Climate Changes

Anyone who knows the Horton family knows how passionate we are about our planet. The concept that you take care of what has been given to you was instilled in my brother and I from a young age by my father and mother. Learning to appreciate those gifts as something to be looked after has shaped much of my brother's, and my own careers. It seems that we have always been drawn to the wild places on earth. either to adventure, film, photograph or just enjoy. I dont think we ever had much of a choice in whether we would care for our planet or not.

Art and the environment often cross paths. Animals, landscapes and humans interaction with them have dominated much of art for centuries. But one of the aims of the artist is to create something new. Something that will give people a different perspective on life. Something which i like to think "matters".

Climate change as we are so well aware is a controversial topic. Does it "exist"? Is it natural? Is it man made? Is it just made up? The debates go around and around. In my wanderings, I have come to blame the "lack of evidence" on the fact that differential equations and our technological inability to properly monitor every ounce of atmospheric change deem "scientific evidence" practically impossible. If that sounds complicated, it should. Few mathematicians can understand differential equations well enough, much less apply them to our atmosphere appropriately enough, to give us an understanding of whether climate change is occurring or not. The whole issue is simply frustrating to me. Perhaps what is most frustrating though, is our approach as human beings.

I have resolved in my mind to approach our environmental issues from a human standpoint and not a scientific one. Why, because it is no longer a scientific problem. We know we pollute. We know we over fish. In the Western world we over spend, over buy, we over everything. If we rely on science to tell us that we are destroying the planet, we have lost one of the very things that makes us human. A moral code. Not that everyone needs the same moral code. We all have the ability to make decisions and see whether we do harm or do good. That lets us learn, grow, change, and evolve into adults. At the end of the day though, we know whether we have had a positive effect or not. That is what seems to missing from our "science". The ablitiy to feel and make a decision NOW that maybe we should recycle. Walk more. Smile more. Be responsible.

This polar bear is sitting on an ice berg. He is balanced precariously as it melts away. The body language says help. It is a reminder of our own individual ability to help everyone else on our planet. Especially the non humans.