An Artistic Spin on Climate Science
By Sophia Kelley
Whether you are passionate about science or about art, New York Academy of Sciences was the place to be last night. As part of the first day of Climate Week NYC, Science & the City hosted a unique hybrid event about communicating the science of climate change through various artistic media. Paul Miller (aka DJ Spooky) kicked off the evening by talking about his own experiences in the Arctic regions of our planet and how he has translated them through recordings and visual images into art.
Photo Credit: Nadja Popovich/New York Academy of Sciences
Miller explained his belief that art and science are inseparable and demonstrated the power of their relationship by explaining the natural inspiration for his musical compositions, then performing the pieces live with a trio of string musicians. The music was written to explore ways of communicating the complexity of our planet such as investigating mathematical relationships that reflect the geometrical phenomena that can be found in nature when ice forms.
Exploring new ways to tell scientific stories was the theme of the evening even after the musicians took their bows and the panelists replaced them to answer questions from the crowd. Andrew Revkin from the New York Times blog, Dot Earth, moderated and panelists included EPA’s own climate expert, Irene Nielson and Gavin Schmidt, a climate modeler at NASA’s Goddard Institute.
The panel discussed new ideas for ways to translate scientific data into understandable and evocative imagery that could inspire action or policy. The idea to connect to the public’s emotional center seems powerful through all the artistic modes, but also, as Nielson mentioned, talking to your children and peers in your community is another fundamental starting point for encouraging solutions to our most daunting challenges.
Usually after heavy discussions regarding the fate of our planet and the dramatic changes that humans have caused, I leave feeling discouraged. But after last night and the hopeful dialogue coupled with the evocative and ethereal impact of DJ Spooky’s compositions, I felt lighter and somehow, almost optimistic. Maybe human creativity does hold a key to the solution. Feel free to share your thoughts, and definitely attend some of the Climate Week NYC events to find your own inspiration.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
What a great innovative way to add some entertainment to an event that would normally be very dry and dull. Now I’m not saying the climate change is not an important topic – on the contrary it’s extremely important – some might say critical to our collective survival. But by combining the delivery of the scientific data with entertainment the message will reach more ears. In order for our society to take meaningful steps to tackle climate change we need a groundswell of public opinion and the more people that hear the message the faster we can get to the tipping point of public opinion.
I’m a wedding DJ in Switzerland. To save the planet, I offer my customers (couples) that they contact me through Skype or email. A personal meeting I try to avoid. This way I don’t have to travel by car twice! Save’s gas and makes less pollution. I also use LED Lights for less power needed during the party.
Wow, if your goal succedes, my utmost respect. To save the planet’s climate we all need to chip in our efforts. For me, this means to live and do business locally! Even if everyone does just a tiny little bit, we can multiply our efforts by 7 billion people on the earth. Thus, even the individual has an effect on the climate!