 The
clock has already started to run marking the bridge between
Earth Day (April 22) to World Environment Day (June 5). The
good news is that we are not too late to join the call to
action to personally commit to living more sustainable, environmentally
friendly lives.
A great start for action is to visit the Field Museum in
Chicago to view the Melting
Ice / A Hot Topic: Envisioning Change exhibit. The exhibit
is brought to the citizens of the world through a partnership
between The Natural World Museum (NWM) and the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) Art for the Environment program.
“Science informs the mind; music, the heart; but art
connects with the human spirit. We urgently need to empower
all three of these essential human elements if we are to rise
to the challenge and seize the opportunities for economic,
environmental and social renewal glimpsed through the lens
of climate change,” said Achim Steiner, Under Secretary-General
of the United Nations and Executive Director of UNEP. Each
year, these two organizations produce a major exhibit for
World Environment Day. Kick the CO2 Habit will premier in
Wellington, New Zealand, on June 5, 2008.
 After
a year of global travel, the 2007 World Environment Day exhibit
is here at the only scheduled US stop. There are 26 pieces
on display, out of the 40 that create the entire exhibit.
Each piece reflects climate change from a global perspective,
examining the melting and thawing of ice, snow and permafrost
taking place from pole to pole. NWM curator Randy Rosenberg
states, “We’ve asked artists from around the world to
focus on just one dimension: the thawing and melting of the
ice caps and permafrost, and the implications for humans and
other species.”
Melting Ice / A Hot Topic has been well received by environmentalists,
artists and the general public alike. “The support from
international communities ensures our exhibit will directly
reach over 1 million people, making our overseas openings
huge successes, and our Chicago opening all the more anticipated,”
noted Mia Hanak, Founding Executive Director of the Natural
World Museum. Visitors of all ages will find something that
catches their eye and sparks discussion.
A second bonus for the City of Chicago is the selection of
the Chicago Botanic Garden as the sole North American host
for World Environment Day 2008. There are events planned throughout
the week, from June 1-8, for the whole family at the Chicago
Botanic Garden (CBG).
On June 5, World Environment Day’s CO2—Kick
the Habit! opens to the public. There will be a host of
activities for the family, and the CBG—as well as cites
around the world—will host local, national and international
experts on global warming and climate change to help us reduce
our carbon footprint.
Change is not about doing without, but about making better,
smarter and more-informed choices. Start the discussion, raise
the awareness and see how easy it is to incorporate change
into your life for the bridge and beyond.
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