Should you wish to present via videochat, we can arrange for that as well.  We have a color printer that prints on standard paper should you want solutions printed and presented in a certain way.  We also have audio capabilities to play any audio submissions.  Instructional pieces will be printed and presented; in addition, we hope to perform some of the instructional solutions offered (see examples).

Q: Can you offer some examples of submissions you’ve received and how you are going to present them?

A: Sure.

Ex 1: Set up a milk can toss.  Each time someone topples the milkcans, he/she can take a piece of the exhibit home.
Presentation: We will set up a booth with a milkcan toss in a corner of the Hotel MariaKapel space, and we’ll allow people to play the game and take a piece of the exhibit as their prize.  Just like in a county fair. (In this one, I predict the fish, plants, and lamps will go first.  Maybe the extension cords too.  People are terribly practical).

Ex 2: Have the 4 members of Reclamation sit in a circle and draw straws.  Whoever draws the shortest straw has to move everything out of the gallery space and find a way to get it to the dump.  The other 3 can either nap and/or drink beer.  Straws are impartial, so it’s fair, even if the distribution of labor isn’t.
Presentation: 4 members of Reclamation will sit in a circle and draw straws.  Whoever draws the shortest straw has to move as much as he/she can in the course of an hour while the other 3 nap and/or drink beer.

These are probably the easiest of examples to offer (as they are textual and not, say, audio or a schematic, etc. and also because at the moment a beer or a nap sound really nice).  There are submissions that have taken the problem from a physics perspective or as an engineering issue, others from a political angle, others from a fantastical point of view, others from a semantical one, and so on and so forth.

Q: What will be the outcome of FAIR?  Will there be documentation?

A: Photographs will be taken of the FAIR and a schematic of the FAIR booth placements will be published on the website.  The website will list the presenters, submissions, and an Official Confvergence Report will be pulled together from the submissions.  The Official Confvergence Report will include submission summaries, key points, and action items; it will be uploaded to the website and made available for download by December 2010.

“reterrarium” or “how to use rabbits to represent scale”

note: just to give a lay of the land to anyone who’s reading and our future selves when we forget what all of this is: we’re revisiting the logistics of terrarium.  designs, aims, etc.  taking the initial proposal and reassessing from lessons learned over the last year, evolution, devolution, etc.  each of us took the initial proposal and did what we wanted–fantastical, practical, conceptual, theoretical, literal, physical, liminal, subliminal, criminal, half-baked, fully-baked, dough-like–and sent each other notes and sketches.  with the hopes of seeing where everyone’s minds are at, where we coincide, where we don’t, and where we go from here.  drew and jack have posted their ideas in previous posts.  here’re some of my scribbles and (in)articulations…

* design for smaller, individual terrariums
– smaller terrariums representing the individual
modular terrariums, made from materials that are easy to find, anyone can make, and are constructed in using the least material possible, and therefore efficient in maximizing material. planks of wood are harder to come by, as well as transport. lengths of wood (2x4s, strips, dowels) are easier to come by, easier to transport. glass/plexi hard to come by, plastic bottles are easier to come by. at the same time, as learned from aquarium and warned by hmk, there’s a pretty tight infrastructure in place for plastic bottle recycling, and in bulk, actually pretty hard to come by. on other hand, plastic bags are easy to come by (and can make rope), and are also easy to transport. so both lengths of wood and plastic bags could possibly be prepped before going to hoorn, thereby saving lots of time scavenging everything everything.

so… use these lengths of wood to build basic frames. terrariums are triangular, modular and shallow. use plastic bags to create the base of terrariums — waterproof, and if fused and stretched + basic frame underneath, can offer a pretty solid base for even heavy items. also, no need for sealant.

in terms of using 3d space, terrariums can be cut to different heights, also angled.  also, don’t have to raise terrariums also; legs not necessary.  though lots of possibilities can come with playing with height. stacking terrariums for example?

* design for triptych
– triptych representing the cluster/group
made up of smaller terrariums; don’t know if this has to be a “triptych” or adhere to specific number 3. i imagine it more as representative of the possibilities when people work together, for better or worse. so putting together a cluster of smaller terrariums, perhaps they are distinguished in being larger in size. maybe we configure it, and the whole thing is very orderly and serves as a pretty obvious altar. or, it is configured and so overloaded with vegetation that it starts taking over itself, cannibalizing the wood and structure, and by the end of the exhibit, the “manmade” elements have more or less fallen, and it’s transformed into a monster of vegetation. us letting nature do its thing, start taking over.

