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 )

August

 

"(...) what was becoming clear to me was the extent to which humans, in their wish to escape loneliness, made maneuvers that were very complex and hard to fathom (...) at no stage (...) within my control." Kazuo Ishiguro (2021), Klara and the Sun. Faber. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

Adaptation

"The aim of the Adaptation Support Tool (AST) is to assist policy makers and coordinators on the national level in developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating climate change adaptation strategies and plans. The AST was developed as a practical guidance tool for national level actors for all steps needed to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate a national adaptation strategy." Climate ADAPT: The Adaptation Support Tool. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

August

 

European Environment Agency (2021). Nature‑based solutions in Europe: Policy, knowledge and practice for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

August

More (digital) data about consumers / citizens should be synonym with increased ethical use behaviours, but is it? Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

August

“People you love become part of you – not just metaphorically, but physically. You absorb people into your internal mental world.” When people get separated “the sudden absence represents a major departure from homeostasis. (…) when someone moves away, rejects you, or dies, your brain struggles with its thwarted expectations.” David Eagleman (2020). Livewired: the inside story of the ever-changing brain. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

August

"(...) the magic of our brain lies not in it's constituent elements but in the way those elements unceasingly reweave themselves to form a dynamic, electric, living fabric." David Eagleman (2020). Livewired: the inside story of the ever-changing brain. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

August

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

August

"The presumption that only very high profile individuals face threats of this caliber is a myth quickly busted by the numerous cases we found targeted for shockingly banal reasons. (...) [G]overnments need to provide remedy to those who have been unjustly targeted, and accountability to those who conducted and facilitated these attacks." The Pegasus Project, by Claudio Guarnieri. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

August

 

"In a world without caste, being male or female, light or dark, immigrant or native-born, would have no bearing on what anyone was perceived as being capable of." Isabel Wilkerson (2020). Caste: the lies that divide us. Penguin books. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

August

"The thrill of life is not about who we are but about who we are in the process of becoming." David Eagleman (2020). Livewired: the inside story of the ever-changing brain. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

August

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

August

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

July

 

"[T]he first study to assess oil and gas companies using the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario (...) found that none of the 100 companies have committed to stopping exploration." World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), Oil and Gas Benchmark (available rankings, methods and data). Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

July

"Here it's neither in, nor out. The transition between the inside and the outside is inspired by the traditional Japanese housing. It is called an Engawa." written in Gulbenkian Foundation Extension and Gardens' construction site wall. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA.

July

"Fully integrate biodiversity values into policies, regulations, planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies, accounts, and assessments of environmental impacts at all levels of government and across all sectors of the economy, ensuring that all activities and financial flows are aligned with biodiversity values." See New Global Framework for Managing Nature Through 2030: 1st Detailed Draft Agreement Debuts. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

2021 11 16 Note: follow up on the Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

July

“Prevention and mitigation of drought risk have a far lower cost than reaction and response. (…) [T]his report emphasizes the continuum from short-term proactive drought preparedness and response through to long-term prospective risk management and risk reduction.” United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (2021). GAR Special Report on Drought 2021. Geneva. | Report page.

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

July

"O fermento havia desaparecido do pão da terra. Uma presença de graciosidade, alegria e liberdade, uma fonte de energia eléctrica desvanecera-se. Um gato erguera-se e abandonara a sala." Karen Blixen (2003). África Minha. Público: Coleção Mil Folhas. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

July

"Everyday of continued exponential growth brings the world systems closer to the limits to that growth. A decision to do nothing is a decision to increase the risk of collapse." Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jorgen Randers & William W. Behrens III (1972). The Limits to Growth. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

June

The Craftsman "(...) focuses on the intimate connection between hand and head. Every good craftsman conducts a dialogue between concrete practices and thinking; this dialogue evolves into sustaining habits, and this habits establish a rhythm between problem solving and problem finding." Richard Sennet, 2009. The Craftsman.

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

June

“The slowness of the craft time serves as a source of satisfaction (…). Slow craft time also enables the work of reflection and imagination – which the push for quick results cannot.” Richard Sennet, 2009. The Craftsman. Penguin Books.

Photo of tapestry (78 x 93 cm) by Monica Pinheiro CC BY-NC-SA (CC) 2021.

June

What can we do with what we already have? What is the environment giving in abundance that we can use to solve a need or a problem? Knowledge, art, technology, resources, «things»? While we aspire for something else, what can we do with what we have?

Cut out plants may be garbage, food, play, or energy. They are also colour pallets, materials for creating tapestries, windows for other worlds. Plants, seeds, bark, and all kinds of different materials that lay around in the environment. Feeling the touch, discovering the colour, memorizing the smell. Weaving quietly different textures and tensions. Creating peace to guide action. Liberating the mind to shape possibilities.

 

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

Summer

This Epiphyllum (mixed in a vase with other plants) only flourished twice since 2009. The first time was in August 2018 and this time marking the solstice. She started to open slightly during the day, amid rain and lower temperatures but in the beginning of nightfall, there she was blooming and releasing her exquisite perfume. In 2018 I though she was a day flower but it turns out she is a moon flower, a delicate beauty that came to announce summer time. 

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

June

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

June

"Any human activity that does not require a large flow of irreplaceable resources or produce severe environmental degradation might continue to grow indefinitely." (Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jorgen Randers & William W. Behrens III (1972). The Limits to Growth).  Some activities are CO2 negative, like gardening, so they can and should be indefinitely increased. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

June

"People always said they wanted the truth, but really they were perfectly content with a facsimile." Kate Atkinson, 2018. Transcription. Painting by Jianhua Tan.

June

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

June

 

"Human knowledge, ingenuity, technology and cooperation can transform societies and economies and secure a sustainable future. (...) Each individual and organization has a role to play in moving society along pathways toward a sustainable future that will vary across nations, regions and contexts, including through existing institutions and policy approaches." United Nations Environment Programme (2021). Making Peace with Nature: A scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

June

 

"Whether in the case of donor-supported schemes or government-supported tree-based restoration interventions, it is crucial that sustainable financing solutions for such projects go beyond the planting stage. This can only be achieved if the scope of the restoration intervention is seen as a process beyond tree planting that requires more investment to ensure the planted seedlings also grow to be trees." See figure 1, page 12. Duguma L, Minang P, Aynekulu E, Carsan S, Nzyoka J, Bah A, Jamnadass R. 2020. From Tree Planting to Tree Growing: Rethinking Ecosystem Restoration Through Trees. ICRAF Working Paper No 304. World Agroforestry. Photograph by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

June

 

"Our current data economy is based on collecting as much personal data as possible, storing it indefinitely, and selling it to the highest bidder. Having so much sensitive data circulating freely is reckless. By designing our economy around surveillance, we are building a dangerous structure for social control that is at odds with freedom." by Carissa Véliz in The Reboot. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

June

 

"So, what is your vision? What do you really want? What would make this a world that would make you excited to get up in the morning and go to work in it? (...) What kind of world would that be?" in «Final Warning Limits to Growth». Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)