Don RitterSchool of Creative Media

Meeting 2

sustainabilitynoun

1. the ability to be sustained, supported, upheld.

2. Environmental Science. the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance

dictionary.com

Sustainability: a state of continual and acceptable survival for the Earth and for the diversity of its living organisms and non-living entities

Breathing

OutsideGets insideThrough her skin.I've been out beforeBut this time it's much safer in.

Last night in the sky,Such a bright light.My radar send me dangerBut my instincts tell me to keep

Breathing,("Out, in, out, in, out, in...")Breathing,Breathing my mother in,Breathing my beloved in,Breathing,Breathing her nicotine,Breathing,Breathing the fall-out in,Out in, out in, out in, out in.

We've lost our chance.We're the first and the last, ooh,After the blast.Chips of PlutoniumAre twinkling in every lung.

I love myBeloved, ooh,All and everywhere,Only the fools blew it.You and meKnew life itself is

Breathing,("Out, in, out, in, out...")Breathing,Breathing my mother in,Breathing my beloved in,Breathing,Breathing her nicotine,Breathing,Breathing the fall-out in,Out in, out in, out in, out in,Out in, out in, out in, out...("Out!")

"In point of fact it is possible to tell the("Out!") difference between a small nuclear explosion and a large one by a very simple method. The callingcard of a nuclear bomb is the blinding flash thatis far more dazzling than any light on earth--brightereven than the sun itself--and it is by the durationof this flash that we are able to determine the size("What are we going to do without?")of the weapon. After the flash a fireball can beseen to rise, sucking up under it the debris, dust

and living things around the area of the explosion,and as this ascends, it soon becomes recognisableas the familiar "mushroom cloud". As a demonstrationof the flash duration test let's try and count thenumber of seconds for the flash emitted by a verysmall bomb; then a more substantial, medium-sizedbomb; and finally, one of our very powerful,"high-yield" bombs

"What are we going to do without?"Ooh please!"What are we going to do without?"Let me breathe!"What are we going to do without?"Ooh, Quick!"We are all going to die without!"Breathe in deep!"What are we going to die without?"Leave me something to breathe!"We are all going to die without!"Oh, leave me something to breathe!"What are we going to do without?"Oh, God, please leave us something to breathe!""We are all going to die withoutOh, life is--Breathing.

BreathingKate Bush, 1980

“Breathing” is about a foetus, very much aware of what is going on outside the womb and frightened by nuclear fallout, which implies that the song is set either during a nuclear war scare or a post-apocalyptic birth. The music video features Bush in a womb portraying a foetus.

wikipedia.com

Catherine “Kate” Bush, CBE* (born 1958) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. She is known for her eclectic and experimental music as well as her idiosyncratic .performances.

* CBE: Most Excellent Order of the British Empire

United Nations Millennium Declaration (2000) identified three domains(areas of concern) for sustainability: environmental, economics, and social sustainability

Environmental Concerns for Sustainability

Components of the natural environment, including:

• the physical earth: inner earth, rocky crust, soil • water: oceans, rivers, streams, lakes, glaciers• atmosphere: stratospheric layers, climate, weather• life: all living organisms, including humans, animals, sea life, plants, etc.• wilderness: natural environments not modified by humans• ecosystem: interrelated system comprised of all living and non-living factors• biome: an specific ecosystem comprised of specific living and non-living factors • biogeochemical cycle: exchange of chemicals between living organisms and the physical world (clouds>rain>rivers>condensation>clouds)

a healthy natural environment is required for the survival of humans and other organisms

Some Environmental Concerns for Sustainability: global warming

greenhouse gas: a gas in the atmosphere that absorbs and produces radiation that causes heat; green house gases include water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.

greenhouse effect: the warming of the earth’s surface caused by green house gases

global warming or climate change: “an increase in the earth’s average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect.” Global warming can damage ecosystems (ie. melting glaciers can cause flooding of coastal cities: Hong Kong, New York, etc. )

scientists are 95% certain that global warming is caused by human activities that are producing large amounts of CO2