* designs a floorplan for the installation
– smaller terrariums are arranged along the city map of hoorn; each terrarium more or less representing a house/building (aka individual) and triptych representing a communal space (aka hmk)
– triptych set where hmk would be on the map

* materials for the installation — where from and what?
– scrap wood, plastic bags, plastic bottles — materials that are readily accessible and in bulk
– indigenous plants that are also hardy and easy to come by — moss, grass, ivy, ferns, whatever’s growing in the area at the time. plants that are easy to grow and can be transported/replanted if need be — weeds, essentially
– additional non-organic materials to add to the visual mix?

* idea of what to do with the terrariums at the end of the installation
give to people who want them. if no one wants them, plant the rest, break down and recycle materials. loved this aspect of aquarium–that all the materials for the aqueduct/pipes were so easy to break down and recycle, that it was literally zero-waste.    bottles recycled; plastic bag rope recycled; steel returned to scrap yard.  also that i know at any time, if/whenever i want to, because the materials are accessible (except the stell, i suppose; but any stick/bar would do), the construction simple, it can be recreated easily and in that way still “exists.”  with both aquarium and planetarium that these are more the beginnings rather than the ending of possibilities; that we’ve constructed objects and spaces that any layman can construct, can take basic designs and material and build upon them.  like legos.  that this is larger than us.  because, well, it is.  (same can be more or less said with planetarium, paper if we’d actually recycled the paper or used the fire to some purpose, though not with the frame which was a recycled pvc frame from another installation)

notes on concept/questions
– individual terrariums and “triptych”/cluster as representation of human individual/society — akin to religious architecture (churches, temples, gudwaras) which reflect the structure of the universe and humanity’s role within it…
– continuing idea of “parts of a whole” running through other installations
– terrarium as a representation of what it would be like if natural environment was central to thought/behavior.
– terrarium installation as incubator/nursery for plants but also ideas; reclamation space as a germinating space, literally and metaphorically
– made of materials easy, accessible, modular — anyone can make, and uses materials efficiently (meaning, not so much waste). this doesn’t necessarily mean we end up using our time the most efficiently–an interesting thing to consider. this idea of “efficiency” and time.
– meditating on what happens when you domesticate wilderness…
– non-interference/minimal interference as action — in conceiving of an installation that attempts to maximize materials and as representation, to essentially bring the nature available in hoorn inside to hmk, addressing some questions about modes of thought related to “action” — social, environmental, otherwise. since reclamation’s inception, there’s been a lot of questioning regarding utility. what’s the purpose/point/function in making a planetarium out of thousands of sheets of office paper or an aqueduct that doesn’t work so well to water a garden that’s getting too much water from a very rainy february? but i wonder, why the fixation on utility? just because we are working with tangible problems, does that mean art has to be equally tangible in its utility? is it not enough to try to make something beautiful by using readily-available materials and incubating/growing what’s already there? if it is not enough, why does there have to be more? i also wonder if this mode of thinking–in equating utility, repurposing, in tinkering as intervention and addressing environmental and social issues, is actually systemic to the problem. the best thing to do to revitalize an ecosystem is to just let it be–chernobyl is a perfect example of this. in the case of some endangered species, there’s the breeding, incubating, reintroduction into the wild programs, etc. which also seek minimal interference, though there is obviously interference in this instance. if the whole planet’s at risk, flora/forests, etc. then even the least exotic of species are in danger–what if this is our version of these programs? maybe this a contradiction of thought? we (humans) are incredibly resourceful, coming up with a myriad ways to use anything and everything — but it’s both a blessing and a curse. it allows us to look at things in so many ways and rethink things (the hammer that isn’t the hammer), but it can also make us greedy (look at all the ways we can use oil — let’s rape the world of oil!). not sure if i’m being clear here; actually, very aware that i’m probably not. but also aware that continuing will just make things longer, not clearer. so stopping here for now.

Die Liedertafel

Die Lidertafel is a “weblog for singers, composers and poets” that my friend and colleague, Siobhan O’ Leary–a singer, writer, translator, and lover of cheese to boot–pointed me to.    It has poems and sketches and such.  Beyond that, I don’t know what anything means on the site because I don’t know German.  But at the same time, I feel like it’s cosmically linked to Reclamation’s website.  Perhaps this is me being totally naive.  If you know German, maybe you can prove me right or wrong.  Oh Babel…

some expressed beliefs

in a “have your say” page, the bbc asked:

What do you think of the global climate deal?

