Not surprisingly, in light of the stark tone of the film, its funding and distribution model was unusual. The film was crowd funded, and its distribution was innovative. The film was made available at whatever venues could pay, leading to a modest but real revenue. Overall the film was not a big moneymaker. But it raises the question of whether the film industry’s conventional funding and distribution model is resistant to the realities of climate change?

http://transnationaltemps.net/spill/
Opening: July 30th, 2010
MediaNoche’s gallery space at 102nd Street / Park Ave.
New York City
6-8pm
Exhibition running from July 30-September 21, 2010
Hours: Wednesday – Friday, 3-7pm

Responding to what has been called the United States’ worst ever environmental crisis, the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico frames this forward-looking group exhibition. Following on the heels of a decidedly unsuccessful round of climate negotiations in Copenhagen, the months of news coverage of oil gushing into the Gulf have provoked widespread unease with business as usual. As BP desperately attempts to recover both the oil and its public image, artists and designers from around the world are wrestling with the question of sustainability in the aftermath of these shocking events.

The Deepwater Horizon accident coincided with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, a custom that itself came about partly in response to the Union Oil Platform A oil spill in Santa Barbara (1969). That spill, relatively small in comparison, catalyzed an environmental movement and the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States. It remains to be seen what lessons and institutions may arise from this summer of junk shots and containment domes, but there can be little doubt that the stakes are high. The Gulf of Mexico, already reeling from deoxygenated ‘dead zones’ due to pollution arriving via the Mississippi River, now faces unprecedented ecological challenges stemming from both the oil and chemical dispersants. Moreover, these events call attention to the problem of fossil fuel dependency in this era of global warming. The passionate and incisive responses of contemporary artists, unencumbered by journalistic norms of decorum, are an opportunity to see these historic events through the eyes of others who are fed up with humanity’s unintended war on the environment.

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MediaNoche is the place where art, technology and community converge. We offer artists working in new media exhibition space and residencies in order to provoke a dialogue that blurs all lines of marginality and alterity. Unique among art and technology groups, MediaNoche is directly linked to the oldest Latino community of New York City, Spanish Harlem, and has showcased a roster of local and international new media artists. http://MediaNoche.us

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Transnational Temps is an international arts collective concerned with ecology, sustainability, and media. Since its formation in 2001 it has produced a series of critically acclaimed works and exhibitions under the banner Earth Art for the 21st Century. Working primarily from Europe and the United States, works to date have emphasized participation, tactical media, and spanning the sometimes awkward divide between activist advocacy and aesthetics. http://TransnationalTemps.net

Walmart announced in March 2007 that it would begin featuring flourescent light bulbs in an effort to
reduce energy consumption.

Manufacturing

Computers and cars require more fossil fuels to make than you might think. Link
Despite this situation, some companies are beginning to address the need for recycling if not reduced consumption.

Karma Offsets

Starbucks has come under fire for its exploitation of coffee growers. They’ve responded by producing a environmentalist online game. While Starbucks has many areas in which it could improve its own environmental footprint, its primary reasons for making the game could be considered sincere. As a broad policy question, however, is it not important to unite with labor rights campaigners to prevent the environment from becoming a wedge issue that gives corporations a free pass on other issues? Link

Food Fight

Not strictly greenwashing but a new low in marketing to children, nevertheless Link

Love for Sale

Meanwhile, the antidote must not be aired on MTV! What does the censorship of this type of video say about American “freedom of speech”?

http://www.spike.com/video/talking-heads-love/2788523

Con

The Utter Waste of Recycling By Alan Caruba.

Pro

Does Recyling Really Help?

Some responses from student readers.

[The latter] is a very interesting article on landfills (but long with small font so remember to exercise your eyes!) Whatever you do, DONT PRINT IT OUT! Paper is the #1 component of landfills, and no, it does not biodegrade! One study found a decade old hotdog in a landfill. Yum. Anyway, most landfills do not provide an environment where biodegrading can occur, however, this is mostly favorable since biodegrading releases toxic gases and materials. We make a lot of trash and yes, this is sad but remember to recycle your paper products and you’ll be doing a big help to decrease landfill space.
http://www.plasticsresource.com/s_plasticsresource/doc.asp?TRACKID=&DID=487&CID=175

Pro-recycling information seems vague and limited. However, those outspoken against recycling, while more specific, seem to have an agenda of their own, mainly, bashing the “left-wing greens” (YIKES! is that us?). Let’s be civilized about it! The main concern seems to be landfill space. While Mt. Trashmore isn’t my idea of a great national monument, what about all the space recycling processing plants take up? Do they smell any better? And do they save any energy?

I’m sure ideally recycling can reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, but I’m not sure recycled materials offset the demand for cutting down tree or producing new materials. I have the feeling we are just consuming too much and companies will keep creating new materials so long as there is a demand. Aha! So maybe if we buy recycled materials we can make a difference.

Some ideas circulating in the crowd:

Get Inspired:http://www.thetruth.com

http://adbusters.org/home/

http://www.breathingplanet.net/whirl/

Get off the couch:1. Culture Jamming Culture Jamming combines activism with performance art, guerilla tactics of protest, ritual resistance against mass media corporate commercialism. Visit http://www.thevacuumcleaner.co.uk/whirl.html, to view videos of the ritual resistance, known as “whirlmart”. Or take advertising into your own hands by exposing the greenwasher of your choice and wheatpaste an anti-propaganda poster over or near the companies original ad.2.Buy a bullhorn3.Participate in a protest. 4.If you can’t find one, organize one.Educate the public about the issue. Write letters to newspaper editors, participate in town hall meetings. Publicize the meetings to local papers. Pick a highly visible location or centralized shopping area.

Make a difference – dailyBuy compact fluorescent light bulbs. These energy saving light bulbs are standardized to fit in regular sockets, and not only do they last longer than incandescent bulbs, they can save $30 or more in energy costs over the bulbs lifetime.If every one of 110 million American households bought just one compact fluorescent light bulb, replaced an ordinary 60-watt bulb with it, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people. One bulb swapped out, enough electricity saved to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island. In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads. Read this article to learn more: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/108/open_lightbulbs.html

See “The Geoengineering Option” in Foreign Affairs V.88, No. 2

There is such a machine — it’s called the ‘plant.’