global warming
I just finished the second piece in my crystal series, which I’m titling Displacement. It is a companion piece to Reclamation. This series explores ocean acidification as well as natural reclamation of manmade constructions and catastrophes.
Displacement is a mixed media relief including driftwood, aragonite, calcite, and salt crystals, acrylic, and QuickCure Glaze on a wood panel, 7.25x6.75x3.25”, 2021.
Shelby Prindaville, Displacement, mixed media relief including driftwood, aragonite, calcite, and salt crystals, acrylic, and QuickCure Glaze on a wood panel, 7.25x6.75x3.25”, 2021.
I’ve been a vegetarian for ethical reasons for over twenty years, and my artwork and writings about my pieces address issues including animal rights, ethics, conservation, and ecological balance. The COVID-19 pandemic is a direct result of our generally poor relationship with meat consumption, including that of endangered wildlife. Now due to meatpacking plants, the city that I live in has topped a variety of coronavirus tracking charts in terms of spread, density, and duration. Iowa is mass torturing and slaughtering pigs as a result of the pandemic’s disruption of the processing and supply chain. Eating meat increases global warming, obesity rates, and an acceptance of cruelty and superiority that can’t help but seep into other parts of our lives.
Here’s a great Op-Ed in the New York Times that goes into more detail on all of my above points. I support eating an ethical diet and believe we need real reform in this arena as well.
I’m not sure if it was possible to not hear about the horrific recent United Nations assessment on wildlife decline and extinction as it made front page news all over - but if you missed it, here’s one of the many stories covering its findings.
Relatedly, here’s an article discussing how meat consumption plays a huge role in climate change and needs to decrease by 90%. Of course, that’s only one of a multitude of corporate and cultural changes we would have to make…
I’ve shared before how climate scientists have a very hard time getting the public to accept and understand the reality of our present and future situation.
Now here’s another recent look at the current and projected scale of global warming and how it compares to the agreements and actual international practices regarding emissions.
Right after Trump assumed the presidency, the White House's webpage on climate change was deleted.
Meanwhile, Earth reached its highest temperature on record in 2016, which beat the previous record that happened in 2015, which beat the previous record which took place during 2014. We've had three years in a row of highest temperatures on record for our planet.
The Washington Post recently covered this topic with some details I didn't know about before - like Denmark considering a tax on all red meat and the fact that of all the nations studied, the US could reduce its health care budget the most by cutting out American consumption of meat due to our country's ridiculous average diet. Check it out!