Can Mormons Go Green?

I had a great opportunity last Thursday to be part of a panel discussing Mormonism and the Environmental movement. The show was an hour long and aired on KRCL's daily program, RadioActive, from 6-7pm here in Salt Lake City. The other panelists were George Handley, Rachel Maybe Whipple, and Peter Ashcroft. I loved hearing from the other panelists and thought that the questions presented by the host, Troy Williams, were relevant and timely. I hope you'll take the time to listen.

Here is KRCL's page on the show along with the option to listen to the entire program. Read more on "Can Mormons Go Green?"

Light Pollution of Bountiful Temple in National Geographic

This afternoon I was in Urgent Care, which as it turns out is anything but urgent. It wasn't for me, but for my wife who injured her ankle on one of our staircases at home. She was carrying the baby when she fell, and fortunately there were no serious injuries. While passing the many hours of waiting, I happened upon the November 2008 issue of National Geographic magazine. The feature article is entitled "Our Vanishing Night" and discusses light pollution throughout the country. I really enjoyed the article and highly recommend it. I was shocked when I got to page 120-121 to see a full two-page image of the Bountiful Utah Temple.

Long-time followers of this blog - both of you - will recall that I did a post on light pollution a year ago where I talked about how the poorly designed lighting of the Temples was adding to the light pollution of our cities. And the image used was of the Bountiful Utah Temple. So out of all the buildings in the country to single out, the National Geographic chose an LDS building for this article. And out of all the LDS buildings in the country, they chose the same building I used to speak about light pollution last year. Even more remarkable is I don't think the Bountiful Temple is any more of a light-polluter than other LDS Temples - I simply chose it as representative of all the others, and because I found such a great image of it. (As a side note, I like the image used in my original post more than the one used in the National Geographic. I think it does a better job capturing the excess light from the Temple.)

So is it even possible that this is just a random coincidence? In my weird little mind, I'd like to think I had something to do with this appearing in the National Geographic. But that, of course, would mean they saw my blog...I'll probably never know, but I can always hope, right? So on to the important stuff:

There were a surprisingly-high four beautiful images representing Utah in the article. It seems excessive, since Utah is not any worse a light-polluter than other states, but at least one of the images showed a beautiful example of no light pollution, while the remaining three showed examples of excessive light pollution.

Here are the four images included from the magazine with the captions below:


Photograph by Jim Richardson
"'Let thy glorious light ever shine upon it,' beseeched the 1995 dedicatory prayer for the Mormon temple in Bountiful, Utah. Plenty of earthly light bathes the granite structure, its brilliance exaggerated by a long photo exposure."



Photograph by Jim Richardson
"As if admiring a sunset, Balanced Rock in Arches National Park, Utah, basks in the glow of the town of Moab—with about 5,000 residents—less than ten miles away."



Photograph by Jim Richardson
"The electric blush of Salt Lake City, more than a hundred miles away, brushes the horizon over Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats."


And finally the positive one, showing us the goal of what we can return to. In my opinion, we shouldn't have to go to a National Park to see this kind of spectacular sky.


Photograph by Jim Richardson
"A starry night gleams above Owachomo Bridge in Utah's Natural Bridges National Monument—named the first Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). 'Here you see something forgotten,' says ranger Scott Ryan, 'and reconnect with the sky.'"

One of my favorite quotes from the article states, "Of all the pollutions we face, light pollution is perhaps the most easily remedied."
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2008 Political Party Platforms - Environment

With the political conventions now completed, I decided to take a break from learning about how Sarah Palin did during her first interview and begin looking at the real issues surrounding this election. The new party platforms are now online and show what each party intends to do with their terms of power. It is refreshing to see both major parties showing concern for how we treat the planet, regardless of political persuasion. These quotes obviously represent selections from the various documents:

Republican
“Republicans caution against the doomsday climate change scenarios peddled by the aficionados of centralized command-and-control government. We can – and should– address the risk of climate change based on sound science without succumbing to the no-growth radicalism that treats climate questions as dogma rather than as situations to be managed responsibly.”

Democrat
“Global climate change is the planet’s greatest threat, and our response will determine the very future of life on this earth.”
“We will lead to defeat the epochal, man-made threat to the planet: climate change. Without dramatic changes, rising sea levels will flood coastal regions around the world. Warmer temperatures and declining rainfall will reduce crop yields, increasing conflict, famine, disease, and poverty. By 2050, famine could displace more than 250 million people worldwide.”


Republican
“Because the issue of climate change is global, it must become a truly global concern as well. All developed and developing economies, particularly India and China, can make significant contributions in dealing with the matter. It would be unrealistic and counterproductive to expect the U.S. to carry burdens which are more appropriately shared by all.”

Democrat
“We will reach out to the leaders of the biggest carbon emitting nations and ask them to join a New Global Energy Forum that will lay the foundation for the next generation of climate protocols. China has replaced America as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Clean energy development must be a central focus in our relationships with major countries in Europe and Asia. We need a global response to climate change that includes binding and enforceable commitments to reducing emissions, especially for those that pollute the most: the United States, China, India, the European Union, and Russia.”


Republican
“Government at all levels should protect private property rights by cooperating with landowners’ efforts and providing incentives to protect fragile environments, endangered species, and maintain the natural beauty of America. Republican leadership has led to the rejuvenation and renewal of our National Park system. Future expansion of that system, as well as designation of National Wilderness areas or Historic Districts, should be undertaken only with the active participation and consent of relevant state and local governments and private property owners.”

Democrat
“We will create a new vision for conservation that works with local communities to conserve our existing publicly-owned lands while dramatically expanding investments in conserving and restoring forests, grasslands, and wetlands across America for generations to come…We will treat our national parks with the same respect that millions of families show each year when they visit. We will recognize that our parks are national treasures, and will ensure that they are protected as part of the overall natural system so they are here for generations to come.”


Republican
“…the United States should take measured and reasonable steps today to reduce any impact on the environment. Those steps, if consistent with our global competitiveness will also be good for our national security, our energy independence, and our economy. Any policies should be global in nature, based on sound science and technology, and should not harm the economy.”

