Founder of Trees for Life
Unsustainable lifestyles are a theme within this project. Of any response to my question of the biggest ecological problem within Scotland this has been the most common. Alan Watson of Trees for Life, which works to restore the Caledonian Forest, also identified unsustainable lifestyles as the biggest ecological problem. If everyone used the same resources as a person from Scotland we would need three planets. Since natural resources are finite our Earth cannot support unlimited growth. He spoke about the problems of cheap energy, new developments, centralized facilities instead of localized ones, depleted forests, wildlife extinction, and fish stocks depleted.
The reason for our unsustainable lifestyles he suggests is that we are divorced from the natural world and have lost touch with natural cycles. In nature there is no such thing as unlimited growth except in the case of cancer. Our unsustainable lifestyles in Scotland are negatively affecting the natural world in Scotland and also in the rest of the world, while at the same time denying the people from the South.
In terms of solutions he said they must start with the individual. What is needed is a 90% resource reduction and he said most people tinker at the edges by buying a hybrid car or composting but what is needed is major change within every aspect of ones life. Alan used his own choices as an example for the type of things normal people can do to make a difference. He has been vegan for thirty years and he spoke about the importance of buying organic local food. The UN has said that the raising of animals for livestock generates more carbon emissions than all of the transport services in the World (50). The University of Surrey conducted a study showing that the meat and dairy industries within the UK create 8% of UK carbon emissions while the airline industry creates only 2.5% (50). Researchers from the University of Chicago have calculated that an average meat-eater emits 1.5 tonnes more CO2 per year than a vegan, because it takes, for example, 7kg of feed to produce 1kg of beef. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the runoff from factory farms pollutes waterways more than all other industrial sources combined. In the U.S 70 percent of all grains, 80 percent of all agricultural land, half of all water resources, and one-third of all fossil fuels are used to raise animals for food (51).
Wednesday 15 July 2009
Wednesday 1 July 2009
Interview with Justin Prigmore
Cairngorms Biodiversity Officer
Justin Prigmore (52), Biodiversity Officer at the Cairngorm National Park said that he thinks the biggest ecological problems in Scotland today are human pressure and habitat fragmentation. Humankind has had a strong influence on shaping the land in Scotland for hundreds of years. Only one percent of the Caledonian forest still remains in remote glens, islands, steep cliffs or the edges of lochs. Time, the Iron Age, the Highland clearances and the building of empire have taken their toll. This loss of forest dramatically reduces the ability of species and ecological systems to function. For example the Twinflower, which grows in the Caledonian Forest is now endangered because the forest is so fragmented that there is not enough diversity within the gene pool. He also talked about the problem of conflicting land use. Deer and sheep eat any seedlings that grow. On grouse mores the Hen Harrier has been persecuted because it eats the grouse. Prigmore suggested that more cooperation is needed between those working the land and conservation organizations.
Prigmore also spoke about global warming. He thinks that it is important to be prepared for the potential negative consequences. Instead of spending huge sums on disaster relief, we would be better off looking at the risk areas and working to address those with natural, more cost effective systems now. For example, with global warming there is the increased threat of natural disasters such as heavy storms, which can lead to floods. Many of the rivers in Scotland are deforested around their source in the mountains. If we were to plant trees around the rivers, the roots would help to hold the water in the land, so that flooding did not occur downstream. Wetlands and bogs also help to prevent flooding and are under appreciated. Since the land is unusable for grazing and farming, bogs are often drained and destroyed. In reality they serve a valuable purpose and many think of these lush wet places as the kidneys of the Earth. The plants and microorganisms that live in bogs and wetlands clean and supply water to rivers and lochs. Bogs also store carbon in the form of peat. If drained, the carbon, which has been stored for thousands of years, is released into the atmosphere contributing to global warming. The destruction of wetlands and bogs leads to greater pollution, risk or flooding and loss of species.
Other images that Prigmore spoke about are plantation forests both growing and clear cut and new housing developments on Greenfield sites.
Justin Prigmore (52), Biodiversity Officer at the Cairngorm National Park said that he thinks the biggest ecological problems in Scotland today are human pressure and habitat fragmentation. Humankind has had a strong influence on shaping the land in Scotland for hundreds of years. Only one percent of the Caledonian forest still remains in remote glens, islands, steep cliffs or the edges of lochs. Time, the Iron Age, the Highland clearances and the building of empire have taken their toll. This loss of forest dramatically reduces the ability of species and ecological systems to function. For example the Twinflower, which grows in the Caledonian Forest is now endangered because the forest is so fragmented that there is not enough diversity within the gene pool. He also talked about the problem of conflicting land use. Deer and sheep eat any seedlings that grow. On grouse mores the Hen Harrier has been persecuted because it eats the grouse. Prigmore suggested that more cooperation is needed between those working the land and conservation organizations.
