3% = …
At 3% growth of major economies in the major countries in the world (really all countries) the earth will be completely “eaten” up by humans. A fascinating conversation on the popular podcast Radiolab brought to my attention just how much we are using up the earth. Find the podcast here.
I have been working on a series of images that begin to address this using kids toys as the equipment to bring attention to the idea of scale. While we can see, feel, touch, use, play with these kids toys and they emulate what the actual machines do to the earth, at times the idea that we could do this much destruction seems like a bad dream. On our drive to the store or to work we might not see just how large the largest open pit mine is, or the huge number of roads being created each day, or the tons and tons of concrete produced and used each day so this issue can feel distant and frankly small in relation to the size of the earth. But the numbers show clearly how much change is happening and the rate at which it is growing. We might swerve away from some calamities but the larger picture shows change must happen starting now. I have begun the project and am working my way through a series of images that will hopefully be images that can begin and sustain a conversation about the destruction of the earth. Check back for more later this year.