Democrat
“Never again will we sit on the sidelines, or stand in the way of collective action to tackle this global challenge. Getting our own house in order is only a first step. We will invest in efficient and clean technologies at home while using our assistance policies and export promotions to help developing countries preserve bio diversity, curb deforestation, and leapfrog the carbon-energy-intensive stage of development.”


Republican
“As part of a global climate change strategy, Republicans support technology-driven, market-based solutions that will decrease emissions, reduce excess greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, increase energy efficiency, mitigate the impact of climate change where it occurs, and maximize any ancillary benefits climate change might offer for the economy.”
“Because Republicans believe that solutions to the risk of global climate change will be found in the ingenuity of the American people, we propose a Climate Prize for scientists who solve the challenges of climate change. Honoraria of many millions of dollars would be a small price for technological developments that eliminate our need for gas-powered cars or abate atmospheric carbon.”

Democrat
“This challenge is massive, but rising to it will also bring new benefits to America. By 2050, global demand for low-carbon energy could create an annual market worth $500 billion. Meeting that demand would open new frontiers for American entrepreneurs and workers.”
“We will implement a market-based cap and trade system to reduce carbon emissions by the amount scientists say is necessary to avoid catastrophic change and we will set interim targets along the way to ensure that we meet our goal. We will invest in advanced energy technologies, to build the clean energy economy and create millions of new, good ‘Green Collar’ American jobs. Because the environment is a truly global concern, the United States must be a leader in combating climate change around the world, including exporting climate-friendly technologies to developing countries. We will use innovative measures to dramatically improve the energy efficiency of buildings, including establishing a grant program for early adopters and providing incentives for energy conservation. We will encourage local initiatives, sustainable communities, personal responsibility, and environmental stewardship and education nationwide.”

So there you have it. Both appeal to science and to energy independence. Both see possibilities to improve the economy through the environment. Both speak of the need to act in the face of climate change. I think in 20 or 50 years, we will look back, and see that these environmental issues we are dealing with now were even more important than we now realize. Many of the other issues that seem so important will fade away with time, but how we deal with the finite resources this planet has given us will end up determining much of what our future has in store for us.

To end on a side note, I found it amusing that both Republicans and Democrats mentioned hunting and fishing in their party platforms (Rep twice; Dem once), especially in context of preserving the environment. It’s as though they are saying, “As stewards of the earth, we will protect the environment for our children and for our future…and also so we can continue to hunt down and kill animals for sport…”
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Three Reasons Population Control Doesn’t Help the Environment

My wife and I had a baby boy several weeks ago – our fifth – so I have been pondering and meaning to write this post for some time. Apparently some environmentalists favor having no children or using sterilization as a method to lower the earth’s population. Additionally, some governments have mandates in place to control the number of children each couple has. As a father of a large family I am not advocating for people to have large families. Nor am I an advocate for not having any children. I believe that the most appropriate response is what has been given by LDS Church leaders – it is up to you. “The decision as to how many children to have and when to have them is extremely intimate and private and should be left between the couple and the Lord. Church members should not judge one another in this matter.” (1998 Church Handbook of Instructions) What I will address is the lack of correlation between the number of people on the planet and how eco-friendly we are. Unlike Paul Simon, I do not agree that “the planet groans every time it registers another birth.” (Born at the Right Time) So here are my reasons for believing population control doesn’t help the environment:


1) Fewer people don’t equal greater stewardship. Even if there were only one person on the earth, that doesn’t automatically make mankind environmentally conscious. As early as Cain, “all the forests of the earth rapidly disappeared, while that hero wandered through the earth with his bow for 130 years, looking for anything to kill—‘a human angel of death.’” (Nibley, Man’s Dominion, or Subduing the Earth) A single person could travel the world cutting every tree down, or killing every animal they see.

“If large parts of our country are polluted, it is not because we are too numerous, but because we pollute. The way to stop that disgrace is not to stop having children, but to start cleaning up. The growth of the GNP, sometimes now referred to as gross national pollution, gives us the resources for the job.” (Henry Wallich H. C. Wallich, Newsweek, June 29, 1970) This quote was found in an Ensign article by Philip F. Low from May 1971 titled, “Realities of the Population Explosion.”


2) It is impossible to determine how many people the Earth can sustain because social organization and technology continue to affect the number of people an area can sustain. The change from hunter/gatherer to farmer to city dweller to suburban life has changed the density of living. This will continue to change over time. Next on the horizon are potentially vertical farms in a single skyscraper that can feed an entire city. With technology and social arrangements changing every generation, how can anyone possibly say a specific maximum number that the earth can sustain?

Where people tend to get hung up is projecting our current levels of consumption, pollution, and sprawling cities into the future. What is involved is rethinking what it means to live in a city, how large our cities should be, the role of nature in our cities, how much we consume, where and how we use our energy, what types of fuel sources we have, living locally, and growing our own food, etc. It is a lack of knowledge, a lack of faith, a lack of dependence on God, and a lack of understanding why we are here. If fewer people are better for the planet, then natural disasters, disease, famine, and plagues are ultimately good things since they rid the planet of excess people.


3) Having children is the most human and natural thing we do here. “The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World) This doesn’t say anything about the number of children, but does say that it is human and natural for us to have children. “It takes faith – unseeing faith – for young people to proceed immediately with their family responsibilities in the face of financial uncertainties.” (Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle) Fertility rates in developed countries are already at the lowest they have ever been in the history of the world.

If the planet has too many people, then ‘replacing yourself’ doesn’t solve the problem of over population. Actor Jason Alexander (George on Seinfeld) is promoting this. He says, “This planet was never intended to support the number of human beings we currently have residing on it…So our family talks about responsibility in family planning. We talk about replacing ourselves on this globe, rather than doubling or tripling our numbers.” That is fine if he chooses this for his family. I have no problem with that. But he is advocating for far less people on the planet than we currently have, and the solution he states is for us to replace ourselves only. But this does not get us to the goal of far less people on the planet. He continues by stating, “We will never be able to really get control of the destruction of our planet's valuable resources until we realize that we have an enormous responsibility and obligation to control the size of the human population.” So even though there already exists far more people than the earth can sustain, in his opinion, all we need to do is get control of the human population, and everything will be fine. What is clear to me is that the number of people is not most critical to control, but the over-consuming, irresponsible, polluting lifestyle that is most critical to control.