Prigmore also spoke about global warming. He thinks that it is important to be prepared for the potential negative consequences. Instead of spending huge sums on disaster relief, we would be better off looking at the risk areas and working to address those with natural, more cost effective systems now. For example, with global warming there is the increased threat of natural disasters such as heavy storms, which can lead to floods. Many of the rivers in Scotland are deforested around their source in the mountains. If we were to plant trees around the rivers, the roots would help to hold the water in the land, so that flooding did not occur downstream. Wetlands and bogs also help to prevent flooding and are under appreciated. Since the land is unusable for grazing and farming, bogs are often drained and destroyed. In reality they serve a valuable purpose and many think of these lush wet places as the kidneys of the Earth. The plants and microorganisms that live in bogs and wetlands clean and supply water to rivers and lochs. Bogs also store carbon in the form of peat. If drained, the carbon, which has been stored for thousands of years, is released into the atmosphere contributing to global warming. The destruction of wetlands and bogs leads to greater pollution, risk or flooding and loss of species.
Other images that Prigmore spoke about are plantation forests both growing and clear cut and new housing developments on Greenfield sites.
Thursday 11 June 2009
Interview with Susan Carstairs
Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) National Waste Strategy Coordinator
Unsustainable lifestyles was the number one ecological problem identified by Susan Carstairs. She spoke about materialist society contributing to us overconsuming natural resources and creating excess waste. As the waste strategy coordinator for SEPA, she knows a lot about waste in Scotland. She says that we need to move towards changing our actions and values to consume less and also to recycle and compost waste. Capitalist society has created wealth and alongside waste. She talked about the problem of exporting our waste to other less industrialized countries in which it is not properly recycled and the people working are underpaid and exploited.
Images that she spoke of are dumps, she talked about the dump near Fort William and also in Aviemore. The sollution comes from compost schemes, recycling centers and community gardens.
Unsustainable lifestyles was the number one ecological problem identified by Susan Carstairs. She spoke about materialist society contributing to us overconsuming natural resources and creating excess waste. As the waste strategy coordinator for SEPA, she knows a lot about waste in Scotland. She says that we need to move towards changing our actions and values to consume less and also to recycle and compost waste. Capitalist society has created wealth and alongside waste. She talked about the problem of exporting our waste to other less industrialized countries in which it is not properly recycled and the people working are underpaid and exploited.
Images that she spoke of are dumps, she talked about the dump near Fort William and also in Aviemore. The sollution comes from compost schemes, recycling centers and community gardens.
Wednesday 3 June 2009
Interview with Dr. Gary Campbell
Dean of Faculty of Science & Technology, UHI
Dr. Gary Campbell had a slightly different perspective on my questions than previous interviewees. He identified climate change as being the biggest problem facing the world today but not specifically Scotland. He felt that in Scotland climate change may even have positive consequences, since warmer weather would be welcomed by many. He said that unless sea levels rose dramatically, Scotland did not have much to fear from climate change. When asked what he did feel was the biggest ecological problem in Scotland today, he spoke about loss of diversity. Many alpine and coastal species of plants, insects, birds and animals are endangered. When asked about solutions he talked about the importance of education, starting with the youngest children and continuing to university study. Images that he identified were the Ptarmigan and Capercaille as well as students engaged in learning about sustainability.
Dr. Gary Campbell had a slightly different perspective on my questions than previous interviewees. He identified climate change as being the biggest problem facing the world today but not specifically Scotland. He felt that in Scotland climate change may even have positive consequences, since warmer weather would be welcomed by many. He said that unless sea levels rose dramatically, Scotland did not have much to fear from climate change. When asked what he did feel was the biggest ecological problem in Scotland today, he spoke about loss of diversity. Many alpine and coastal species of plants, insects, birds and animals are endangered. When asked about solutions he talked about the importance of education, starting with the youngest children and continuing to university study. Images that he identified were the Ptarmigan and Capercaille as well as students engaged in learning about sustainability.
