Silent Spring

RACHEL CARSON - SILENT SPRING ON THE FATE OF OUR PLANET

Rachel Carson, wrote the book Silent Spring in 1962 (57 years ago!!!) about the demise of our planet from the use of pesticides. Silent Spring carries a message that is as relevant today as it was back in the 1960s. Humans are dependent on their living environment and it is, therefore, pure madness to disregard its protection. Because of the boldness and simplicity in how Carson tells the story, her book still inspires activists all around the world.

 

SEVERN SUZUCKI AT THE UN EARTH SUMMIT - ON POLLUTION

David Suzuki, the very well known environmental activist’s daughter Severn also, like Greta Thunberg had the opportunity to speak to world leaders at the UN’s Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 (27 years ago!). She received a standing ovation, she was just 12. This is the first part of her speech “Hello, I am Severn Suzuki speaking for E.C.O – the Environmental Children’s Organization. We are a group of 12 and 13 year-olds trying to make a difference, Vanessa Suttie, Morgan Geisler, Michelle Quigg and me. We’ve raised all the money to come here ourselves, to come 5,000 miles to tell you adults you must change your ways. Coming up here today, I have no hidden agenda. I am fighting for my future. Losing my future is not like losing an election, or a few points on the stock market.” “I am here to speak for all generations to come. I am here to speak on behalf of the starving children around the world whose cries go unheard. I am here to speak for the countless animals dying across this planet, because they have nowhere left to go. I am afraid to go out in the sun now, because of the holes in our ozone. I am afraid to breathe the air, because I don’t know what chemicals are in it. I used to go fishing in Vancouver, my home, with my Dad until, just a few years ago, we found a fish full of cancers. And now we hear of animals and plants going extinct every day, vanishing forever. In my life, I have dreamt of seeing the great herds of wild animals, jungles and rainforests full of birds and butterflies, but now I wonder if they will even exist for my children to see.”

 

“Did you have to worry of these things when you were my age? All this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have all the time we want and all the solutions. I’m only a child and I don’t have all the solutions, but I want you to realize, neither do you. You don’t know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer. You don’t know how to bring the salmon back up a dead stream. You don’t know how to bring back an animal now extinct. And you can’t bring back the forest that once grew where there is now a desert. If you don’t know how to fix it, please stop breaking it.”

 

GRETA THUNBERG AT THE UNITED NATIONS - OUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE AND CLIMATE CHANGE

When Greta Thunberg spoke to the United Nations World Leaders, I felt embarrassed. Not for her, she was brilliant but for being an adult, a voting adult, an educated adult and not having done something as significant as saying some simple words that might just make a difference…Greta is a young teenager and has made a BIG difference with her impassioned speeches to the EU last April and to the UN in September 2019. Such a brave girl. Brave like solo around the world sailors, brave like mountain climbers, brave like women who stand up against domestic violence. But Greta is not being brave for herself, she is standing up, speaking out on behalf of our breaking planet. She is pleading with those who are able to DO something…the adults!

 

I completed a PhD in Marine Biology nearly 10 years ago and learnt a lot about climate change, how it was being measured, how we could see the rate of change around us, the impact it would have on our planet, what was driving it…in other words the science behind the observations. It is, in my belief, undeniably real. As Greta so rightfully said, it will soon be too late. We learned 10 years ago that we would be feeling the impact of the changes by 2020.  We did indeed feel them this summer with the worst bushfire disaster in our country’s history.

 

Greta told the EU leaders how approximately 200 species are becoming extinct every single day, about the deforestation of our great forests, erosion of valuable topsoils, the extent of toxic air pollution, the loss of insects and wildlife, the increasing acidification of our oceans. She said our house is falling apart and our leaders need to start acting accordingly, but they are not.

 

She asked why there have been 3 emergency Brexit summits, but no emergency summit for the breakdown of the climate. Millions of school children are taking to the streets to draw attention to the crisis.  We have run out of time to educate ourselves on the detail, its real and it’s happening now…we don’t have time on our side anymore.  Leaders need to listen to the young people; it is the world they are inheriting.  They aren’t old enough to vote, but they are old enough to understand and care. What we are doing now can soon no longer be undone, and some politicians still do not want to talk about climate breakdown.

 

I hope that some of you feel as passionately about this topic as I do. I can’t stand up and talk at the UN but I can make images that I hope open eyes. Please do not ignore the beauty in our planet, and its resilience stand up for it and push back against these irresponsible politicians who ignore the plea of the youth and those who care about our future to stop killing our planet.

 

The image features a lagoon near my home that has been dry for as long as I can remember. 

There are 78 layers and 34 individual photographs that make up the image. The layered file is 20 GB in size.

 

Limited Edition of 50, Printed on Canson Infinity RAG Photographique, Print size: 540 x 540 mm.  When framed the components are completely museum archival quality with UV Gallery glass to limit reflections.

 

This image is an original composition by Suellen Cook. All prints are Limited Edition, signed by the artist.

 

Produced by fine art printers, Full Gamut.

Please note; Prints are made to order. Please allow 10-15 business days for production and shipping. Delivery times will vary with destination.