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed a US-backed climate deal in Copenhagen as an “essential beginning”. Do you think the agreement represents a fair deal for smaller countries?

here are some responses in which people write on their belief/disbelief of global warming. interestingly (and disturbingly, as far as i’m concerned), the “most recommended” responses  are those that deny global warming or claim it as a political conspiracy…

Added: Sunday, 20 December, 2009, 03:56 GMT 03:56 UK

The climate deal is of little or no consequence. The climate change is direct proof f the nearing of last day of judgement which is inevitable.

Shazib Khan, Lahore, Pakistan

Added: Sunday, 20 December, 2009, 03:45 GMT 03:45 UK

This weather is probably God’s way of telling us that He is in control, and not man. What greater irony than this (especially with the meetings happening in Copenhagen)?

N F, Alberta, Canada

Recommended by 0 people

Added: Sunday, 20 December, 2009, 03:26 GMT 03:26 UK

Human caused “global warming ” is a fraud.

Solar activity is key – and we have zero impact on that.

Should the earth warm up, it will do more good than harm. We in north America could be under glaciers. That would be a problem.

Charles Calhoun, White Plains, NY

Recommended by 1 person

Added: Sunday, 20 December, 2009, 03:11 GMT 03:11 UK

In addition what depresses me is those who think that man is not influencing climate change keep bringing up things that have been answered or refuted – as a simple information search would show – it would be like someone bringing up H&S myths as facts. Dangerously close to lying.

[michellegrand], Alton, United Kingdom

Recommended by 1 person

Added: Sunday, 20 December, 2009, 24:15 GMT 00:15 UK

Sprited leaders from small countries like President of Maldive put up a splendid performance & much better than leaders of major polluting nations. It is very obvious that those self-serving leaders have joined the ranks of U.S Evangelist to wait for resurrection of Jesus to clean up the earth!

Sid, Delhi

Recommended by 3 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 13:02 GMT 13:02 UK

Regardless of whether global warming exists or not, and regardless of man’s influence, we live on a planet of finite resources and should use those wisely.

Its a bit like giving everyone a patch of soil, and a “chunk of energy” to use as they wish. You can boil a kettle in 3 minutes or drive to the local shop, up to you.

People are used to doing both, and its a problem.

Now what one needs are products that use “nothing” to run them.

Reduction of emissions should be bi-product

[twyfordshanks]

Recommended by 31 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 12:59 GMT 12:59 UK

This deal is a joke, it is farcical. Top scientists are even skeptic. The ones that seem to be adamant are politicians who know nothing, and scientist working for the politicians..seems like a political stunt to me.

Why is evidence based on projectory and natural weather shifts.. nature always changes its course… so i was told till copenhagen summit, now i believe it is my fault. a famous economist said.. “man’s potential in saving the world would be equivalent to saving one cow”

Concerned Brit, London

Recommended by 22 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 12:56 GMT 12:56 UK

I think we common folk are being lied to.
If the world was at stake due to emissions, don’t you think even wealthy countries like US would be truly concerned?

There’s a problem all right & it’s far worse than climate change. Namely, the earth’s crust is shifting. It’s happened before & it’s about to happen again. The crust-shift will rid the planet of its surplus population while the elite watch from safe retreats, pondering the inheritance of the entire earth (as Gods).

Regina-Gabrielle Berry, Toronto, Canada

Recommended by 8 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 12:08 GMT 12:08 UK

I am very glad that the copenhagen conference has failed.I really think it is time that the BBC started looking at the opinions of the thousands of real scientists who disagree with the ‘consensus’ view do none of your journalists ever get on the net and look at the real science? Remember, consensus has no place in science..and despite rising CO2 levels even the ‘adjusted’ temperatures show NO warming this century..this proves the computer models are wrong as are all the outlandish forecasts

hickman, dover

Recommended by 7 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 12:02 GMT 12:02 UK

I agree with hundreds of scientists all over the world who are never heard in the media who have found that global warming is a myth and has no scientific basis.