Tuesday 12 May 2009
Interview with Archie Prentice
Highlands and Islands Enterprise Sustainable Development and Environment Manager
Archie Prentice chose two issues to discuss during our interview. The first was global warming and the second was unsustainable use of resources. What interested me most about this interview was his use of personal imagery. He talked about the way in which ski resorts in Scotland have changed over the last ten years, and that now there is much less snow. He talked about his sadness about not being able to build a snowman with his child, despite living in Highlands of Scotland. He talked about the problems of waste disposal and local dumps in which the trash escapes from the cage and litters the landscape.
Archie Prentice chose two issues to discuss during our interview. The first was global warming and the second was unsustainable use of resources. What interested me most about this interview was his use of personal imagery. He talked about the way in which ski resorts in Scotland have changed over the last ten years, and that now there is much less snow. He talked about his sadness about not being able to build a snowman with his child, despite living in Highlands of Scotland. He talked about the problems of waste disposal and local dumps in which the trash escapes from the cage and litters the landscape.
Wednesday 6 May 2009
Interview with David Haley
Ecological Artist
“While I was sleeping, the time changed. The tense changed too. The new paradigm is here, now – ‘eco-culture’. Welcome to the future and a liberated ecological art. No longer do artists have to be prophets of doom, thinking the unthinkable, trying to change the attitudes of others and making a stand against society. The tide turned. Artists and scientists, teachers and politicians, commercialists and industrialists learned how to make the new world work – a new way of life – ‘ecopoiesis’.”
-David Haley from Watershed: a turning point in the future of art and ecology
I am intrigued by David Haley’s dream of ‘eco-culture’. During the seminar I had the opportunity to interview Haley and I asked him what eco-centric culture would be like. He responded that eco-centric culture would recognize the interconnectedness of all life and place ecological wellbeing at the forefront of culture. Instead of corporations and consumerism driving the culture, ecological harmony would be considered in all decisions. Is this science fiction? or a possible future? or even the only possible future? With the current ecological tipping points weighing the Earth towards disaster, what is clear to me is that things need to change.
David Haley is at the forefront of ecological art and his contribution to re-imagining the future and the role of art in creating connections between humanity and nature is admirable. It was exciting for me to interview Haley since I am engaged with ecological art and questioning the role of art within an ecological context. I began by asking him the same questions that I am asking participants in my latest video project. In this project I am interviewing experts and people involved in ecological work from throughout Scotland to gage the main ecological issues that are concerning them today. My intention is to create a video linking their answers with images of the problems and solutions that they mention. Finally I intend to choose one area covered in the interviews in order to delve deeper into a specific problem using photography and possibly a second video.
Through my experience I have found that asking difficult questions that require the person to take a stand are the most revealing. While I agree with Haley in his analysis that polarising life into problems and solutions is not always helpful, I think that asking questions with polarities in which the person must choose the biggest problem, greatest fear, or even describe the essence of who they are, produce fascinating answers. I asked, what do you think is the biggest ecological problem facing Scotland today? Why?, what can we do about it? and what images come to mind when you think about your response or when you think about the problems and the solutions? Haley’s response addressed looking at life as a whole system instead of just focusing on one issue. The problems we are facing are interrelated. He mentioned population and capitalism leading to species extinction and global warming. I enjoy this answer as I think it is clear that we must look at all of the factors that contribute to ecological instability and not just at one particular element of the puzzle. In terms of solutions he mentioned the role of art in contributing to changes in perception and in the importance of asking questions.
Instead of problem-based learning Haley is advocating question-based learning. The questions themselves can lead to interesting research. As engaged as I am with asking questions, I think that there is a danger in just focusing on the questions. It is too easy to sit on the fence or remain detached and in the intellectual world. I believe that it takes courage to address problems and come up with solutions. Perhaps instead of problem-based learning it could be called solution-based learning, since in this time the reality is there are many grave problems, social, ecological and economic, and what we need is people not just asking questions but inventing, creating and designing the future.
I come back to the place that I started and Haley’s idea of ‘eco-culture’; this is an exciting example of dreaming into the future. Artists can take liberties that other professions are not able to take. Artist’s can be imaginative, surreal, unpractical, they can think big, holistically, galactically, engaging interdisciplinary collaboration, intuition, spontaneity and freedom. From this soup there is the potential for radical new ideas to come forward. It is essential that in these times hope survives, and hope stems from new ways of thinking and imagining our place in connection with nature.
“While I was sleeping, the time changed. The tense changed too. The new paradigm is here, now – ‘eco-culture’. Welcome to the future and a liberated ecological art. No longer do artists have to be prophets of doom, thinking the unthinkable, trying to change the attitudes of others and making a stand against society. The tide turned. Artists and scientists, teachers and politicians, commercialists and industrialists learned how to make the new world work – a new way of life – ‘ecopoiesis’.”
