350.org Action Events 10/10/10

For those of you eager to take action, coming up in 2 1/2 weeks, on Oct. 10, the 350.org group has organized eco-work events in 160 countries. Check this site for locations and actions in the Bay Area. HERE

What "Sustainability" Means

In this week's Teach-Ins, we'll hear from a couple colleagues on their professional sustainable practices and look at some video clips that shed light on some creative Design, Corporate and Carbon Market approaches to lowering our industrial footprint.

First Teach-Ins: sparse but passionate crowd

The few who showed up for the first teach-ins seemed to be part of the "choir" but were open to hearing and exchanging ideas. In Oakland two specific issues arose: the possibility of forming an activist student group, and the apparent shortcomings of the recycling efforts on both campuses. In a lengthy email exchange with Deborah Feldman, head of Facilities, DH learned that the College and Facilities really do take recycling seriously and have gone to great efforts to facilitate and encourage the practice. But the shortcomings seem to be in the consciousness of our fellow students and faculty who just don't seem to "get it." So one of our challenges is to more directly inform and impact those immediately around us.

Mildred Howard signs on for Project Space

We're honored to have renown artist Mildred Howard participating as Lead Artist for the First Year Project Space in Oliver Gallery, Oct. 4-8. First Year classes will participate with visual mapping projects on the topic Diversity and the Environment. Mildred will consult with classes, host a panel discussion and curate an exhibition during the week.

Water Works Project: every Sat.+Sun. in Sept.

CCA faculty and environmental designer Lauren Elder will host workshops on re-thinking our uses of water. Every weekend in Sept., walking distance from CCA Oakland. For details check the Water Works blog. HERE What,where HERE

Welcome to the CCA EcoTAP Blog

We're a small group of concerned CCA faculty and students. We'd like to help raise awareness and activism around the environmental crisis and sustainable practices. We're pleased that the College will begin to feature a "stream" of classes (listed here) that emphasize ecology and sustainability. Some of these classes have been offered in different forms since the 1970s. Others have been added recently and more will be developed.

To draw attention to these classes and to the broader issues, we will be offering a series of five Eco "Teach-Ins" this fall. The schedule is posted in the right column. Topics will include: How Scary is it? What Sustainability Means. Our Uses of Technology. Diversity and the Environment. and Changing Practices.

To new students, Welcome to CCA. To the rest of the CCA community, Welcome back. Feel free to post comments or ask questions.

If you haven't taken the CCA EcoTAP Survey at SurveyMonkey, please do. You can click HERE

Science Friday features campus Eco-activities

This week, NPR's Science Friday radio program features Eco-activities on a variety of U.S. campuses. Ira Flatow, hosts. The show frequently features environmental issues. Their archives are updated Friday evenings, and podcasts can be heard HERE.

Linda Weintraub in the FATE Review 2008-9

(excerpts)...Denial is no longer an option....earth’s systems are being stressed and its resources are being depleted. Consider...the...demands for comforts and the...desires of privileged populations of human beings. Now compound these environmental burdens by adding exploding human populations seeking the same material advantages as their wealthier neighbors. While remedying these conditions is everybody’s business, art instructors can play a pivotal role in environmental reform. They prepare students who, as artists, assume the cultural roles of visionary, missionary, designer, problem-solver, moralist, communicator, and proselytizer....

Art instruction is ripe for topical and procedural change....Future job announcements for art educators may soon state, “Art instructors needed with the ability to conserve energy, knowledge of the environmental impact of a broad range of materials, and the skill to minimize waste and consumption.”

A century ago, art and physics joined to re-envision the physical environment in which space, matter, and time were no longer considered to be discrete entities. Cubism was the revolutionary product of this merger. Today’s artists confront a comparable challenge. Even elementary topics like line, shape, and pattern become arenas of exploration and discovery when they are viewed through the lens of ecology. This is because ecology defines every element of the physical environment as a component of a four-dimensional system of interdependent energy exchanges....

Within this unified world view, even minute alterations in one part of a system can influence the whole. As a result, no human act is inconsequential - including the creation of art. Ecological considerations expand art’s impact beyond the studio....Today, artists...need to monitor their artwork’s affect upon air, water, soils, plants, animals, and microbes.

FATE: Foundations in Art, Theory and Practice. From the essay, "Maximizing Art's Mark / Minimizing Art's Footprint." Posted by DH. More about Linda Weintraub HERE