Monthly Archive for September, 2011

Unleashing the Creative Power of Science

Published on September 30, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

ASEF alumnus Dr Theodore Anagnostopoulos presenting his work

From Culture360.org

Genetic scientist Dr Theodore Anagnostopoulos is no stranger to using creative and artistic approaches to communicate messages of sustainable solutions in response to global environmental challenges. Besides creating and staging plays on scientific topics for young audiences, he also undertook journeys to record the use of renewable energy which he presented through exhibitions and festivals.

Theodore has a Masters in Human Reproductive Biology from Imperial College (UK) and a PhD in Medical Genetics from Kings College London (UK). But he says the basis in arts and science is very similar and that is research and experimentation. He says that the arts have been used as a means for communication, including of scientific issues, for a long time and combining the two was only natural.

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There Once Was An Island: Te Henua E Nnoho

Published on September 23, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

A film by Briar March and Lyn Collie

What if your community had to decide whether to leave their homeland forever and there was no help available?

This is the reality for the culturally unique Polynesian community of Takuu, a tiny low-lying atoll in the South Western Pacific. As a terrifying tidal flood rips through their already damaged home, the Takuu community experiences the devastating effects of climate change first hand.

In this verite-style film, three intrepid characters Teloo, Endar and Satty, allow us into their lives and their culture and show us first hand the human impact of an environmental crisis. Two scientists, oceanographer John Hunter and geomorphologist Scott Smithers, investigate the situation with our characters and consider the impact of climate change on communities without access to resources or support. Intimate observational scenes allow Teloo, Endar and Satty to take us on their personal journeys as they consider whether to move to an uncertain future in Bougainville or to stay on Takuu and fight for a different, but equally uncertain, outcome.

To read more about the movie or purchase your own copy please visit the following link.

Climate Change Museum in Bremerhaven, Germany

Published on September 14, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

Everyone talks about the weather. But what factors determine the climate? The Klimahaus® Bremerhaven 8° Ost gives answers that are both scientifically supported and fascinating. Join us on the great journey into the world of the climate in this new and unique world of knowledge and adventure.

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The World Lives with Water

Published on September 12, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

By Elizabeth Minkel from the New Yorker

If you haven’t seen it yet, go and watch “Beach Creatures,” the video that accompanies Ian Frazier’s “The March of the Strandbeests” in this week’s issue. The piece is a profile of the Dutch artist Theo Jansen, who began building his extraordinary kinetic sculptures two decades ago, after contemplating the dangers of global warming to a nation built on the water. Frazier writes that Jansen, worried about rising sea levels that “might re-flood Holland and reduce its size to what it had been in medieval times,” came up with a solution: “he proposed to build animals that would toss sand in the air so that it would land on and augment the seaside dunes. What he envisioned were self-propelled creatures that would restore the balance between water and land, the way beavers do in Dutch marshes.”

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Second Giant Ice Island set to break off Greenland Glacier

Published on September 6, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

By Ian Johnston from msnbc.com

New photographs taken of a vast glacier in northern Greenland have revealed the astonishing rate of its breakup, with one scientist saying he was rendered “speechless.”

In August 2010, part of the Petermann Glacier about four times the size of Manhattan island broke off , prompting a hearing in Congress.

Researcher Alun Hubbard, of the Centre for Glaciology at Aberystwyth University, U.K., told msnbc.com by phone that another section, about twice the size of Manhattan, appeared close to breaking off.

In 2009, scientists installed GPS masts on the glacier to track its movement.

But when they returned in July this year, they found the ice had been melting so quickly — at an unexpected 16-and-a-half feet in two years — that some of the masts stuck into the glacier were no longer in position.

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