People are the solution
Barring epic destruction, we cannot lower the earth’s population. Replacing ourselves or only having one child per family will not solve any problems, but create additional problems. I choose to have children, and do not feel guilt or feel that I am being irresponsible or increasing my carbon footprint in this regard. One error of the popular carbon footprint calculators is that they assume a high number for a large family. This may be true, but doesn’t have to be. In fact, in many cases larger families are more frugal and responsible out of necessity. It is as difficult for a family of six to be carbon neutral as it is for a family of one. There doesn’t need to be any extra burden on society. Education and environmental responsibility is the key. A sheer large number of people doesn’t equal irresponsible anymore than a small number equals responsible. If each individual is independently carbon neutral, then all of humanity is also – no matter what the number of that population is. Moving away from finite resources such as oil and towards infinite and renewable resources, such as solar, hydrogen, and electricity will ensure a bright future for all.

Looking at people as part of the solution gives us hope and a positive outlook on the future. “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world…” (Ether 12:4) Good things happen when we think optimistically. Interestingly, those who choose not to have children, which tend to be the wealthy and educated, are naturally selecting themselves to extinction. As such, the poor and uneducated are increasing rapidly. As an educated and not low-income family, I feel it is my responsibility to be a part of the solution by bringing intelligent, thinking humans to the earth who will make a positive difference in the future of this planet.


How are people the solution?
The solution to all of this is for the poor to be exalted and the rich to be made low. The creation was given to us as an “earthly blessing,” a portion to provide the necessities of life. “I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine. And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine. But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low. For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare…” (see D&C 104: 11-18)

Regardless of how many people are on the earth, there will always be enough and to spare as long as the rich are made low in attempting to exalt the poor with the necessities of life. Those whose portion is in abundance, for the sake of the creation and all living on it, must give to those who do not have a portion in order to preserve the earth. If we don’t do this “in [God’s] own way,” then we will lose the blessing of an earth full of life with enough for all and to spare. God’s own way is to limit the sin of overconsumption in order to protect and preserve His creation as well as provide for all His children. Everyone will have enough if there is social equality and we all share what is here. This is what governments and religions should be promoting, rather than worrying about the number of children someone has. The warning for not sharing our abundance with the poor is clear. “If any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.” (vs. 18)


In conclusion, the number of children you have has little to do with how environmentally conscious you are. Whether you have a small or a large family is a personal decision and matters little in the grand scheme of things. Overconsumption, not overpopulation is the real problem. If you want to be more eco-friendly and lower your carbon footprint in a real and meaningful way, the best move you can make is to give to the poor. This is the Lord’s plan for reducing, reusing, and recycling.
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Hugh Nibley: Environmentalist

Hugh Nibley is one of the most prominent and outspoken environmentalists the Church has ever seen. I find it ironic that someone with a Temple blog dedicated to him is so against the environment. I enjoy the Temple blog, but unfortunately his recent post has left a bad taste in my mouth.

I was out of town this weekend meeting with several leaders in the LDS Church physical facilities department discussing, among other things, the future of Church facilities and sustainability and how the Church desires to be more green. Imagine my shock when I get home and read on a major LDS blog (supposedly faith-promoting) how environmentalists are worldly, sterilizing, fascist dictators; that the choice is between the Lord or the Environment; and that this is the true separation of the wheat from the tares. Unfortunately this sounds like someone who has been listening to talk radio too much. It’s funny how the only type of environmentalist that exists in his post is a generalized extremist or whacko. You won’t see me using those same tactics by trying to group him into an abortion-clinic-bombing fanatic, but that is the tactic being used by grouping anyone who is concerned about the environment into a fanatic. What an unfortunate, mean-spirited, divisive post. If anything, posts like this and talk radio in general are creating the wedge that is dividing Zion. Most religious groups in the world, including Latter-day Saints, have a strong environmental ethic. Furthermore, many consider our pollution and poor treatment of the earth a moral issue.

So on to the topic at hand: Hugh Nibley. I have listed quotes from the Millenial Star post with adjacent quotes from Hugh Nibley:

HAYMOND: “The Adversary’s environmentalism plan is plotted squarely against God’s plan of salvation.”

NIBLEY: “...we have Brigham's reply, ‘This is our home.’ ‘This earth is the home he has prepared for us, and we are to prepare ourselves and our habitations for the celestial glory in store for the faithful.’ ‘This is the habitation of the Saints; this is the earth that will be given to the Saints.’ Again we have the support of the ancients. The earth, says Aristotle, was made to be a home for man, permanently, and for that he must achieve a stable balance with nature, harmonious and pleasant to all. Cicero echoes this sentiment when he says that the earth is a fit home for both gods and men, and man has his part to play in taking good care of the garden. This must be a stable, eternal order with man at the top of the animal scale, held most responsible if things go wrong. Notice that all these references are to one's local home as well as earthly habitation."


HAYMOND: "Having a stewardship of the earth does not mean that we give up our freedom, our life, liberty, property, and family (Alma 46:12-13). Such an overarching and overzealous concern for the Earth is worldly, most literally, and is the religion of environmentalism rather than the religion of God.”

NIBLEY: "Where do you move when pollution is universal? Now the dispute takes on a wholly new direction. It is a new ball game. Heretofore we have always heard that air is free, and it is a free country, and business cashed in on the boundless ocean, as a free dumping ground for industrial garbage."

"Brother Brigham states the problem in terms of a flat-out contest between the most vital necessity of life and pure greed, a principle as old as the human record, rooted in a fundamental fact of nature: ‘The world is after riches. Riches is the god they worship. . . .’"


HAYMOND: “It would not surprise me if the oil debacle is being artificially created by those in power positions who are worshiping the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 6:12) and want to force us to drive less, use cleaner forms of fuel, and to minimize air pollution to 'save our planet.' I have heard estimates that the world’s oil reserves are enough to serve all energy needs for decades, yet we are seeing today the effects of shortages in supply. Why? Are we really that blind to see this socialist scheme?”

NIBLEY: “The contribution of such combustion centers to acid rain, greenhouse effect, and damaged ozone is irreversible. Here an entire issue of the National Geographic (December 1988) asks on the cover, ‘Can Man Save this Fragile Earth?’ We have long known that there is something wrong, if only by the duck test: if it looks bad, tastes bad, smells bad, and sounds bad in duplicitous argument, then it must be bad.”

