This Earth Day, the Sustainability Committee would like to draw your attention to the impacts our field can have, both positive and negative, and highlight some of the work being done to solve these problems.
If you have been reading your climate news recently, you're aware of the dire warnings issued by the most recent IPCC report and you know that Earth will likely hit its critical warning threshold (the point at which damage is irrevocable) in the next decade. A recent article in the Guardian quotes UN secretary general, António Guterres: "This report is a clarion call to massively fast-track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every timeframe. Our world needs climate action on all fronts: everything, everywhere, all at once." This news is scary, and it doesn't give us much time to enact changes, but our field is not exempt from this call.
For resources to help mitigate your climate anxiety we recommend:
Climate Awakening
All We Can Save
Also, for those attending AIC in person, consider visiting our "Breath of Fresh Air Room", where you'll find ways to process your thoughts and feelings before channeling them into action and art.
If you are ready to turn your climate anxiety into action in your workplace, we recommend the below resources on forming a green team, green lab practices, and forming community centered around making a positive impact:
UPENN's Green Labs Guide
Harvard's Green Labs
My Green Lab
All We Can Save's Climate Community Circles
For those ready to think big and take large-scale action, we have a number of links with resources on how you can lessen the negative impact of your institution. This is especially important for large cultural institutions as they have some of the largest carbon footprints of any buildings in the U.S. That's right, museums are some of the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. This is due to the amounts of energy they use to achieve stable climates in galleries and storage. The energy used today will contribute to increased warming in the coming years, lessening our chances for a sustainable world. By minimizing our impacts today, we contribute to a stable climate that will better preserve the world's heritage for generations to come.
To learn more about what institutions around the world are doing to lessen their negative impacts and learn more about the solutions involved, we recommend:
Ki Culture's Climate Conference and their Ki Books
AIC Sustainability Committee's Changemakers Series, Wiki page, and Zotero full of resources
ICON's Sustainability Network
Gallery Climate Coalition
Wondering about the carbon footprint of your institution? For resources on how to calculate it, we recommend:
Gallery Climate Coalition's Carbon Calculator
Environment & Culture Partners' The Carbon Inventory Project
Now more than ever, it is time to think big about the ways cultural institutions can lower their carbon footprints, use less, waste less, communicate more effectively to all audiences about the urgency of the climate crisis, and contribute sustainably to their local and global communities. Through advocacy and in practice, conservators and allied professionals must contribute to this essential work to create a sustainable future for both people and planet.
As always, reach out to aicsustainability@gmail.com with questions, resources, and to share your ideas and successes.
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Annabelle (Bellie) Camp
Kress Fellow, Balboa Art Conservation Center
Outreach Officer, Sustainability Committee
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