So You Want To Be An Artist

Life is so busy right now that posting has succumbed to "a picture is worth a thousand words." Can you tell that from my last post? There's so many posts in my head that I would like to grab a cup of tea (or wine), sit by the fire and write and write for hours. That time will come, but not now.

Both my kids are artists. My daughter is a graphic designer and my son is a musician. When I saw this poster, I could not contain my hysterics.

My dad would have gotten a kick out of this. He was an artist too.

Are We Even On Your List Of Priorities?

I once had a lovely student named Annick who wrote a manual for grown-ups. It was mostly a colorful how-to book that stacked all the cards in the kids favor. Her book advocated for abolishing bedtimes, and not learning about dead presidents. I recall it was published around Election Day, and we were discussing the importance of voting for a president who would represent the needs of the people. I wrote this quote from JFK on the blackboard:

“Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.”

I said, “See, here’s a president who loved children.”

Another student raised his hand, “I think you need to read Annick’s book because most grown-ups don’t really listen to children.”

I was teaching second grade.

When I wrote about Severn Suzuki, the 9 year old who started the Environmental Children’s Organization (ECO), a small group of children committed to learning and teaching other children about environmental issues, it dawned on me that children are our most valuable resource and they deserve input on the fate of their future. ECO raised enough money to send Severn, then 12, to the UN’s Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. She proceeded to tell a global group of decision-makers how their actions, or inactions would ultimately affect children. Severn silenced the Summit when she asked:

“Are We Even On Your List Of Priorities?”

Let's find a way on this upcoming Election Day, to vote with our parental hearts and figure out this mess for our children: WATCH SEVERN SUZUKI HERE.

Photo: Ted Fink

Just Because You Can't See It...

Had to share this photo that's been circulating around Facebook. It makes me think of all the possible ways to say why we need to protect our planet.

"Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there."

Please pass this message on...

Library Filled With Creative Reuse, Charm and Children

library-before

The Old Market Library in Thailand was built by TYIN a non-profit organization that does humanitarian work through architecture. TYIN is run by five architect students from Norway. This project was financed by more than 60 Norwegian companies, as well as private contributions.

The library, built in a 100 year-old building was once an abandoned and dilapidated space. The roof and walls were in poor condition. Redesigned to encourage community interaction, TYIN used local and reclaimed materials.

Old Market Library By TYIN Tegnestue, Min Buri, Bangkok, Thailan

"For TYIN it is not only the building of a library that is important, but also that the efforts made will affect the bigger scale. Through the use of local, inexpensive materials we have tried to show that this is something the inhabitants of the community can do by their own initiative, using their own resources. The aim of the library project is to strengthen the passion in the neighborhood that eventually can contribute to a positive development in the area."

With many libraries slated to close in the US, maybe we can think outside the box and create similar community libraries. The Old Market Library is now a functional space filled with charm, creative reuse of materials, and children. LOVE...IT!

Photos: TYIN tegnestue via ArchDaily

Clean Air Design: 5 Cool Picks

Can clean air design change the world? Like most artists, designers create objects for our families that reflect social and environmental issues and trends. To solve a health and environmental problem such as air pollution, designers are doing their part in creating homes, clothing, cars and communities that address the crisis.

The Moms Clean Air Force has been chronicling the hazardous connection between where people live and the environmental factors that expose children to pollutants that cause significant health risks, such as lung disease, asthma, lead poisoning, cancer, reproductive impacts, birth defects, and even heart attacks. Air and water are the primary conveyances of pollutants and toxins, but exposure can also occur through contaminated soil during the fracking process.

“Good air quality is key to promoting respiratory health...The main sources of air pollution are area sources (dry cleaners, lawn mowers, etc.), mobile sources (cars, trucks, off-road equipment), and stationary sources (factories, power plants, etc.). These different sources produce different types of pollutants that can cause problems for respiratory health, cardiovascular health, and cancer treatment. Locating sensitive land uses in close proximity to polluting facilities or major roadways can raise health concerns for sensitive populations. Some pollutants tend to have a greater effect over an entire metropolitan area and others drop off fairly quickly away from the source.” ~ Design For Health

5 Clean Air Designs

1. Car Removes 95% of Ozone Toyota has developed a material that can remove 95% of unreacted ozone or ground-level air pollutants from the air when used in an ozone filter. What does this mean? The future car you drive could clean the air instead of polluting it. Read more about this at Inhabitat.

2. Breathing Walls Plants have the ability to do more than just bring a hint of nature into your home. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen during the photosynthetic process. Researchers found many common houseplants absorb benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, and other pollutants. Plants can improve indoor air quality. DIRTT Environmental Solutions created the Breathe Living Wall system for health and energy-savings. The wall lessens the load of ventilation systems, and introduces more healthful plants into living spaces. Read more about this at Top 10 Green Building Products.

3. Clean Air Communities Smart Growth designers and planners are designing communities that include plans for driving less. “With over nine million children in the U.S. suffering from asthma and millions more Americans who die each year due to high levels of air pollution, designing communities in ways that reduce traffic and encourage healthy options like walking and bicycling are crucial.” Read more about this at Smart Growth: Healthy Communities, Healthy People.

4. Buildings Eat Smog Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of America's energy use. Much of this energy comes from coal-fired plants and other dirty sources. Alcoa created EcoClean building panels with a titanium dioxide coating that interacts with sunlight and breaks down nitrogen oxide - the smog-causing compound. The process happens naturally when rain washes off a building. Alcoa claims that 10,000 square feet of coated aluminum would have the air-cleaning effects of 80 trees. Read more about this at Good.

5. Catalytic Clothes Purify Polluted Air OK, this one is my favorite. Catalytic Clothing has created a dress that can purify polluted air through a chemical reaction on the surface of the fabric. They claim the dress can reverse the environmental impact of air pollution!

“Exposure to airborne pollutants presents a risk to human health and also has a detrimental effect on ecosystems and vegetation…The widespread introduction of Catalytic Clothing would dramatically reduce the level of airborne pollutants, thereby improving the quality of life for all members of society.”

Check out this video featuring a model wearing an air purifying dress - background track by Radiohead. Read more about this at The Ecologist.

http://vimeo.com/24560187

Can “design thinking” imbue a wide spectrum of solutions to help in the air pollution crusade? You bet. Good clean air design can change the world! Want to join designers as they connect the dots between design, the environment and our health? The Moms Clean Air Force is an innovative community of parents devoted to finding creative solutions to keep our children breathing the clean air they deserve. Please help us design a future for our children free of pollution. Thank you!

Credit: Ben Scott