“There is no more ancient, pervasive, or persistent tradition than that of the adversary, the Prince of Darkness, most often and most widely described as the lord of the underworld. For the classical writers, Spain was his kingdom, with its blighted regions of mines, smelters, and foundries—all worked by starving, filthy, driven slaves, converting the landscape into barren wastes of slag and stunted vegetation.”

“I could be accused of being prejudiced and extremist, but I would not have taken my position at all if I was not forced into it by the bristling headlines that have suddenly emerged on every side; and the issue never would have reached the covers and front pages of staid conservative journals had it not been thrust upon them by the crushing accumulation of evidence sounding alarm in all quarters. I was brought up in an alarmist atmosphere first by my grandparents, then by the Axis Powers, and now by a sea of frightening statistics; but especially the scriptures kept me thinking. After hearing Jack Anderson this morning, I feel that if anything, I am much too complacent.”


HAYMOND: “Our exceedingly environmentally sensitive society has bought into the campaign that our human ‘species’ is destroying the Earth, and that we are in imminent danger of disaster. I believe WALL-E is another card in the deck of fear-mongering tactics employed by our common Enemy to get power, money, control, oppress mankind with false ‘prophets,’ and reign with blood and horror prior to the return of the Savior.”

NIBLEY: “an early Christian tradition that the evil spirits which constantly seek to defile and corrupt human society ‘move about in thick polluted air,’ as a most fitting environment for their work. In a passage from a famous Hermetic work, the Koreø Kosmu (excerpt 23), the Air complains to the Creator, ‘O Master, I myself am made thick and polluted, and by the stench of dead things from the dump I reek to heaven, so that I breed sickness, and have ceased to be wholesome; and when I look down from above I see things which are too awful to behold.’”

“I do not worry very much about Geneva anymore; it is only a small fumarole at the base of a mighty volcano which is now shuddering and groaning ominously. Brother Anderson said that he hears the great waterfall roaring just ahead. So let us both end with the Book of Mormon:

'For behold, ye do love money. . . . O ye pollutions, . . . who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? . . . Why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans, . . . and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord . . . for vengeance upon your heads? Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer.' (Mormon 8:37–41).”


In conclusion, contrary to what talk radio and others may try to tell you, the environment is not a political issue, it is a human issue. We are all on this planet together and we need to take care of it and we aren’t doing such a good job. Incentives and restrictions help us to do this better. It has nothing to do with socialism or fascism or sterilization, but has everything to do with being better stewards.


*Nibley quotes taken from the essay ‘Stewardship of the Air’. (There is also a link to this and many other such essays on the sidebar.)
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Highlighted Environmental Artist: Daniel McCormick

The Watershed: An Ecological Installation, Sleepy Hollow Creek, San Anselmo, California, 2002 (photo: Mary O'Brien) (source)

Daniel McCormick creates Healing Sculptures using natural materials to help control erosion and restore ecosystems and watersheds. Using art to heal and restore damaged environments is an amazingly beautiful concept. Rather than being an object of reflection or worship, the artwork points towards the grandest ‘art installation’ of all – the Earth, and acts as a catalyst for bringing life back to the Creation. This is truly selfless art, the life of the artwork breaking down and returning to the earth, in order to bring new life to an ecosystem. While I have not seen any of these installations in person, these images portray the exact balance of beauty, sensitivity and materiality that so many of our abused ecosystems need.


Site plan of art installation in agricultural area with a salmon spawning creek (source)

“My approach to creating ecological art relies on the interplay of restoration science and the creative process… It consists of large-scale sculptural forms that lend assistance in the restoration of watershed ecosystems. These sculptures function effectively as silt traps and erosion control devices. They are designed and sized to fit the curves of stream banks and gullies…The ultimate goal is to transform these sculptures into a sustainable component of the watershed, in order to reestablish vegetation and prevent further erosion.” (Daniel McCormick)

“I have received a lot of inquiries about how people can view my finished work. This is often tricky, since my intention is that the art eventually disappear into the land leaving thriving vegetation to stabilize the creek banks.” (Daniel McCormick)


Watershed sculpture in Corte Madera Creek watershed at low water, Fairfax, California, summer 2004. (source)


Watershed sculpture in Corte Madera Creek watershed one year later, during the winter floods, 2005. (source)

“I want my sculptures to have a part in influencing the ecological balance of compromised environments. I am compelled by the idea of using sculpture in a way that will allow the damaged areas of the watershed to reestablish itself. As it has evolved, my art has become focused on strategically congregating sculptural components made from riparian materials back into the watershed system. They are intended to give advantage to the natural system, and after a period of time, as the restoration process is established, the artist's presence shall no longer be felt.” (Daniel McCormick)


Silt Trap Basket (source)

“The sculptures are constructed of material taken directly from the watershed—trimmings from trees and brush. Once constructed and placed in damaged gullies and stream banks, the sculptures act as silt traps that collect the eroded soil and debris from pasturelands. The traps are filled with more riparian material—cuttings from nearby willows—which help to filter the silt and allow cleaner flows downstream. (If left to flow into the stream during the winter rains, this silt would suffocate the eggs of spawning salmon and steelhead.) The sculptures eventually breakdown leaving the newly established willow to stabilize the stream bank, and begin the stream restoration process. The ability of the native willow to re-root and establish itself with just the slightest bit of encouragement, sets the stage for the next phase of my work. I intend for the sculpture to disappear completely leaving a succession of native erosion-controlling growth to take hold. The intent is to make adjustments in the watershed so as to return a degree of equilibrium to the stream system.” (Daniel McCormick)


Flood Plane Wall - A curving wall woven of native Willow, California Sycamore, Alder and Cottonwood. Living Willow and Cottonwood saplings were woven into the wall, and will reinforce the recovery action. (source)
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Evangelicals and the Environment

According to a Reuters news report, there has been a "15 percentage point drop in the alliance of white evangelicals aged 18 to 29 with the Republican Party over the past two years. ‘This group is going to be definitely worth watching,’ said Dan Cox, a Pew research associate and author of the report. ‘If anything, they're becoming more independent in their outlook.’ Most favor stricter laws to protect the environment, for example, an issue not typically associated with Republican platforms, yet remain conservative on issues like opposition to abortion and support for the death penalty."


