Vote in the Union of Concerned Scientists’ 2013 Cartoon Contest

The 2013 UCS Editorial Cartoon Contest is your chance to vote for the best cartoons as we take a look back through time at some of the great cartoons from the past seven competitions. We’ve chosen 12 all-star cartoons that stand out in their ability to poke fun at the not-so-humorous challenges to the complex relationship between science and democracy. Which one is your favorite? Your choice will decide the cover of next year’s UCS 2014 Editorial Cartoon Calendar.

The cartoons cover a number of topics that are critical to the role of science in policy making, including the general state of public dialogue, corporate interference in science, attacks on the scientific regulatory system, barriers to the responsible use of science in policy making, the interaction of communications and social media with science, attacks on scientists, and the defense of science.

 

Allegheny County Health Department (PA) 2012-2013 Environmental Poster Contest

Four students in grades 6-8 are winners in ACHD’s 14th Annual Environmental Poster Contest, held each year in commemoration of Earth Day.

The theme of this year’s contest was “Pollution Prevention Starts With You!”

Students were asked to create 11″x17″posters that will show us what they can do to prevent pollution in their own home, school, or neighborhood.

View the winning posters at http://www.achd.net/air/2013postercontest/.

 

Today’s Google Doodle

Today’s Google Doodle honors Maria Sibylla Merian, a naturalist and scientific illustrator who studied plants and insects and made detailed paintings about them. It’s her 366th birthday today. The Christian Science Monitor has an excellent article about her life and the importance of her work.

So why should we care about Merian all these centuries later? Well, as the website of the J. Paul Getty Museum puts it, Merian and her daughters (and more on them later) were not just extremely talented artists. They were also pioneers, who “raised the artistic standards of natural history illustration and helped transform the field of entomology.”

 

Campus Project Demonstrates How Recycling ‘Adds Up’

Read the full story at WOUB.

Ohio University Campus Recycling has created a visual representation of how recyclable materials can add up over the course of just four weeks.

The group is in the process of creating a giant sculpture at the former Howard Hall site comprised of four weeks’ worth of recycled #1 and #2 plastics collected on campus.

The project, entitled “It All Adds Up,” will be a cylinder 16 feet high and 50 feet in diameter and will remain in place until Friday, when the 31,400 cubic feet of plastic bottles will be recycled through the Athens Hocking Recycling Center.

The structure is also made partially of wood from waste pallets and plywood, which will be donated to a local charity when the sculpture is dismantled.

 

Music gives attention to environment issues

Read the full story at Fourth Estate.

UW-Green Bay students and faculty joined in efforts to enforce daily environmentally friendly practices. Compartmentalized garbage bins, hydration stations and a charge for plastic bags at the Corner Store are just a couple of things being done to promote a green campus.

At the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts March 1, the UWGB Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble showed their support for the environmentally conscious curriculum. UWGB Director of Bands, Kevin Collins, conducted a performance that not only displayed musical talent, but it embodied the concept of keeping the environment unpolluted.

The creative theme for the concert was “Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle.” It made connections with the university’s environmental viewpoints and recycled old music to new.

 

Look Closely At These Chinese Landscapes, Which Are Really Photos Of Landfills

Read the full story at FastCoExist.

The artist Yao Lu disguises pictures of China’s environmental problems in the tropes of traditional Chinese art.

 

2012-2013 Marine Debris Art Contest Winners

NOAA’s Marine Debris program has announced the winners of its 2012-2013 art contest. View the winning entries here.

 

Boston University’s 808 Gallery show kicks off collaborative project

Read the full story from Boston University.

How do we go about creating a sustainable future? That question is at the center of a new project titled Alternative Visions/Sustainable Futures, a collaboration between the College of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts and sustainability@bu. Taking place throughout the semester, the project features an art exhibition, speakers, and weekly forums that include collaborative art projects, film screenings, musical performances, and poetry readings.

Two years in the making, the cross-disciplinary project was the brainchild of Dennis Carlberg, BU’s director of sustainability, and Dana Clancy, a CFA assistant professor of visual arts, who wanted to explore the creative ways that artists, scholars, and members of the BU community might build a sustainable future.

 

Sustainability: The Journal of Record Call for Papers on the Creative Arts in Sustainability Programs

Manuscript Deadline: March 22, 2013

“Art is the principal way in which the human mind has tried to remake the world in a way that makes sense.” —J.G. Ballard

Sustainability: The Journal of Record is looking for research-based manuscripts, case studies, and commentaries on how creative arts are being used in sustainability programs within academia and the private sector.

In order to achieve the goals of the sustainability framework—while sparking activism and cultural change—many programs are turning to the creative arts. Sustainability: The Journal of Record, the premier journal and central forum on sustainability issues, is seeking submissions on this important topic.

We welcome submissions from professors, administrators, faculty, and students; from advocates, partners, and policymakers at the local, state, and national level; and from private sector partners working in a creative art medium to support sustainability programs and goals.

Items to consider:

• Research/survey-based articles for peer review
• Case studies and program profiles on creative arts-focused initiatives within the sustainability framework
• Commentaries on the topic
• High-resolution photographs are welcome

For more information on manuscript submission, see our Author’s page and to view a free sample issue, visit our website and click on Sample Content.

For questions, thoughts, or for further information, contact us via e-mail at sustainability@liebertpub.com

We look forward to receiving your manuscripts and to your active participation in the Journal.

Advantages of submitting to Sustainability: The Journal of Record…
Rapid peer review • Fast track article publication • Open access options • Readership in over 140 countries • Outstanding editorial board and reputation of journal • In Collaboration with AASHE • Indexed/Abstracted in: EMBiology; Scopus; Geobase; CAB Abstracts; Sustainability Science Abstracts; GreenFILE

 

Climate science comes alive as art

Read the full story at Mother Nature Network.

A collaborative effort pulls video gamers, music professors, multimedia designers and polar researchers together to make climate science approachable.