Life Out of Balance

In the late 1950's, biologist and author of Silent Spring Rachel Carson warned of how man, in his quest for profit, disrupts the harmony of nature which had been developed over eons. The result, the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems. In 1983, the film Koyaanisqatsi used visual imagery and Philip Glass's music to tell the epic story of man versus nature.
But this year, a group of artists at the Noguchi Museum in Queens decided use their imaginations to offer their own suggestions to help nature adapt to urbanization and habitat loss. The exhibition, Civic Action: A Vision for Long Island City, looks at ways to improve environmental health by using an urban farming system for railings, double-hung windows; greening “no parking zones”; building bridges for butterflies and superhighways for salamanders; and repaving Broadway from the N/Q subway station to Socrates Sculpture Park with drivable grass.
Perhaps it's the artists who will lead an environmental renaissance after all.