Aldo Leopold & 'A Sand County Almanac'

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”

Tin Ore Extraction: Congo, Africa

This is a short video, with beautiful photography, from a New York Times reporter about tin ore extraction, take a look.

Weekly Statements: OPEN SPACE

Feel free to post any of your weekly statements here.

This Steer's Life

What do you think about Pollan's article 'This Steer's Life'? (here)

What do you think about our current industrial agricultural system?

Perhaps we should start questioning the systems in which make cheap and mass produced food available to us... that is if we are in take into account environmental and personal health. Many scholars are doing research on why adopting sustainable agricultural practices are essential to the future of this planet.

Interested in sustainable agriculture and/or human or environmental health? Check out this article from John Hopkins School of Public Health, 'How Sustainable Agriculture Can Address the Environmental and Human Health Harms of Industrial Agriculture' (here)

WORLD CHANGING

'World Changing: A User's Guide for the 21st Century' responses here. You will need a min. of 7 posts for the semester.

Check out the book website, which has a daily blog (here)

First Weekly Statement: A Course Introductory

It was a pleasure meeting you today! Welcome to your final Art & Design Perspectives course and our discussion section.

This week and last we have been introduced to various technological and environmental issues, such as our current population, dwindling natural resources, our carbon impact on the environment (rising CO2 levels) and the carbon footprints we leave, lack of sustainability in our current global systems (e.g. "closing the loop" of consumer goods), and the overall North American hyper consumer culture. In addition, a lot of great points were brought up by Derrick Jensen in the article "Beyond Hope" (here)... that being said, what are you still thinking about?

This is an open space for your first weekly statement.

(Image: Man-made "trees" The Getty Museum)

Welcome

This is our space for sharing ideas and expanding concepts related to course material. I'm so very happy to welcome you here.

Enjoy!