An Ever-Changing World

As an avid student of sociology, I try to keep abreast of any human issues that arise, and one of the more pressing matters currently is the bushfires occurring in Australia. There is typically a fire season in Australia what with the high temperatures and natural causes like lightning strikes, but this year, the bushfires have been especially bad. Climate change is one of the potential factors at hand, what with the rising levels of carbon dioxide contributing to a hotter, drier climate that provides ideal fuel for fires to spread faster and wider. As of January 10th, it is estimated that 27 people have been killed, thousands have been displaced from their homes, and half a billion animals have been impacted as nearly 10 million hectares of land have burned down. Firefighters and volunteers have been working to quell the flames, while Australia's police and military have been aiding in rescues and evacuations. As for the wildlife of the country, many are working diligently to rescue the animals and Operation Rock Wallaby was recently launched to drop food to the animals that have escaped the bushfires.

So far, the Australian government has been focusing its funding in the firefighters and volunteers, but it has come under a lot of criticism. Many say that Australia isn't doing enough to lower its carbon dioxide emissions, as Australia remains the world's largest coal exporter. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also faced criticism after going on holiday to Hawaii last month while the bushfire crisis worsened. We will have to see what steps Australia takes in the future to prevent a crisis of this scale from happening again, but in the meantime, there are many organizations in need of donations to continue their hard work.

I spent the last semester in South Korea, and while there, I attended the GEEF x AEARU conference in which academics from around the world gathered to discuss how universities can contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) to ensure the continuation of future generations. Institutions of higher learning have always been central to the cities they are based in, and the speakers at the GEEF conference felt that these institutions have a duty to protect and develop the life within these cities. Professors from various universities presented their designs for consideration and spoke on how their plans would work towards achieving the 17 SDGs shown below.

I also had the pleasure of traveling to Tokyo and visiting the Mori Art Museum. The current exhibition is Future and the Arts: AI, Robotics, Cities, Life - How Humanity Will Live Tomorrow, and each project showcased the artists' interactions with technology. The most notable of the exhibits was the first section in which architects, scientists, and artists collaborated to build models for "smart cities," environmentally friendly and innovative designs that would make use of the locations' terrain and climate to create sustainable living for their populations. Examples of the cities' locations included on the ocean, in the desert, and even on Mars.

The exhibition featured more sections, one of which studied how new technologies could affect and completely alter human lifestyles in the future. The image shown above is of a few pieces from Amy Karle's "Internal Collection" Series, an array of dresses based on anatomy and brought to life through digital designs, 3D scans of the body, and laser cut pieces which are hand and machine sewn together. The yellow dress on the left represents the ligaments/tendons, the lavender dress in the center represents the lungs, and the blue jumpsuit on the right represents the nervous system. Each garment was designed for a specific wearer, such as the dress in the middle which was modeled by a friend of Karle's who underwent a double lung-transplant. Karle's collection combines the best of technology and human hands to celebrate the internal beauty that resides within us.

Though I write for LGBTQ+ equality, I am passionate about advocating for human rights in all areas, and one right we all share in common is the right to live on this earth. But in order to continue living on this planet and guarantee its preservation for generations to come, we have a duty to protect our earth and be aware of the ways in which humans have affected it. I share the dream of those at the GEEF conference and the artists of the Future and the Arts exhibit that we can achieve a reality in which humanity and the environment not only coexist, but work together to advance the other's growth.