Nicholas Dyson, Letchworth

Recommended by 14 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 12:40 GMT 12:40 UK

My reaction ,a load of face saving political spin. With all the facts and truth that has surfaced in recent weeks this face saving maneuver is the first big nail in the coffin of AGW.
“I have sworn on the altar of god,eternal hostility against every form of tyranny against the mind of man” Thomas Jefferson
Truth shall prevail over propaganda,the alarmist warmist brainwashing of our children shall not be forgotten. Gettinggrumpier

wayne job, broadford

Recommended by 10 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 12:38 GMT 12:38 UK

Global warming Deal and Britain Paralysed by snowfalls before Christmas.

Two swallows don’t make a Summer, and could well be coincidence. The same is true for many situations. Scientific evidence is sound only when unshakable in every concievable way.

There is great doubt that the evidence for the Global warming argument is sound or complete, let alone tested or proven.

Politics and science are vastly different. Politicians Talk, that’s all they do. The Deal is meaningless.

[twyfordshanks]

Recommended by 4 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 12:31 GMT 12:31 UK

All the climate change deniers obtain most of their information from the media. If instead they started reading the actual science papers (1,000s of them) then they would reach the same conclusion as EVERY scientific institute in the world. It is only individuals who question manmade climate change. There are thousands of science institutes and yet not one supports the deniers. You either trust the newspapers or you trust the scientists. Controversy sells papers – don’t forget this.

G Walker, UK

Recommended by 23 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 12:31 GMT 12:31 UK

Its a start
Global warming /climate change is a reality ..we are accelerating natural change
I want t my Grandchildren to have a future
I want my grandchildrens future decided by common sense and best safe not sorry

And NOT decided by the Top gear hedonists and Tabloid bigots who are scared their here and now live today pay tomorrow gluttony and jet set life is at risk
Fact is the oil and gas will run out and history will weep at what we wasted burnt up for tatty baubles and fun

tiger moth, stoke

Recommended by 24 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 12:31 GMT 12:31 UK

“I say it again. The left consist of two obsessive compulsions. Fascist dictatorship and total anarchy. Gee, how would that dichotomy not bind things up..”

Dear pen pal, USA

Dear pen pal, I would prescribe for you less Glenn Beck, less Hannity and less O’Reilly. Fascism is a right wing impulse, not left wing. Think Franco, Mussolini and Hitler. True, they made the trains run on time but freedom for me means not being obliged to salute your own flag every day.

Love and kisses.

Zippy, Bush

Recommended by 5 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 12:07 GMT 12:07 UK

I’ve no doubt that the climate is detrimentally being affected by human activity and that it’s essential to do something to help reduce the effects.

This includes procreating at a much slower rate and religions need to get wise to that.

What has been semi agreed in Copenhagen will probably make little more difference than Kyoto did.

What was the carbon footprint of this conference?

Do these huge summits actually make a difference?

I fear it’s all a load of hot air…

Jon Storr, Wales, United Kingdom

Recommended by 4 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 12:00 GMT 12:00 UK

Why do people make snide comments that developing countries resisting the current Copenhagen deal are just holding out for more money? Pacific Islanders value their land as home, not as a commercial exercise! Coastlines are eroding, seasons and weather patterns are changing, in other parts of the world glaciers are melting – we in the small island countries may be the first to be affected by rising sea levels, but in the end everyone will suffer & everyone should help.

C.J.N., Luganville, Vanuatu

Recommended by 6 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 11:44 GMT 11:44 UK

To people saying the real problem is overpopulation, how do you intend to solve it?
The issues are the same. In the end people will have to own responsibility and no longer rely on dumb politicians. World leaders have failed, now its up to us. Capitalism has to go, governments have to go and we need to collectivise, instead of the self interest individualism like Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, we have to form a political system of common ownership and mutual consensus.

Capitalism Sucks, Lancaster

Recommended by 2 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 12:41 GMT 12:41 UK

I think it’s ridiculous. Climate science is nonsense compared to proper sciences. There is no proper scientific proof that man is significantly affecting the climate, and there is major evidence that he isn’t. Even if the warmists are right, human development isn’t just going to stop because the planet gets a bit hotter – that’s not how life works. The amount of political spin on this and the secrecy involved are very suspicious. I think the whole thing is a scam.

Mark

Recommended by 12 people

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 13:05 GMT 13:05 UK

Our place is out there in the cosmic space.
Lunatic, fantastic?
Yes, it is today.
But getting rid of limitations (e.g. dogmas) all will change at once.
There are no alternatives.
Unless we kill/eat each other…

Tibor TK, Neuss

Recommended by 1 person

Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 22:37 GMT 22:37 UK

Of course the world isn’t getting hotter. Of course we’re not threatened with the risk of flooding all of our coasts. That’s why New Orleans was bone dry as was the whole of Cumbria. Let’s not forget all the other areas which suffer increased flooding as well as the truly immense lake that has appeared in Nepal that used to be a glacier.