(Image from http://timmyroland.blogspot.com/)

Two weeks ago, five hundred of these evangelicals, many with "tattoos, scruffy facial hair, and flip flops" gathered for a conference entitled ‘Envision: the Gospel, Politics and the Future’ at Princeton, NJ, organized by a broad coalition of faith-based and academic institutions. A unique aspect of the conference were ‘Learning Tracks’ which allowed attendees to choose one of 20 topics for the entire conference. Through four 90-minute sessions, these Learning Tracks provided a chance to take on a focused course of study in an area of interest, under a leading expert in the field. The three tracks that caught my attention were:

-Caring for the Earth - See what we all can do to care for creation and address climate change and other environmental problems (by Alexei Lauschkin, who is a program assistant at the Evangelical Environmental Network)

-Beyond Consumerism - Discover how faith can help us live simply out of care for our neighbor and the earth (by Ron Sider)

-Arts for Transformation - Explore how faith and arts can be a way to inspire and lead social transformation and learn how to create such art (by Bruce Herman & Lara Scott)

Out of this dialogue came the ‘Envision Declaration,’ which was created from reports and conversations at the three-day conference. Highlights of this declaration include:

"Envision offers new voices in the public square to address the complexities that confront the United States and the world. We are racially and ethnically diverse activists, clergy, lay persons, students, and scholars who are deeply informed by a faith that compels us to participate in God’s work to eradicate poverty, create peace, and build just communities and right relationships with the earth."

"In recent times, some have used Christianity to divide us from one another and demonize others. They have placed Christianity on the side of the powerful against the powerless. Envision inaugurates a new relation between our faith and our politics. In a spirit of humility and hospitality, we seek to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God and each other."

"We acknowledge that we do not agree on all things. We acknowledge that we do not have all the answers, but we will seek them together. In the midst of our differences we are committed to remain together at the table that God sets for us and not demonize each other, but talk, reason, and work together for a brighter and better future."

I agree with all that they said and decided to add my name by signing the Declaration.
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Hydroponics, Urban Farming and LED Lighting

You know how you learn a new word and then all of a sudden you see it everywhere? I learned the term ‘locavore’ last week from a post on Latter-day Sustainability. And now I’m seeing it everywhere. Above is an image from an unusual, but fantastic, competition entry idea for creating an urban farm. ‘The Locavore Fantasia’ by the architect WORK AC is an apartment building topped with a working farm.

"We thought we’d bring the farm back to the city and stretch it vertically," says Work AC co-principal Dan Wood. "We are interested in urban farming and the notion of trying to make our cities more sustainable by cutting the miles [food travels]," adds his co-principal (and wife) Amale Andraos. The design would have different crops on each floor while four large water tanks would collect rainwater for irrigation. Crops would face south towards the sun.

VERTICAL FARM advantages:
-Ability to feed 50,000 people from one building
-Save significantly on transportation costs
-Stimulate economy by providing local jobs
-Build a stronger community
-Reduce rural agricultural land use
-Allow the return of farmland to forestland

The most published vertical farm design can be seen below. Interestingly, this has erroneously been reported all over the web as a building that is being developed in Las Vegas. However, the originator of the building is not aware of this, and is unsure how the false rumor was started. Still, it remains a great concept for urban food production.


Image from Chris Jacobs blog


Image from NY Magazine


Hydroponics
With the possibility of indoor farming, we can look to hydroponics rather than using soil-based methods.

HYDROPONIC advantages:
-Provides constant temperature and light to maximize crop yield
-Extended growth seasons
-Minimizes use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, improving the health of people and ecosystems
-Water is used efficiently
-The most environmentally friendly method of growing plants
-Cheaper and more efficient than soil gardening
-Removes risk of erosion and allows land to return to natural state
-Eliminates most bacteria, pathogens, protozoa, and plant nematodes improving the health of the plants
-Automatic watering and feeding
-Simple weed control
-Eliminates intricate soil-management strategies and guesswork
-Provides a balanced formula of nutrients made for the purpose of optimizing plant growth


Agro Housing by Knafo Klimor Architects
Winner of 2nd International Competition for Sustainable Housing (China 2007)
Chinese apartment tower utilizing hydroponic gardens at each unit


Agro Housing by Knafo Klimor Architects
Winner of 2nd International Competition for Sustainable Housing (China 2007)
Chinese apartment tower utilizing hydroponic gardens at each unit

"Specialty crops such as tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and hot peppers, which cannot be grown conventionally all year long, are being grown hydroponically year ‘round. These vegetables that were previously scarce in winter are now plentiful. Since hydroponically grown vegetables can be continuously harvested, even regions that have harsh winters or short growing seasons can grow these specialty crops." (Source)


Lettuce growing Aeroponically

The most rapidly evolving type of hydroponic system is the ‘Nutrient Film Technique’ where a thin film of nutrient solution flows through a plastic-lined channel containing the plant roots. This system has the advantage of a using a significantly reduced volume of nutrient solution.


Strawberries growing in ‘Polygal hanging bed-pack’ troughs suspended at a height of 1.8 m above the ground level


LED Lighting
With the possibility of indoor farming, we can also look to LED lighting as an energy efficient light source.


Arclinea Indoor Greenhouse
Arclinea's innovation, based on technology developed by NASA, incorporates a specialized LED lighting system that mimics the movement of the sun from rise to set, allowing small herbs to grow indoors in the dead of winter.

LED advantages:
-Allows efficient indoor gardening - even in the kitchen
-Safe to use
-Low voltage
-10 to 12 year bulb life
-Operate 24/7 all year long
-No mercury, glass, or UV
-No ballast or reflector - light goes straight to the plant
-Produces only 25% visible light - minimum heat and glare
-Eliminates wasted light and heat

Good testing site for LED lighting and indoor gardening


LED Grow Master Global

(Primary source for much of the research taken from http://www.verticalfarm.com/plans-2k4.htm)

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Temples on the Edge

Las Vegas Nevada Temple

Many LDS Temples have, and are currently, being built at the outer perimeter of cities, literally at the edge where urban and rural meet. In fact over half of the current Temples in the US exist at this edge of development (35 out of 66). One third of Temples in the US are squarely in the suburbs (22 out of 66), while just nine in the US exist at or near the city center. Almost all of these edge Temples have been built since 1998 with new Temple sites continuing to be chosen at the edges of development. While the idea to bring the Temples to the people is a good one, the placement of Temples at the edge is not the best solution for providing Temple opportunities to all people in a given Temple district. The following are reasons in support of placing a Temple at the center of a city, town, or metro area.


