# 30 Fire and Ice

Iceland sits on top of a series of volcanoes. The last time the volcano which is currently blowing its top saw action was in 1820. A much larger sister volcano named Lakla brewing under the massive Myrdalsjokull ice cap has a pattern of following suit. Lakla last exploded in the winter of 1918 causing its gases to turn to smog which filled the jet stream in such quantity that weather patterns were changed in Europe, causing crop failure and famine. Scientists are keeping a close eye on her as her eruption will cause almost instant flooding and explosive gases shooting into the atmosphere. Sounds a bit like Armageddon doesn't it? Mother Nature is so much bigger than all of us and in spite of our grand egos we are still and forever more at her mercy.

This piece is about the current eruption, seen as the red wires at the top of the stick. The white and blue gels are the ice cap and the fiery bubbling Lakla in shown in red and yellow gels below.

# 2 Gluttony

We are an amazing consumptive people and the effect on the natural world is huge. The destruction of the rain forest for farm land to grow crops that ultimately get sold to the US and other industrial countries is taking its toll on the rest of the life that is trying to inhabit this planet.

This piece is about a bloated Uncle Sam, with fat cheeks and pursed lips ready to suck in more excess. The pieces of drift wood are positioned in such a way to say "Time Out" and "Stop!

# 1 Crops

This is my first piece for the Time Project. I was concerned about how to start the Climate Change theme until I came upon an amazing photo on the front page of the New York Times. The entire photo was filled with reddish plots of land with one tiny exception which was a small clump of green in the middle of the vastness. When I read the caption I realized it was what was left of the rain forest after the land had been stripped of the trees and turned into farm land.

The small clump of green wire next to the cut stumps surrounded by the ocher gels represent the cutting of the forest and the cultivation of the land for growing crops. The blue wire tears speak for themselves.

# 29 Can Dos

Insulating your house can help enormously in reducing your energy consumption. We live in a relatively old house that was drafty enough to flutter the curtains. A few years back we were encouraged to get a free energy audit and then follow their recommendations. To our surprise we discovered that our walls had no insulation at all. With the help of State subsidies (they paid half the cost,) we insulated the house and vented the attic which has helped greatly in tightening the place up. Now thanks to the Stimulus bill there is also federal money available for making your home energy efficient. Hope you all take advantage of the money that is now available for our home improvement use.

This piece is about insulating your house. The open window looking out on the tree is surrounded by blue and orange insulating gels.

# 28 Dead Zone

'Up well,' is the term given to the combination of deep ocean currents and winds from the north working together to raise the oxygen depleted waters of the ocean floor to the surface for replenishment. 'Dead zones' are created when there is no added oxygen to the deep water, or there is a heavy die off of nutrients that create bio matts that suffocate all life on the ocean floor. Either one or a combination of both create areas where there is no life or 'dead zones.' Scientists have long been aware of dead zones, but what has recently alarmed them is the frequency with which they are occurring. Part of the problem they now think has to do with the heating of the planet which is warming the surface waters. The warmer water acts as a cap holding the oxygen starved deeper water down, not allowing it to the surface for the air exchange that it needs to sustain life. Recently thousands of dead Dungeness crabs have been found littering the ocean floor off the north western coast of North America. This piece is about 'dead zones.' The darker blues and green gels at the base of the wood are the deep ocean currents moving towards the warmer green water or cap at the top of the piece. The light blue gels are the winds pushing the water. The circular black wire that surrounds the red wire crab represents the dead zone.

#27 Earth Hour

The World Wildlife Fund is celebrating their third annual 'Earth Hour.' This energy awareness campaign will once again get everyone to turn off all non-essential lighting and electronics for one hour on March 27, 2010 from 8:30 - 9:30 PM. To date there are 80 countries and 800 cities participating.. It is the largest planetary event in our history. To sign up and be counted go to http://www.earthhour.org/Homepage.aspx

This piece is about Earth Hour. The photo cut in two is a NASA shot of the earth at night. I divided it into the northern and southern hemispheres. Our country has 4% of the earths population and contributes 25% of all the energy emissions. It is kind of shocking to see the difference, and worth googling the real earth at night photo. I put a wire compact florescent light in the middle as a small token of what we can do to conserve energy.

# 26 Down Time

Those that are programed to be of service have a hard time dealing with 'down time'. How do you justify doing nothing? This piece is about that anxiety. The wire head is bowed and the hands are clasped in prayer. Breasts hang below to indicate gender. The gray gels are fear and anxiety that come in waves overlapping the yellow spirit of giving in the bowed head. The three pieces of wood are the community of family and friends. Living and sorting this problem can be very difficult for some.