The world is warming, we are accelerating it and it will bring catastrophic disasters and even wars in the next 50 years.

It’s already too late.

T, Derby

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Added: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 05:08 GMT 05:08 UK

The scientific evidence that this summit is based upon has now been questioned. No deal should be agreed until the true facts are agreed. No political spin, ideals or showmanship should be considered. Clean air is one thing, global warming or climate change is another. The UK government and its agencies are prime suspects in this conspiricy to fleece everyone of yet more tax for idealistic and unworkable ends.

John Wurrows, Nottingham

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dded: Saturday, 19 December, 2009, 07:59 GMT 07:59 UKThe very idea that humankind can control the world temperature, over even a day let alone a decade, is simply breathtaking! It really is time that this global warming bandwagon stops.

Richard Elliott, Shrewsbury

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RECLAMATION in progress

A few years back, my mother burned her house down. The only thing left of the house is a white chalky slab covered in rubble, its odd geometry obscured by fallen leaves and creeping weeds. I couldn’t photograph the foundation because the absence of the house was too much for me to contemplate… I had to look away, and when I did I was amazed at what I saw:

The pool has become swamp.
Frogs living in the hot tub.
Vines tangled in the swing set.
Tip top of the tee pee frame lifted up by a tree.

“Reclamation in progress,” I thought.

on -ating reclamation: fused plastic

fused plastic (image courtesy of etsy.com)

for constellating and the like, we’ve been using painter’s jumpsuits reused from jack’s hole project from 2008. however, over time the jumpsuits are getting worse for wear and we need to acquire more suits to really make constellating/topographying/radiating/branching kabowbamboom! we’ve discussed making our own suits. but buying and using sheets, even if they’re from goodwill or something, to make these suits feels way too kkk, so no dice in that direction as far as i’m concerned.

but what about fused plastic? clearly a more labor-intensive process, but cheaper and less, um, referential.  checked out some tutorials and did some tests of my own. fumes released in the process give one some pause… need to weigh the pros versus the cons. (click here for a treehugger thread discussing the matter.)

regardless, here’s the best tutorial i’ve found thusfar for making the fabric; a make video that shows how to make fused plastic fabric in prep for messenger bags. and another one from etsy.

Planetarium at The Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe!

We are very excited to announce that PLANETARIUM will be exhibiting at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe from February through April 2010. More details to come. Woohoo!

the hacked up files of the university e. anglia

newsweek cover of august 6, 2007 issue

with reclamation, some people don’t get the connection between environment and religion. they say, “hey lady, what does global warming have to do with belief when it’s a fact? i mean, it’s science.”

the reality is there are many who sit on the other side of the fence. the naysayers’ range is wide. from those who believe that global warming is a hoax created by devil-incarnate r&d money-hungry scientists, to those who believe that global warming is god bringing on the apocalypse, to those who believe that global warming exists but that neither man nor god has anything to do with it, to those who believe that global warming exists and is man-made but that there is nothing we can do about it, to those who believe that the data is biased towards climate catastrophe and therefore they cannot make a real assessment of the situation.

i tell people this, and they don’t believe me. think i’m making conspiracy theories about conspiracy theorists. tell me i must be delusional because their logic goes “i don’t know anyone who doesn’t believe global warming exists.” but with last week’s brouhaha over the hacked emails of the climate scientists from the university of east anglia (conveniently released during this copenhangen 2009 pre-show show) published across the internets and presented as proof of “the climate change hoax,” one cannot simply dismiss the climate change skeptics as figments of my paranoid imagination. meet steve mcintyre, james delingpole, airvent “because the world needs another option” among others. links have made between the skeptics, industry, and free-market think tanks, but regardless of motive, the fact is the voice of anti-global warmingists is loud and this week just got louder smushing the logic of ignorance into itty bits of bitsyness.

if everyone was on board, felt and understood the urgency of climate change, even with the dark underbelly of current industries tied to keeping things dirty old school, don’t you think we would be a touch closer to signed treaties? with more investments in green technology? for better and worse, action is tied to belief, and environmental action isn’t happening because not everyone believes it’s a pressing issue or even an issue at all.

ergo the relationship between religion and environment. climate change as maybe the new social divider…