Las Vegas Nevada Aerial (red dot is Temple)

1. Decreases travel. Where the Temple is at an extreme edge of the city, people on the other side of a given city have to travel across the entire metro area. If the Temple were at the center, travel would be evenly distributed for all wishing to attend, including patrons and workers.

2. People without a car can’t attend most LDS Temples in the US. With locations of Temples at the edge, there are limited transit options other than the automobile. At the city centers, the transit options are maximized for rich and poor alike, providing the best and the most frequent transit alternatives for any given city. I am reminded of one of my favorite movies, New York Doll, which showed Arthur ‘Killer’ Kane, a volunteer in the Family History Library at the Los Angeles Temple, heading there on a city bus. Most of our Temples are not along frequent bus lines that would make such a trip feasible. A Temple at the center would allow equal opportunity for all to attend; especially lower income families and students. For instance, here in Portland it is impossible to travel to the Temple, which is located in a residential suburb, using public transit.

3. Discourages sprawl. There are many problems and issues with developing land on the edge. Adding infrastructure, adding new utility lines, clearing the land, adding roads, impact fees, zoning problems, height restrictions, neighbors who don’t want lots of traffic, bright lights, or a large building next to their home. This would not be a problem in city centers. The infrastructure is already in place and there are plenty of infill sites in every city rather than developing virgin land. These Brownfield sites are everywhere and can be used to help maximize the use of underdeveloped land. Often there are even incentives and significant city support for developing such sites, meaning they will do everything to help the project move forward and be a success.


Sacramento California Temple


Sacramento California Aerial (red dot is Temple)

4. Supports the pattern established in the Plat for the City of Zion where Temples are located at the center. In the Old Testament we read that the Lord "…will set [His] sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore…And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore." (Ezekiel 37:26,28) The word midst means "the interior or central part or point: MIDDLE." Even in Jerusalem, the Temple was able to exist in the profane city, being in, but not of the world, through a series of thresholds separating the two spheres of existence.

5. Less land needed. A smaller lot size can be purchased in the center helping to offset the higher land costs of building in the city. Building at the edge offers the allurement of cheap land, but there are other costs. Out on the edge you need an enormous landscape of parking for vehicles since there will be very few other options to travel to the Temple. At the center of the city, you may not need parking at all, ideally being able to rely on an adjacent parking garage.

6. More people in the community will see and visit the Temple. This will allow the Temple to have a greater influence on the community as well as fostering a more open relationship with people in the community. The act of putting a Temple at the center of the community shows them our desire to integrate, contribute, and be involved, rather than remain isolated at the perimeter. The closer to the city center, the more likely it will be used and recognized as an asset to the community. People would respond more favorably if we were seen as one of them. Our role would move from a fringe group on the outside of society and culture to one of acceptance, understanding, and tolerance right at the heart of the action. Just as no one will respond to the message of the Gospel until they know you care and are a friend, people need to see our Temples as a friend to them in the community. When more people can see and touch and feel our Temples, even if only from the outside, the presence of it in the city will help them open up more to us.


Redlands California Temple Aerial (red area is Temple)

These concepts will help fulfill President Hinckley’s goal of bringing the Temples to the people. After the bulk of his Temple-building had been completed, Hinckley stated, "…we are not satisfied. We will keep on working to bring the temples to the people, making it more convenient for Latter-day Saints everywhere to receive the blessings which can only be had in these holy houses." (The Work Goes On Apr 2001 Gen Conf) Placing the Temples at the center rather than the edge will help make the Temples of the Church more accessible for all and readily available to the people, as well as being better for the environment and increasing our presence in the communities in which we live.


Albuquerque New Mexico Temple


Albuquerque New Mexico Aerial (red area is Temple)


Albuquerque New Mexico Aerial (red dot is Temple)

Amazing Sites used to gather data for this post:
LDS Church Temples
Live Search Maps
Google Transit



"Well, I'd say the Church has gone as far as it can in putting temples closer to the Saints."
Kent Christensen in Sunstone Issue 97 Dec 1994
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The Pollution Market: Capping and Trading Emissions

As a follow-up to my last post in which I mentioned the need for laws limiting environmental destruction, I have finally learned about this ‘cap and trade’ issue I keep hearing about. I wasn’t exactly sure what people were talking about, so here’s the low down. The cap part is a government-mandated restriction on emissions. The trade part provides a profit incentive by creating a new commodities market. A power plant that cuts its pollution more than required could sell the extra allowances to plants that could not cut emissions enough. While it may sound counter-intuitive to be able to buy pollution on the free market, this system allows us to reach environmental goals with the support of business.

The 1977 Clean Air Act had a ‘command and control’ approach, offering a one-size-fits-all solution that didn’t solve the problem of emissions control. By the late 80’s, Environmental Defense Fund president Fred Krupp proposed the first emissions cap and trading system which was written into the Clean Air Act of 1990 to help curb acid rain from sulfur dioxide emissions. The law required a 50% cut in sulfur dioxide emissions to help bring rivers and lakes back to life. It set a permanent upper cap on emissions and split up the quantity of pollution among the power plants. "But it was the second part of the law – the emissions-trading system – that completely transformed the paradigm that had historically pitted environmentalism against economic growth." (*page 5-6)

Two months later PG&E CEO Richard Clark said, "…now that there’s a way to make money from cutting pollution, I have a dozen proposals for emissions reductions from my own employees on the shop floor, and a dozen more from outside consultants. The environment isn’t just a money loser – it’s a profit center." (*page 6) "Within five years, U.S. utilities cut emissions 30 percent more than the law required, even while increasing electric generation from coal by 6.8 percent and reducing retail electricity prices." (*page 7) This type of innovation allows the cap, over time, to be lowered in order to reduce overall emissions, which is the goal in all of this.

