Recycled Art

The other day, while heavily procrastinating in order to avoid learning about Newton’s Laws of Physics, I came across an image when perusing my Instagram feed that grabbed my attention. The image was created by an artist known as Erika Iris Simmons who specialises in creating art using non-traditional media. This particular piece of art was a portrait of Michael Jackson and was produced using the inside reels of a cassette tape. I was honestly astounded by how recognisable and precise it was but the fact that it was made from such an accessible household item is really what got me thinking.

I proceeded to Google search ‘Recycled Art’ and was, again, blown away by what I found. More masterpieces including a chicken made from egg shells, a collage of a young boy made from newspaper clippings and even a portrait of Barack Obama made from old buttons and brooches greeted my laptop screen. Now don’t get me wrong, I know what you might be thinking. But I can assure you that I am not some kind of an art junkie who finds beauty in everything. The fact I am saying that this type of art is cool is definitely saying something! So, with further examination of the different sources of Recycled Art on the internet, I discovered an article on its benefits which again sparked my interest. I had not realised there were any benefits until I read this article which is my reason for sharing it in this blog post. I feel more people need to become aware of this amazing form of art that has been revealed to me and I’m going to try and expose it to you too while you’re here!

Anyway, in this article outlining the benefits, they talked about how using household items in art is not only

a fun thing to do but it also reduces your energy consumption. So let me ask you this: when you throw something into the bin, do you think about where it’s going? All waste must go somewhere; be it a landfill, incineration centre or a recycling centre. Classic recycling may be better than all waste being dumped into a landfill but that doesn’t mean it has a positive effect on the environment. It still consumes not only space but also man power and money. These types of artwork take all the non-toxic junk and make useful items out of them which gives something back to both the environment and the economy.

But, the prime benefit we can acquire from this is that it saves a lot of energy. The re-production of recycled materials always requires consumption of new resources which in turn, results in more pollution and less resources. By adopting this strategy of reusing household junk, we are minimizing the energy spent on new production which directly impacts positively on climate change.

So, if you’re in any way artistic (or even if you’re not!), why not try dabbling your hand in Recycled Art? It’s fun, unique and most importantly, eco-friendly. I’ll make sure to share a new blog post with you guys showing my attempts. Don’t hesitate to share yours in the comments below. ‘Til next time, happy sustainable living!

Aoife Mullally

Image Sources:

Image 1: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/recycled-art-masterpiece-made-from-junks/

Image 2: http://www.wikihow.com/Live-a-More-Environmentally-Friendly-Lifestyle

Image 3: http://www.corvallisadvocate.com/2013/0131-corvallis-landfill-filling-up/

Seminar: Is biodiversity a driver in the health benefits of green space?

A  Special Seminar will be held on Friday 14th February 2014, 2-3 pm in the Botany Lecture Theatre  by Dr Jenny Roe, Senior Research Leader for Health and Wellbeing, at the Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York.  The talk

 'Is biodiversity a driver in the health benefits of green space?'

examines the effect of green space on wellbeing which is a hot topic just at present. Find out more about Jenny’s research  at  http://www.york.ac.uk/sei/staff/jenny-roe/

http://www.eco-business.com/news/green-spaces-boosts-

wellbeing-urban-dwellers-study/

New look for Our New Climate website

Even in a remote part of rural Ireland you are never far away from contarils

Another year and another start to the Broad Curriculum course Living Sustainably.  This year we have altered the format of the website ournewclimate.com and hope to expand it further to support the course in a more direct way.  This year the 84 students on the course will be producing a wide range of exciting and challenging posts for the blog.  This year will also see the publication of a support course textbook for the course as well. So it’s going to be an exciting 2014.

Nick Gray

Happy Christmas from Trinity College Dublin

Wishing Everyone a Happy Christmas and a Sustainable 2014

Energy saving in public buildings

The Friends of the Earth have suggested that massive cuts in emissions as well as financial savings could be made by adopting more rigorous energy saving in schools, hospitals and other public offices.  It especially highlights buildings that are heated when empty during weekends and leaving computers switched on when not in use.  It estimates that it could save the state 1.75 billion euro over 10 years and  calls for  retrofitting such buildings with better insulation, reducing dependence on air conditioning and using low carbon heating systems. However, small changes can make a difference. A school in Clara in County Clare was able to reduce its electricity usage by 70% by simple actions such as lowering the heating setting on the central heating, using  time switches for heating rooms that were not used all the time, turning off the boiler at night and weekends, and encouraging staff and pupils to close doors and turn off lights.  Plans are already in place by the Government to reduce electricity use in over 10,000 buildings run by central and local government under the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan. It is claimed that the plan has already reduce energy usage by 33%  across the public sector.

More information: Friends of the Earth (2013) ‘Cuts that don’t hurt’. Friends of the Earth , Dublin. 

More information: The Second National Energy Plan launched in February 2013. 

Nick Gray

Irish farming and climate change

Irish farming will be affected by climate change but not as severely as more southern countries.  The problems will primarily be the reduction in summer rainfall by up to 25% and an increase in winter rainfall by 17% by mid century, with Southern and Eastern counties most affected.  This will  result in extended dry periods leading to drought, flooding, heavy rainfall events and extreme temperatures, in fact far more unpredictable weather patterns making farming activities difficult to plan and execute.  While this will mainly make tillage farming more difficult from sowing to harvesting of crops, livestock farmers will also feel the pressure from increased stress to animals  and providing water in the summer to ensuring sufficient winter fodder.  The wet summer of 2012 led to a massive fodder crisis in some parts of the country during the winter and spring of 2012/13, leading to massive imports of hay and silage from the UK and Europe. The increased prevalence of pests and diseases ,especially new pests as their ranges increase in response to higher temperatures, will affect all farming sectors.   It is not all negative because the higher temperatures will increase cereal and beet yields, which is in stark comparison to countries such as Romania and Hungary which will see a steep decline in crop yields due to water scarcity.  The solution is for the Irish farming sector  to  increase crop diversity, alter planting and harvesting regimes, develop more climate resilient crops, and to introduce water management strategies.

More information 

Nick Gray

Air pollution reaches a new high in China

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The airpocalypse is what people are calling the extended periods of smog that have been intensifying over the past few years in China’s capital Beijing.   In the city deaths from lung cancer have increased by 56% over the decade up to 2010 coinciding with massive industrialization and an increase in the number of cars using the city’s street exceeding 5 million. The most serious problem appears to be PM2.5, minute particles released from fires and vehicle exhausts which has strong links to lung cancer.  To counteract the effects of the smog particles all schools in the capital will be closed when smog  incidents persist for more than three days.  Twenty percent of the world’s confirmed cases of cancer now occur in china with atmopsheric pollution a major causative factor.  Seven of the top 10 most polluted cities in China are in the Hebei province in the North of the country which is a major centre for coal powered electricity generation and steel manufacturing resulting in the heavy atmospheric pollution that also contributes to the problem in Beijing.  In 2014 the city will be setting even stricter quotas on the number of new car registrations to just 150,000, a reduction of 40% over the previous year’s quota.
Nick Gray