The Canary Project: Landscape of Climate Change

March 15 through August 10, 2008
Location: Kahn Hall

Our climate is changing: glaciers are melting; underwater reefs are dying; droughts, fires, and extreme weather events are mounting. Surely our environment is under stress, but how do we measure the impact and separate the fiction from the solutions?

The Canary Project is one of only two U.S. organizations that is using art to communicate the plight of the planet. The project derives its name from an earlier practice that was common in the coal mines. Miners would bring caged canaries deep into their underground shafts. As they worked, the miners kept a watchful eye over their canaries as the bright yellow songbirds would quickly grow ill and die if lethal levels of poisonous gas were present.
 
In a related way, the Museum’s exhibition of 22 of The Canary Project’s photographs offers a similar warning to humanity. The large, color images of landscapes ravaged by an unstable global climate were captured by artist and Canary Project co-founder Susannah Sayler; the landscapes reveal evidence of human-induced climate change at sites selected by leading scientists and journalists.

About The Canary Project:
“Show, don’t tell.”

 The Canary Project presents photographs, art, and events that forewarn—much like the miner’s canary—the urgent need for increased conservation and preservation efforts. Through a network of artists, scientists, writers, and fashion designers, The Canary Project encourages everyone, everywhere, to take actions to help create a more sustainable future.

The photographs selected to be on display at the Museum bring home the reality of global change in a way reams of data and chart-filled reports cannot. To increase awareness of the situation, Sayler and Edward Morris, Sayler’s husband, fellow co-founder and Canary Project Executive Director, have circled the globe, focusing their lens everywhere from Europe to Asia, seeking artful ways to document the despairingly dramatic transformations that are already occurring. The New York-based organization believes art has the capacity to penetrate unlike any other medium.

The Exhibit

Susannah Sayler’s photographs will be on display in Kahn Hall from March 15 through August 10, 2008. Sayler's landscapes record the rising sea levels in Venice that threaten to submerge portions of the city, drought and desertification in China’s Gansu Province and glacial melting in the Austrian Alps. Yet, as a counterpoint, Sayler also sought out places where conservation projects to reverse or mitigate climate change are under way. These include a wind farm in California, floating fields in Bangladesh and a complex waterworks system to hold back rising seawater in the Netherlands.

In addition to The Canary Project photographs, view exhibits dedicated to the examination of climate change and its effects, and offer your ideas about what we can do in Northeast Ohio to reduce our negative impact on the climate. 

Free with Museum Admission

Related Information: Be Part of the Climate Change Solution

The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population but produces 25 percent of the carbon dioxide pollution that contributes to global warming. Here are 10 ways you can reduce your impact, save money, and improve your quality of life.

1. Calculate your Carbon Footprint
Find out how to calculate your carbon footprint. Understanding your carbon emissions is the first step to taking action to reduce your carbon footprint.

2. Change a Light Bulb (or two) 
Electricity consumption is one of the largest components of a household's carbon footprint. Compact fluorescent light bulbs use up to 75 percent less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and can last 10 times as long.

3. Drive Less
In the United States, a personal motor vehicle is the largest contributor to a typical household's carbon footprint. Combining trips, carpooling, using public transportation, walking and biking all help reduce your carbon footprint. Keep up with scheduled maintenance and properly inflate tires to make your existing vehicle as efficient as possible when you do drive. The next time you replace your vehicle, consider purchasing the most fuel-efficient model that meets your needs.

4. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Recycling materials requires less energy and fewer raw materials than creating a new product from scratch. Take reusable cloth bags to the store, don't accept paper and plastic bags when you really don't need them, and choose products that don't have excessive packaging.

5. Use Less Water
Pumping and heating water require large amounts of energy. Take shorter showers, install a low-flow shower head, turn the water off while you shave or brush your teeth, and wash clothes in cold water.

6. Plant a Tree 
Deforestation accounts for up to 20 percent of the carbon dioxide released each year worldwide. Growing trees sequester carbon, and trees also help cool cities and reduce power consumption for air conditioning.

7. Eat Lower on the Food Chain
Adopt a diet that emphasizes whole grains, fruits and vegetables and minimizes meat, seafood and processed foods. Meat is a particular energy hog. Producing one pound of beef generates 36 pounds of carbon dioxide.

8. Buy Efficient Appliances
Replacing older appliances with Energy Star appliances can significantly reduce your electricity bill and your carbon footprint. Start with the refrigerator, which uses the most electricity in an average home.

9. Adjust your Thermostat 
Set your thermostat two degrees higher in the summer and two degrees lower in winter to save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Change your furnace filter regularly and seal gaps around windows and doors to allow your heating and cooling systems to operate more efficiently.

10. Spread the Word 
Tell a friend about what you are doing to make a difference. Join the community conversation on www.gcbl.org/climatechange.

Note: These are estimates. Individual savings will vary based on many factors.

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.