With such results from sulfur dioxide, this same type of system can and should be applied to carbon dioxide emissions as well. Venture capitalist John Doerr said, "Every single day, we dump 70 million tons of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere like it’s an open sewer, like it’s entirely free to do that. It’s really hard to change consumer behavior when consumers don’t know how much their behavior costs." (*page 8)

*From the book ‘Earth, the Sequel: the Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming’ by Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn, published in 2008.
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Scouting for the Environment

This Earth Day evening, I have just returned from Scouts where I am currently the Varsity Coach in our ward. I have realized that many do not give due credit to the Scouting organization for its significant environmental component. The LDS Church recognizes Scouting as the official activity arm of the Church for the young men. We often hear the funny ‘pyromaniac’ stories around the campfire but rarely hear of the impact and respect taught to young people regarding the outdoors and environmental stewardship.

Many love Scouting, including the newly sustained President Monson. Conversely many would like to see Scouting and the Church sever their ties. Either way, a significant amount of the Scouting program is directly focused on stewardship and respect for the environment. One of the main focuses in Scouting is the Leave No Trace concept, increasing awareness and outdoor ethics with an award for both youth and leaders. Additionally, about one out of every five merit badges deals directly with the environment.

The most significant of these is the Environmental Science merit badge required for Eagle. Requirements focus on Ecology, Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Land Pollution, Endangered Species, and Pollution Prevention, Resource Recovery, and Conservation.

Additional Merit Badges with an environmental flare:
-Animal Science
-Archaeology
-Bird Study
-Energy
-Environmental Science
-Forestry
-Gardening
-Fish & Wildlife Management
-Geology
-Insect Study
-Landscape Architecture
-Mammal Study
-Nature
-Nuclear Science
-Oceanography
-Plant Science
-Public Health
-Pulp and Paper
-Reptile and Amphibian Study
-Soil and Water Conservation
-Traffic Safety
-Truck Transportation
-Veterinary Medicine
-Weather
-Wilderness Survival

The goal with many merit badges is similar to that of General Education, providing a wide array of knowledge, with most involving some type of career research to help channel young men into important and interesting career paths.

Are Scouting leaders in the Church appropriately conveying this message of environmental stewardship to the young men? Is the right message being taught? Is Scouting having a positive influence by teaching them correct principles about the environment?
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General Authority concerned about the Environment

Elder Steven E. Snow was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy in April 2001. In Oct 2007 he was called to Presidency of the Seventy. Prior to his service in the Seventy, Elder Snow was quite active in conservation efforts in his home of Southern Utah. There are two published accounts of his I would like to highlight. The first is from an article he wrote entitled, "Skipping the Grand Canyon," included in the book "New Genesis: A Mormon Reader on Land and Community." The second is a statement read to the House of Representatives during a Joint Oversight Field Hearing when Elder Snow was a Board Member of the Grand Canyon Trust. The hearing involved the issue of air tour flights conducted over national parks.

"Our generation, more than any other, has the ability to irretrievably change the land. Financial rewards provide tremendous pressure to unleash our technology to reinvent our surroundings. There will be growth; change will come. But failure to care for the land on which we live means turning our backs on a heritage laid down carefully and at such great cost by our forefathers - and will leave us immeasurably poorer."
Steven E. Snow, "Skipping the Grand Canyon," New Genesis: A Mormon Reader on Land and Community (ed. Terry Tempest Williams, William B. Smart, Gibbs M. Smith eds. 1998, 244).


Highlights from the STATEMENT OF STEVEN E. SNOW, BOARD MEMBER, GRAND CANYON TRUST

Our organization is dedicated to conservation of the natural and cultural resources of the Colorado Plateau. We have been involved in this issue of natural quiet in the parks for about a decade now with special emphasis on the two dozen parks on the Colorado Plateau. We hope that the visitor experience is not threatened as a result of the growing number of commercial air tours over our national parks. Now, natural quiet, of course, means many different things to many different people, and clearly there is no one definition which suits everyone, but what is clear is that regardless of how the term is defined, there is little dispute among visitors to our national parks, who seek solitude and escape from an increasingly urbanized society, that natural quiet is one of the defining elements of the visit to the national park, and we believe that has been borne out as a result of surveys which have been conducted in the past.

We believe that the Park Service is the one charged to protect the resources of our national treasures like Grand Canyon and the Great Smokies, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, Zion and Yosemite, and many, many others. Aircraft management plans developed by the Park Service could prevent the development of conflicts between natural quiet needs and aircraft overflights. For example, as part of the development of the management plan at Zion National Park, park managers in cooperation with tour operators have developed voluntary measures to minimize air tour impacts on the park. However, these measures are just voluntary, and without legislation, such as S. 268, the Park Service does not have the authority to require compliance. We think the situation in Bryce Canyon is plagued by fixed wing and helicopter overflights that impair both natural quiet and visual resource because they fly below the elevation of the park overlooks. Other parks on the Colorado Plateau, such as Arches and Canyonlands, are also experiencing these overflight issues.

Grand Canyon, I think, has been referred to a great deal today. It is an example of what can happen. By the time Congress passed the Natural Parks Overflight Act in 1987, there were 40,000 air tour operations per year in the canyon, and natural quiet had already become a scarce resource, and the air industry was firmly entrenched and growing. Ten years later we still have not restored natural quiet, and the number of air tour operations in the park has now more than doubled. We think the caps on flight operations is one reason why these past rules have failed. We think that it is a good direction to protect the natural quiet resource in our parks.
(House of Representatives JOINT OVERSIGHT FIELD HEARING ON NATIONAL PARK OVERFLIGHTS as part of the ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS on NOVEMBER 17, 1997 at ST. GEORGE, UTAH)
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Highlighted Environmental Artist: Ben Coultate

Namib Aerial 019

Ben Coultate is a Civil Engineer living in London who has a passion for photography according to his Flickr profile. The images posted on his page show aerial images of the desert unlike any I have ever seen. This series includes 18 images of the Namib Desert that are compelling, mesmerizing, and full of beauty.