-David Haley from Watershed: a turning point in the future of art and ecology
I am intrigued by David Haley’s dream of ‘eco-culture’. During the seminar I had the opportunity to interview Haley and I asked him what eco-centric culture would be like. He responded that eco-centric culture would recognize the interconnectedness of all life and place ecological wellbeing at the forefront of culture. Instead of corporations and consumerism driving the culture, ecological harmony would be considered in all decisions. Is this science fiction? or a possible future? or even the only possible future? With the current ecological tipping points weighing the Earth towards disaster, what is clear to me is that things need to change.
David Haley is at the forefront of ecological art and his contribution to re-imagining the future and the role of art in creating connections between humanity and nature is admirable. It was exciting for me to interview Haley since I am engaged with ecological art and questioning the role of art within an ecological context. I began by asking him the same questions that I am asking participants in my latest video project. In this project I am interviewing experts and people involved in ecological work from throughout Scotland to gage the main ecological issues that are concerning them today. My intention is to create a video linking their answers with images of the problems and solutions that they mention. Finally I intend to choose one area covered in the interviews in order to delve deeper into a specific problem using photography and possibly a second video.
Through my experience I have found that asking difficult questions that require the person to take a stand are the most revealing. While I agree with Haley in his analysis that polarising life into problems and solutions is not always helpful, I think that asking questions with polarities in which the person must choose the biggest problem, greatest fear, or even describe the essence of who they are, produce fascinating answers. I asked, what do you think is the biggest ecological problem facing Scotland today? Why?, what can we do about it? and what images come to mind when you think about your response or when you think about the problems and the solutions? Haley’s response addressed looking at life as a whole system instead of just focusing on one issue. The problems we are facing are interrelated. He mentioned population and capitalism leading to species extinction and global warming. I enjoy this answer as I think it is clear that we must look at all of the factors that contribute to ecological instability and not just at one particular element of the puzzle. In terms of solutions he mentioned the role of art in contributing to changes in perception and in the importance of asking questions.
Instead of problem-based learning Haley is advocating question-based learning. The questions themselves can lead to interesting research. As engaged as I am with asking questions, I think that there is a danger in just focusing on the questions. It is too easy to sit on the fence or remain detached and in the intellectual world. I believe that it takes courage to address problems and come up with solutions. Perhaps instead of problem-based learning it could be called solution-based learning, since in this time the reality is there are many grave problems, social, ecological and economic, and what we need is people not just asking questions but inventing, creating and designing the future.
I come back to the place that I started and Haley’s idea of ‘eco-culture’; this is an exciting example of dreaming into the future. Artists can take liberties that other professions are not able to take. Artist’s can be imaginative, surreal, unpractical, they can think big, holistically, galactically, engaging interdisciplinary collaboration, intuition, spontaneity and freedom. From this soup there is the potential for radical new ideas to come forward. It is essential that in these times hope survives, and hope stems from new ways of thinking and imagining our place in connection with nature.
Tuesday 5 May 2009
Interview with Gillian Mcknight
Head of Conservation at Scottish Agricultural College
Gillian Mcknight is knowledgeable about agriculture in Scotland. She is also an expert in Scottish species and those that are at risk or endangered. In response to my questions she talked about climate change and food security as being the major ecological problems in Scotland today. In a culture of cheap food and materialism it is easy not to look beneath the shiny surface to the chemicals and harmful effects. Industrialized food has high inputs in terms of chemicals. Degraded landscapes lead to loss of biodiversity as wildplants are killed off or lose their native habitat. She mentioned the decline of bee populations which will contribute to lower yields and loss of fertility. Global warming in Scotland also contributes to loss of mountain alpine habitats and therefore to the fragile species that live in these unique zones.
Gillian Mcknight is knowledgeable about agriculture in Scotland. She is also an expert in Scottish species and those that are at risk or endangered. In response to my questions she talked about climate change and food security as being the major ecological problems in Scotland today. In a culture of cheap food and materialism it is easy not to look beneath the shiny surface to the chemicals and harmful effects. Industrialized food has high inputs in terms of chemicals. Degraded landscapes lead to loss of biodiversity as wildplants are killed off or lose their native habitat. She mentioned the decline of bee populations which will contribute to lower yields and loss of fertility. Global warming in Scotland also contributes to loss of mountain alpine habitats and therefore to the fragile species that live in these unique zones.
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