Interview with Jason Talbot

Hi! Dylan here. Today I had a great conversation with Jason Talbot, co-founder and alumnus of Artists for Humanity. Artists for Humanity is a Boston based  non-profit youth arts organization whose mission is to bridge economic, racial, and social divisions by providing under-resourced youth with the keys to self-suffiency through paid employment in the arts. Mr. Talbot was contacted by one of the globe sponsors, Mrs. Christine Shadek, to create the artwork for one of the globes being displayed in Cool Globes Boston. As Mr. Talbot said, he always loves being involved with awesome projects. This project is special because it's great to be part of something bigger. The fact that hundreds of thousands of people will see this piece of artwork makes this project particularly exciting. And you can't beat the fact that it's also for a great cause. Stay tuned for my next post which will describe the artwork on this globe and will hopefully include a picture of the globe. This is Dylan, signing off.

Nancy Schon's Cool Globe Stage 4

Nancy and her intern Nellie are pasting the book covers on Nancy's Cool Globe!

It is so exciting to see this globe come alive with images and with color!

- Liam

Nancy Schon's Cool Globe Stage 3

Nancy paints the continents green!

The globe base painted brown for the earth.
Looking good!

- Liam

Cool Globes Boston

Hi! Dylan here. As Cool Gobes Boston quickly approaches, there are a lot of exciting things happening behind the scenes to make this a great event.  Tomorrow, I will be interviewing one of the artists chosen to paint one of the globes. Stay tuned later this week for my first blog describing how this Cool globe came to life. This is Dylan, signing off.

Take a tip from the Tour De France

Is anyone watching the Tour De France? You may think that it is not too hard, but it is so much harder than it looks. Bike to work instead of driving, in their honor. Save carbon from going into the atmosphere and get some great exercise. -Liam

Image source: http://htekidsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/tourdefrance-2011.jpg

Nancy Schon's Cool Globe Stage 2

Nancy paints the water blue.
Her paint brush is so cool!
- Liam

A Flight Across the Country....On Solar Power

Hi! Dylan here. Solar Impulse is a plane that is run entirely on solar power. It has 11,628 solar cells on the plane in total. Solar Impulse recently flew all the way across the country, entirely on solar energy. This is a great example of what we can do with solar energy. This is Dylan, signing off.

Nancy Schon's Cool Globe for Boston Exhibit: Reading Greens the Future

On Tuesday July 2, I had the privilege of speaking with Make Way for Ducklings artist Nancy Schon. The ducklings are in the Boston Public Garden.  By going to her web site www.schon, you can see many of her other amazing works of art. She is decorating a Cool Globe for the Boston Exhibit.

Here is the interview.

(Liam) Why did you decide to participate in the Cool Globes Boston exhibit?

(Nancy) Because I want my grandchildren to have a nice cool green planet when they grown up. I am thinking about my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

(Liam) Can you tell us what the Cool Globe you are decorating is about?

(Nancy) The title of my Cool Globe is "Reading Greens the Future."

(Liam) Why is this the title?  

(Nancy)  I believe that, through reading, kids learn different ways to Green the planet.  Our kids are our future and they are learning how to improve our world through their reading.

(Liam) How will you create your Cool Globe?

(Nancy)  First, I put black and white cut-outs of the covers of about 106 well-known children's literature on the globe - e.g., Make Way for Ducklings, Curious George, A Chair for My Mother... Then I started to spray and color it.  Finally, I will paste color copies of children's book covers on the globe.

Nancy sent me some pictures of her Cool Globe in progress.  Here are the first two.  Tune in over the next week to see Nancy Schon's Cool Globe "Reading Greens the Future" begin to take shape

Having created the bronze Make Way for Ducklings statutes that connect with the famous children's book set in Boston, Nancy obviously has a strong connection with children's literature so her Cool Globe ties in perfectly to her work.

I for one can't wait to see the completed globe on the Boston Common in August!

Thank you Nancy for all that you are doing for Cool Globes Boston!

-Liam

After washing the globe, Nancy and her intern cut out and taped the book covers in black and white to see how they would look.

Nancy's intern Nellie is seen spraying the globe with gray auto base coat.

New Research Close to Home

Hi.  Dylan here.  I came across another example of powerful and exciting research being done close to home at Boston University.  Professor Ranga Myneni in the College of Arts and Sciences at BU is a professor of earth and environment.  He and 21 others, published an article in March in Nature Climate Change that talks about the serious changes in seasonal temperatures and vegetation north of the US- Canada border.  If global warming continues at its current pace, Mr. Myneni and another associate professor Bruce Anderson predict that by the end of the century, the arctic regions of Canada will look and feel much like the southern US.  I really like Mr. Anderson’s thought: “Where we go from here is entirely within our control.  That’s because the biggest uncertainty is not how our atmosphere will respond to more greenhouse gas concentrations, but how much humans can -or will- control carbon dioxide emissions.”   This is Dylan signing off.

Thank you Cool Globes Sponsors!

Here is a list of the companies and people sponsoring Cool Globes Boston.

Bain Capital, Reebok, Conservation Law Foundation, David Belluck, Connors Family Office, the Grantham Foundation, Medline, Groupon, Cathy Douglas Stone, Brooke Muggia, and Kristine Shadek.

Thank you to all these people and companies for bringing the Cool Globes exhibit to Boston! -Liam

A Boston University Professor Shares His Opinion on Fossil Fuels.

Hi everyone! Dylan here. I was looking through a quarterly newsletter sent out by Boston University when I came across a very interesting article about Global Warming. Cutler Cleveland, a College of Art & Sciences professor at the school shared his opinion on Global Warming and coal, oil, and natural gas.  Mr. Cleveland says the transition from fossil fuels to wind, solar and nuclear power will require fast technological advancements, big capital investments and the political will of ordinary people. Cleveland is convinced that to avoid more dire situations, there needs to be big changes. This is Dylan, signing off.

Happy July 4th Weekend! Go outside and do something!

It's summer so don't sit inside on your computer or phone all day! Go outside and enjoy the nice weather when you can. Walk instead of driving, play a game of soccer instead of texting. There are so many ways to save energy while having fun at the same time! -Liam

Image source: http://www.stonybrook.edu/finaid/images/summersun.gif