Namib Aerial 032

The Namib Desert is in Namibia and Southwest Angola and features the tallest sand dunes in the world, up to 340 meters high. (source) "The world's oldest desert, the Namib Desert has existed for at least 55 million years, completely devoid of surface water but bisected by several dry riverbeds." (source) It is an extremely arid region receiving "less than 0.4 inches of rain annually and is almost completely barren" (source)


Namib Aerial 014

"A major threat to the Namib Desert is the impact of off-road driving. The impact is the greatest on the gravel plains where depressions left by vehicles remain for more than 40 years because the rainfall is too episodic and sparse to erase them. These tracks are unsightly and cause long-lasting damage to the lichen fields. Lichens are particularly sensitive to mechanical damage as they grow extremely slowly and cannot quickly repair damaged thalli. Most of the damage is done by mining company vehicles when on prospecting expeditions." (source)


Namib Aerial 034

"The present conservation status of the Namib Desert is good as most of the ecoregion is intact and is protected in extensive conservation blocks. The Namib-Naukluft National Park is the largest conservation area in southern Africa and protects the central area of this ecoregion." (source)


Namib Aerial 035
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Salt Lake saves eight tons of CO2 with the warmth of sewage

Photo by Graham Murdoch

Case Study: Heating Homes from Waste

"When Salt Lake City attorneys Jon and Phillip Lear decided to set up offices in the Major George Downey mansion downtown in 2005, gas prices had spiked after Hurricane Katrina, and they started brainstorming alternative heating and cooling systems.

'Alternative' is the word for what the brothers came up with. The system they designed, with help from engineers at Utah’s Sound Geothermal Corporation, pulls heat from warm sewage water. A secondary network of pipes surrounding a sewage pipe carries a water-based glycol that enables a heat exchange—since it is cool relative to the sewage water, it rapidly absorbs heat. The pipes carry the warmed glycol back into the house, where the accumulated heat energy radiates from vents. On hot summer days, the glycol absorbs heat from inside the house and releases it underground. The entire setup uses about 40 percent less energy than a conventional heating and cooling system would, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by eight tons a year. The Lears moved their offices there permanently in January.

Public-utilities director Jeff Niermeyer hopes to install similar systems in other public buildings within the next few years. 'With any wastewater system, there’s a lot of heat that you’ve already put in for other purposes,' he says." (Popular Science Case Study)

For more information, see also the Deseret News article on this home which speaks of the potential to use this technology on the City Creek Center in Salt Lake.

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Religious Environmentalism

Thanks to bex over at Bexhuff.com who cites the following religions that are officially coming to the environmental discussion table. Several of these groups are even beginning to refer to environmental issues now as a ‘moral’ issue. As Mormons, are we generally uninvolved in environmental issues because the current leaders of the Church are largely silent on these issues? If this is the case, are we favoring the “commanded in all things” approach over the “anxiously engaged” approach?

Catholics
“Thou shall not pollute the Earth…so the Vatican has told the faithful that they should be aware of ‘new’ sins such as causing environmental blight.

In recent months, Pope Benedict has made several strong appeals for the protection of the environment, saying issues such as climate change had become gravely important for the entire human race.

Under Benedict and his predecessor John Paul, the Vatican has become progressively ‘green.’
It has installed photovoltaic cells on buildings to produce electricity and hosted a scientific conference to discuss the ramifications of global warming and climate change, widely blamed on human use of fossil fuels.”

Southern Baptists
“Several prominent leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention said Monday that Baptists have a moral responsibility to combat climate change -- a major shift within a denomination that just last year cast doubt on human responsibility for global warming.

Forty-six influential members of the Southern Baptist Convention, including three of its past four presidents, criticized their denomination in a statement Monday for being "too timid" in confronting global warming.

‘Our cautious response to these issues in the face of mounting evidence may be seen by the world as uncaring, reckless and ill-informed,’ the statement says. ‘We can do better.’”

Evangelicals
Several prominent evangelical leaders and pastors are emerging through written bestsellers, “calling for ‘creation care’ on global warming and galvanizing church members to address Third World poverty and disease…‘Today there is a strong evangelical center emerging that agrees that a biblically balanced agenda has to include pro-life, pro-family, pro-poor, pro-racial justice, pro-creation care and pro-peacemaking,’ said Ronald Sider, president of Evangelicals for Social Action.” Read more on "Religious Environmentalism"

Highlighted Environmental Artist

Robert ParkeHarrison: The Architect's Brother

Reclaimation

"ParkeHarrison conjured a destiny in which humankind's overuse of the land had led to environments spent and abandoned, with the exception of one indefatigable spirit (portrayed by ParkeHarrison himself). Donning the ill-fitting suit of the Everyman, ParkeHarrison is the earthbound relation to the Creator-the Architect's Brother-complete with human foibles. With lyric poeticism and wry humor, he is the romantic anti-hero, taking up tasks of preservation that appear futile, yet also lay the foundation for the potential redemption of the natural world. Placing himself within the images, ParkeHarrison attempts to patch holes in the sky, construct rain-making machines, and chase storms to create electricity."(source)

The Sower

The Architect's Brother embodies aspects of theater, sculpture, painting, and photography-creating a mythical world that mirrors our world, where nature is barely domesticated or controlled.

The Clearing

"Inherent in this civilization of consumption and technology is the waste and destruction of the vulnerable earth. The mythic world we create in our photographs mirrors our world, where nature is domesticated and controlled. The scenes we depict however, display futile attempts to save or rejuvenate nature. We portray these attempts within our work by inventing machines and contraptions from junk and obsolete equipment. These contraptions are intended to help the character we portray to jump-start a dying planet. We patch holes in the sky, create rain machines, chase storms to create electricity, communicate with the earth to learn its needs. Within these scenes, we create less refined, less scientific, more ritualistic and poetic possibilities to work with nature rather than destroy it." Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison

Cloud Cleaner

"He (Robert ParkeHarrison) comes down on the side of lamentation but expresses it with an unusual combination of poetic license, laboriously constructed props and a wry and melancholy, vaguely allusive sense of myth. He appears in every picture, in a black suit and white shirt with no tie, a kind of Everyman or a minor employee of the universe, patiently, dutifully doing a job that's too big for him. That job is essentially to take care of the devastated Earth with inadequate equipment. He works or performs obscure rituals in large and empty landscapes beneath gray skies. Perhaps this is one man's private way of saying that neither pollution, global warming nor digitalization can entirely extinguish the hands-on experience and the human desire to create." StumbleUpon blogger

Mending the Earth

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