calgary

Using Turntablism to Address Climate Change

- Adam Clare

Turntable Art

Climate change id the biggest issue facing humanity today and it’s no surprise to see artists express this through art. In Calgary this month there’s an exhibit by John Folsom which was inspired through a walk in the rocky mountains looking at sound and climate change. The way he does this is through a mixture of recordings, turntables, and Alpine horns.

Amidst a series of his two-dimensional works blurring the line between photography and painting, John Folsom’s sound installation Diminishing Returns highlights the problems associated with climate change at higher altitudes, in particular how it affects bird’s migratory zones. This sound installation will be on exhibit at Newzones in Calgary, Canada from October 25 through November 22 with an Artist Reception held on October 25 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Diminishing Returns consists of cast Alpine horns, turntables and lathe cut vinyl records. The sounds of avalanches and bird songs play continuously. As the turntable stylus auto repeats, the ongoing cycle of play effectively erodes the vinyl, diminishing the sound quality. Over time, repeated plays will slowly eliminate the birdcalls resulting in a final wall of white noise. This sound piece aims to call attention to the ominous signals from wildlife in the hope that mitigating the effects of climate change will produce a brighter future.

See more here.

Calgary: a source of inspiriation for municipal elections

- Dan Harrison

At a time when many Canadians are disheartened with municipal politics and local candidates, Calgary, long viewed as one of Canada’s most conservative cities, has elected a progressive visionary as their new mayor. Naheed Nenshi was elected with 40% of the popular vote in an election where approximately 50% of residents cast a ballot.

The prospect of Mr. Nenshi as mayor signalled a shift in the province, observers said. “Calgary is often misperceived. It’s no longer a ranching and oil community only. It’s young, it’s vibrant, it’s cosmopolitan and global,” said David Taras, a veteran political observer in the city and the Ralph Klein Chair in Media Studies at Mount Royal University.

“It’s almost a movement, which is incredible.”

“You know, the Purple Army [Nenshi’s campaign team] was never about winning an election – it’s a good thing. It was about revitalizing the level of conversation in the city. It was about talking to the person next to you on the bus, it was about taking an extra minute with the cashier at Safeway, and now it is about doing the work to build a better Calgary that we all dream of,” Mr. Nenshi told his supporters Monday night.

With municipal elections coming up on Monday October 25th in Ontario, one can hope that voters and candidates alike can draw inspiration from Mr. Nenshi’s unlikely ascent to the highest political office in the city of Calgary.

For election coverage in your area, visit your city’s website, read local newspapers, and talk to people around you. For more on the Calgary election, check out this article at the Globe and Mail.

Calgary to join Modern Recycling World

- Adam Clare

In my head I just assumed that all Canadian cities had curbside recycling. Apparently I was wrong, and it’s not good that cities lack this program. It is good that Calgary is trying to remedy that problem and that despite the difficulty of recycling in Calgary, people overuse the system.

Moving to a new system is important, Magdich said. Calgary’s community recycling depots now operate at 150 per cent above intended capacity.
“Our community recycling depots have been in place for some time and they served us well for a number of years. But yeah, we’re definitely at capacity with them,” Magdich said Wednesday.
“We are excited about moving to blue-cart recycling. It will really help the city move forward in keeping more waste out of the landfill.”

Canadian Scientist Create CO2 Scrubber

- Adam Clare

A researcher from the University of Calgary has create a machine that essentially scrubs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The Tech Herald explains:

The team now believes it is close to achieving that goal with the development of a relatively simple machine that can capture, or “scrub” the trace amount of CO2 present in the air at any place on the planet.
“The climate problem is too big to solve easily with the tools we have,” explained Keith, director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy’s (ISEEE) Energy and Environmental Systems Group and a professor of chemical and petroleum engineering.
“While it’s important to get started doing things we know how to do, like wind power nuclear power and ‘regular’ carbon capture and storage, it’s also vital to start thinking about radical new ideas and approaches to solving this problem.”

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