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014)

Some Economic Concerns for Sustainability

economics: the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind. dictionary.com

• a nation’s wealth• how economic wealth is distributed within a society and throughout the world• minimum wages for employment• how human activities today will affect future people’s ability to live at the same degree of prosperity and comfort• sustainable consumption of good and services• safe products• sale of banned products• customer privacy• legal business practices

Some Social Concerns for Sustainability

• peace (not war)• personal safety• justice for everyone• poverty• discrimination• urbanism (living in large cities) • child labour • forced labour• indigenous rights• labour practices

Ethics : an area of philosophy concerned with human values and with which human behaviours are considered good and which are not.

Is sustainability important (a value) or not?

Questions on Being Sustainable

Which human actions are enhancing (improving) sustainability today?

Which other human actions could enhance sustainability more?

Which human actions are diminishing (reducing) sustainability?

Which human actions could diminish (reduce) sustainability even more?

Are people aware their actions are diminishing sustainability?

Are people aware their actions are enhancing sustainability?

Sustainable Development

“sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

from the 1987 Brundtland Report, United Nations

United Nations (UN): an international organization of sovereign free states (free countries) that promotes international co-operation.

member states: http://www.un.org/en/member-states/

Sustainable Development Goals

On 1 January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were adopted by world leaders at the UN

1. Poverty – End poverty in all forms everywhere

2. Food – End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

3. Health – Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

4. Education – Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

5. Women – Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

6. Water – Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

7. Energy – Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

8. Economy – Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9. Infrastructure – Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

10. Inequality – Reduce inequality within and among countries

11. Habitation – Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

12. Consumption – Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

13. Climate – Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

14. Marine-ecosystems – Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

15. Ecosystems – Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

16. Institutions – Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

17. Sustainability – Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

Circles of Sustainability is a method for understanding and assessing sustainability, and for managing projects directed towards socially sustainable outcomes: economics, ecology, politics, and culture

Visual Semiotics

semiotics: “the study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behaviour; the analysis of systems of communication, as language, gestures, or clothing.” dictionary.com

linguistics: “the science of language, including phonetics (sounds in words), phonology (arrangement of sounds), morphology (formation of words and relationships), syntax (arrangement of words), semantics (meaning of words), pragmatics (relationship between context and meaning), and historical linguistics.” dictionary.com

visual semiotics: an area of semiotics that analyses how visual images (non-linguistic signs) communicate a message

components of a sign:a) signifier: the sound, image, or word within a sign (ie. a photograph)b) signified: the concept or meaning represented by the sign (ie. a person’s interpretation of the photograph)

Framing• using certain signs (images or text) that encourage an audience to have a certain interpretation; framing exploits people’s stereotypes and beliefs

Promoting Sustainability with Images• show an image (signifier) showing sustainability as desirable (signified)• show an image (signifier) showing a lack of sustainability as undesirable (signified)• attempt to persuade people into acting sustainably

Fort McMurray, a great place for your children to play!

Fort McMurray, a great place for your children to play!

Fort McMurray

Sustainability Photo Taskcreate as many photographs as you want that promote issues of sustainability related to:• environmental concerns• economic concerns• social concernss

Please bring up to 5 of your best photos to part 2 of the workshop on October 14 @ 2pm (on a USB drive or any other storage device) • we will discuss your photos at that time.• we will print one of your photos (33x48 cm colour), which you can pick up the following week• your photos will be placed on a City U web page as part of the workshop

name your photos as follows:lastname_firstname_photo-number. extension (jpg, tiff, psd, cr2, etc)ie. Chan_Mary_1.jpg, Chan_Mary_2.jpg, etcindicate the photo you want printed with the word “print” in the file name, ie. Chan_Mary_3print.cr2

QUESTIONNAIRE

Thank you

Don Ritter dfritter@cityu.edu

Cleo Song zhengsong2@cityu.edu.hk