A Letter to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry

Please read the letter below and if you agree, then please add your name by using our Sign Here form.

Thank You!

Aaron Ellison PhD, Senior Research Fellow in Ecology, Harvard Forest, Harvard University at aellison@fas.harvard.edu

Aviva Rahmani, PhD, Affiliate at the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado at Boulder, CO. www.avivarahmani.com at ghostnets@ghostnets.com

March 25, 2021

Dear Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry,

SANZ is scientists and artists united for net zero [1]. We are climate change scientists, ecoartist-researchers and practitioners (ecoartists engage with environmental systems change) who share your vision for an existential and pragmatic race to net-zero [2][3]. We write to join with you in the effort to amplify outreach and effect systemic changes towards that goal [4]. We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss how we can be of service in realizing mutual goals. We offer decades of interdisciplinary experience in application, adaptation, adoption, development and scaling-up creative partnerships between policy makers, scientists and ecoartists including with existing groups, such as ecoartspace and the ecoart network [5][6][7].

We propose a rapid (six-month) planning process, coordinating with the NEA, NSF, DOE, NASA, NOAA, the Climate Change Corps, Indigenous Groups such as Honor the Earth in the United States and reaching out internationally, to create teams who can work on solutions to climate change.

Our goal is to identify opportunities and deliver concrete proposals to implement ecoart/science partnerships. These partnerships could foster, support and establish: fair and equitable processes to identify and select participants; balance financial and logistical/production/research support for scientists and artists; create an outreach, communication and marketing plan; and establish realistic modes of evaluation and assessment.

We believe our nation must embrace and use all our talents to meet this challenge. Scientists have been trying—mostly unsuccessfully—for decades to effect change [8]. We need to embed new collaborative approaches in climate change policy [9].

Our observation is that that ecoart can amplify the audibility and visibility of climate science and contribute new insights. Conversely, without science, ecoarts’ contributions can be disregarded. Initiatives in other countries have recognized this opportunity through, for example, the Intergovernmental Panel on Art and Climate Change (IPACC) proposed by the Jan van Eyck Academy in the Netherlands [10][11].

Historically, modest investments in art/science collaborations and inter-agency projects of all kinds within the United States have yielded spectacular scientific insights and mainstream impacts from data visualization and modeling to practical solutions, particularly in cities [12][13][14]. Often these collaborations have bolstered industrial innovation [15]. The larger artworld represents a significant economy (over $68 billion) [16]. Inspiring the imagination of that sector might further contribute towards our net zero goal [17].

This is an opportunity for the United States to assume greater leadership in these matters and engage with wider global cultural partnerships. We hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Further information on request. Please respond to either Dr. Aaron Ellison or Dr. Aviva Rahmani on our Contact page as your primary contacts. See below for additional signatories, statistics and citations.

References:

[1] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/

[2] UN News: news.un.org/en/story/2020/12/1078612

[3] The Washington Post: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/22/kerrys-claim-that-we-have-nine-years-left-avert-climate-crisis

[4] Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America: www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2010/06/04/1003187107.full.pdf

[5] American for the Arts: www.americansforthearts.org/by-topic/social-change

[6] ecoartspace: www.ecoartspace.org

[7] Ecoart Network: www.ecoartnetwork.org

[8] Center for Climate and Energy Solutions: www.c2es.org

[9] PolicyLink: www.policylink.org/resources-tools/working-with-artists

[10] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: www.ipcc.ch

[11] Jan Van Eyck: www.janvaneyck.nl/postacademy/about

[12] The Conversation: theconversation.com/engineers-have-built-machines-to-scrub-co-from-the-air-but-will-it-halt-climate-change-152975

[13] National Assembly of State Arts Agencies: nasaa-arts.org/nasaa_research/return-on-investment

[14] Undark: undark.org/2021/03/02/biden-weighs-social-cost-of-carbon/?fbclid=IwAR0wOYRPyNRjCCpjFPYsjVOMVrDmCN5TXW39LyeuTxDtjM1JsILWzfJ4tdA

[15] MIT Technology Review: www.technologyreview.com/2014/04/15/173149/the-underappreciated-ties-between-art-and-innovation/

[16] Art | Basel: www.artbasel.com/news/art-market-report

[17] NASA Global Climate Change: climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus

Selected Appendix for online resources:

Evidence of climate change catastrophe:

• https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2010/06/04/1003187107.full.pdf

Evidence of the Social Impact of art:

• Arts Fund: https://www.artsfund.org/social-impact-study-2018

• National Endowment for the Arts: https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Research-Art-Works-Chicago.pdf

• Taylor & Francis Online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14797580903481280

• World Economic Forum: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/how-arts-and-culture-can-serve-as-a-force-for-social-change

Evidence of public opinion shifts:

• Center for Climate Change Communication: https://www.climatechangecommunication.org

Selected additional relevant organizations:

• Ars Electronica: https://ars.electronica.art/center/en

• British Council: https://www.britishcouncil.org/arts/culture-development/our-stories/creative-commissions

• Climate Cultures: https://climatecultures.net/about/about-climatecultures

• COAL Prize: http://www.projetcoal.org/coal/coal-art-developpement-durable/contact

• The Earth Institute, Columbia University: https://www.earth.columbia.edu

• Ecoart Network: https://www.ecoartnetwork.org

• Ecoarts: http://www.ecoartsonline.org

• Ecoartspace: https://ecoartspace.org

• eco/art/scot/land: http://ecoartscotland.net

• Honor the Earth: https://www.honorearth.org

• Julie’s Bicycle: https://juliesbicycle.com

• LACI: https://laincubator.org/artist-in-residence

• Leonardo: https://www.leonardo.info

• NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2020/12/15/945937035/biden-to-name-gina-mccarthy-former-epa-chief-as-domestic-climate-coordinator

• PolicyLink: https://www.policylink.org/resources-tools/working-with-artists

• Taylor & Francis Online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02604027.2018.1444837

• The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/22/kerrys-claim-that-we-have-nine-years-left-avert-climate-crisis

• WEAD: https://www.weadartists.org/contact

• Yale Program on Climate Change Communication: https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/people-partners/the-yale-climate-and-energy-institute

• 2020 Visions: https://www.2020visions.art

Relevant statistics about museum public reach:

• Statista: https://www.statista.com/topics/1119/art-market/#:~:text=The%20global%20art%20market%20was,39%20million%20the%20previous%20year.

• Statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/247422/yearly-visitorship-to-the-metropolitan-museum-of-art-in-new-york/#:~:text=Almost%206.5%20million%20people%20visited,6.95%20million%20the%20previous%20year.

• MoMA: https://www.moma.org/about/annualreportFY18#:~:text=MoMA%20in%20the%20World,voices%20from%20around%20the%20world.