October

"Trees have many values – and their highest value is not as firewood! Trees provide many tangible benefits in terms of shelter, shade, fruit, timber, pollutant filtering, ecological value, and the enhancement of biodiversity – as well as many contributions to civil society, such as providing screening, a sense of place, and direct contact with Nature for urban dwellers. If we reduce our thoughts about trees to just their value as ‘carbon sinks’, we are missing out on all their other benefits." By Duncan Slater. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

October

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

The choice is (still) ours to make

To form a collective will, a «We», "will require the critical production and sharing of knowledge, resistance to flattening aesthetic diversity, and the invention of sustainable models that don´t threaten the viability of the whole, whether economically or ecologically, socially or institutionally" and "asserting a new biocentric imperative for living, producing, and consuming. (...) The choice is (still) ours to make." T.J. Demos (2016). Decolonizing Nature. Contemporary Art and the Politics of Ecology.  Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

October

"While the transition is eminently doable (...) the truly irresponsible thinking today is accepting the assumption that we can simply continue down the same path forever, or that we can´t do anything to change our direction." T.J. Demos (2016). Decolonizing Nature. Contemporary Art and the Politics of Ecology. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

October

"While liberal climate propaganda argues that ecological collapse is the responsibility of human individuals, rather than extractivist corporations, libertarian climate propaganda considers the climate breakdown as a new resource for geomarketing and interplanetary colonisation. And while conspiracist climate propaganda claims climate change is nothing but a hoax to enforce population control, ecofascist climate propaganda takes it as an opportunity to double down on the question who, in ecosystem collapse, has the racial right to survive and who does not." in Maat, Jonas Staal «Climate Propagandas, Video Study» (2020). 

Photo of tapestry (76 x 93 cm) by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

September

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

September

 Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

September

"We need to ask (...) not only what sustainability means when employed, but also whose interests it promotes and whose are excluded." T.J. Demos (2016). Decolonizing Nature. Contemporary Art and the Politics of Ecology. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

September

 

Equinox. Equilibrium between night and day. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

micropausa verde

Senão podermos dar um passeio pela Floresta (ou parque mais próximo), senão tivermos uma janela por onde observar àrvores e plantas (e ouvir o som dos pássaros), temos sempre a possibilidade de fazer uma micropausa verde, olhando para imagens da Natureza. "Investigadores do departamento de Psicologia da Universidade do Michigan demonstraram que passar dez minutos a olhar para imagens da Natureza é suficiente para melhorar o desempenho cognitivo." Qing Li (2018). Shinrin-Yoku: Arte Japonesa da Terapia da Floresta. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

September

"(...) art holds the promise of initiating (...) creative percepcional and philosophical shifts, offering new ways of comprehending ourselves and our relation to the world differently than the destructive traditions of colonizing nature." T.J. Demos (2016). Decolonizing Nature. Contemporary Art and the Politics of Ecology. Image by Monica Pinheiro CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

strings

It all started with a string (a) and pieces of wasted biomass (b). Then creating little tensions (c), expanding one bit (d) at a time (e), and allowing infrastructure to grow (f) to shape natural (g), negative carbon shading for my home (h). Unlike artificial shading infrastructures (i), nature-based solutions become better with time (j) and go on sequestering carbon dioxide, cooling (k) the environment (l), and greening our cities (m). If they cease to live, they are still precious as colour pallets (n), compost or biomass for energy (o). Thinking (p) how can I expand the platform to this city balcony small forest... Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

September

"There's no denying the progress of the last decades, but at the same time we´re faced with an ecological crisis on an existential scale. The planet is warming, species are dying out and the pressing question now is: how sustainable is our civilised lifestyle?" Rutger Bregman, 2021. Humankind: a Hopeful History. Bloomsbury Publishing. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

September

"Profitez de vos promenades dans la campagne pour vous intéresser à tout ce que vous voyez, non pas superficiellement, mais en vous efforçant, par la reflexion, par la méditation, de pénétrer l´essence même de cette nature." Calouste S. Gulbenkian, n/d.  Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

September

Attitudes to planetary stewardship and transformation among G20 countries: 83% are willing to do more to become better “planetary stewards” and protect and regenerate the global commons. 73% agree their country’s economy should move beyond a singular focus on profit and economic growth (GDP) and focus more on human well being and ecological protection and regeneration. See Gaffney, O., Tcholak-Antitch, Z., et al. (2021). Global Commons Survey: Attitudes to planetary stewardship and transformation among G20 countries. Global Commons Alliance. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

all shades of green

Between «all or nothing» there are thousands of green variations. Green washing, like inaction, is not green. Its a waste of time and resources that could be applied in more green. None of us can do everything, but each of us can do a lot of green different things. And we need more of these different green things to get the Planet back on track. To sustain all life. Our life, also. We must carry on with green and keep on doing whatever more green we can do. Reducing what we can reduce. Reusing, recycling, composting, gardening, planting, trying some veggies of your own, offering plants, and seeds. Slowing down consumption. Exchanging surplus and ideas with neighbours, family, friends, colleagues. All shades of green are beautiful, fun, healthy, fair and good for the environment. 

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )