We, at Arcola Theatre were thinking about getting an “air curtain†for our front door. An “air curtain†is when you have hot air blowing from above the door frame, to maintain the temperature inside although the door to the outside is open. Now we decided to close the door instead, after reading that this would cut 10 tonnes of our annual CO2 emissions. For more information about this research, look up “Close the Door†Campaign.
Co2 Emissions
Scientific evidence from Cambridge University!
We, at Arcola Theatre were thinking about getting an “air curtain†for our front door. An “air curtain†is when you have hot air blowing from above the door frame, to maintain the temperature inside although the door to the outside is open. Now we decided to close the door instead, after reading that this would cut 10 tonnes of our annual CO2 emissions. For more information about this research, look up “Close the Door†Campaign.
HOSPITALITY FOR CLIMATE ACTIVISTS IN MEXICO #Cop16
In December 2009, the art collective Wooloo secured housing for more than 3.000 activists coming to the COP15 Climate Summit in Copenhagen (NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN).
Now the NEW LIFE hospitality experiment continues in Mexico during COP16 (Nov. 29 – Dec. 10, 2010.)
NEW LIFE CANCUN is aiming to connect visiting activists and NGO employees with local families in the summit location of Cancún, Mexico. An area infamous for its vulnerability to climate disasters, as well as for the high-CO2 emissions associated with its tourism sector.
Utilizing this large meeting of hosts and guests in Cancun as our exhibition platform, we hereby invite artists and activists to explore its social architecture and suggest work proposals of an awareness, educational and/or practical-action nature designed around the topic: “NEW WAYS OF LIVING TOGETHERâ€.
Individuals or groups working with interventions, activism and other participatory practices are invited to apply for participation at www.wooloo.org/newlifecancun
The deadline for work proposals is AUGUST 1st, 2010.
NEW LIFE CANCUN is a collaboration between Wooloo and the Mexican climate change collective Carbonding.
ABOUT WOOLOO
Wooloo (founded 2002) is a networked artist group operating through the online community www.wooloo.org.
Mixing digital communication with physical participation, Wooloo has developed a working method based on the advocacy of collectivity. While the Wooloo website currently connects the resources of more than 13.000 cultural producers in 140 countries, the group’s various projects function as social experiments in direct collectivism.
Wooloo projects have been presented in such places as Artists Space (USA), Basel Kunsthalle (Switzerland) and later this year at the European Biennial Manifesta 8 (Spain).
For more information, please see: www.wooloo.org and www.wooloo.org/newlifecancun
NEW LIFE CANCUN Call for Proposals
Call for Proposals
Artists working with interventions, activism and other participatory practices are invited to apply for participation in NEW LIFE CANCUN. This experimental hospitality project will take place during the UN Climate Change summit (COP 16) in Canc̼n, Mexico from 29 Nov Р10 Dec 2010.
In continuation of Wooloo’s NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN festival – in which we secured housing for more than 3.000 activists coming to the Copenhagen summit – NEW LIFE CANCUN is aiming to connect visiting activists and NGO employees with local families in the area of Cancún, infamous for its vulnerability to climate disasters (mainly hurricanes), as well as for the high-CO2 emissions associated with its tourism sector.
Utilising this meeting of hosts and guests in Cancun as our exhibition platform, artists and activists are invited to explore its social architecture and suggest work proposals of an awareness, educational and/or practical-action nature designed around the topic: “NEW WAYS OF LIVING TOGETHERâ€.
Up to five artists will be selected for participation and will get all travel, accommodation and production costs covered by Wooloo. Proposals must include a detailed budget. As fundraising efforts are still ongoing, we do not yet know the size of our final production budget. However, it wont be large – so please be aware that your project must be able to be realized in a low-budget manner!
The deadline for work proposals is Thu 1 August 2010.
Please direct all research questions to contact[at]wooloo.org
NEW LIFE is an ongoing series of works focusing on social and artistic experimentation. Staged by Wooloo and taking place in institutions and public spaces worldwide, NEW LIFE aims to be a test field for new ways of living together on our planet.
NEW LIFE CANCUN is a collaboration between Wooloo.org and the Mexican climate change collective Carbonding.
Arcola’s Top Ten Tips to produce a Sustainable Theatre Production
The Mayor’s Green Theatre Plan outlines how London theatres can and should reduce their CO2 emissions by 60% by 2025.
Arcola Theatre work with production companies to help them reduce their environmental impact without compromising artistic vision and here are our Top Ten Tips to producing a low impact theatre production.
There are three main areas where you can reduce your production’s environmental footprint: physical production, company activity and audience behaviour.
Physical
1. Re-use – decisions you make at the start of production will have a big impact on waste at the end. Can the materials be re-used, or at least recycled? – Careful handling and fitting of the set contributes its ease of re-use.www.scenerysalvage.com will collect your set & they also sell salvaged items – worth a look if you need cheap doors, furniture, casters, electrical equipment etc. Aim to avoid landfill as nothing is ever really ‘thrown away’.
2. Purchasing – key are timber and paint (see below) but the Mayors Green Procurement Code has useful resources for ensuring minimal environmental impact if buying new items: www.greenprocurementcode.co.uk
3. Timber – try to source timber that is recycled or, if new, FSC certified. Try Leaside Wood Recycling Project for cheap recycled timber – www.lwrp.org.uk
4. Paint – avoid harmful airborne chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) used in ordinary paint, a big contributor to climate change, and many of the chemicals are also highly toxic and linked with health problems such as respiratory disease, asthma, dizziness, headaches, nausea, fatigue, skin disorders, eye irritation, liver and kidney damage and cancer: www.sustainablebuild.co.uk/NonToxicPaint.html
5. Lighting – consider employing innovative low energy lighting technologies / setting an energy cap as per Arcola production of Living Unknown Soldier (2008). Visit Arcola Energy site for a wealth of information including kit lists: www.arcolaenergy.com/contribute/category/green-theatre/low-energy-lighting/
Switch the rig on as near to the performance as possible and promptly turn it off at the end of a performance. Also see White Light’s Green Guide to Lighting – www.whitelight.ltd.uk/greenguide
6. Recycling – Try to find a reuse for materials wherever possible, or implement recycling schemes for sets and props, batteries, lamps and costumes. Use www.freecycle.org to donate costumes, props etc. (also see point 1)
Company
7. Travel – encourage company members to cycle or use public transport. Plan meetings/rehearsals to minimize travel requirements where possible.
8. Electricity use – turn off lights when not in use / when vacating rehearsal space.
9. Waste – use the theatre recycling and composting facilities. Where appropriate report waste to a member of the Arcola Sustainability team who will support in its sustainable disposal.
Audience
10. Audience travel – publicise your sustainability efforts and encourage green travel methods on marketing materials. Market to, and engage, local audiences.
What do you think about our Top Ten Tips? Would you add or change anything? Let us know!
Add your comments…
WOOLOO.ORG – NEW LIFE CANCÚN
Artists working with interventions, activism and other participatory practices are invited to apply for participation in NEW LIFE CANCUN.
This experimental hospitality initiative intends to promote and facilitate participation during the UN Climate Change summit (COP 16) in Cancún, Mexico at the end of 2010 (Nov. 29th – Dec. 10th).
In continuation of Wooloo’s NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN festival – in which we secured housing for more than 3.000 activists during the Copenhagen summit – NEW LIFE CANCUN is aiming to connect visiting activists and NGO employees with local families in the area of Cancún.An area infamous for its vulnerability to climate disasters (mainly hurricanes), as well as for the high-CO2 emissions associated with its tourism sector.
Utilizing this meeting of hosts and guests in Cancun as our exhibition platform, artists and activists are invited to explore its social architecture and suggest work proposals of an awareness, educational and/or practical-action nature designed around the topic: “NEW WAYS OF LIVING TOGETHERâ€.
The deadline for work proposals is JULY 1st, 2010.
Please direct all research questions to contact@wooloo.org
Proposals must include a detailed budget. As fundraising efforts are still ongoing, we do not yet know the size of our final production budget. However, it wont be large – so please be aware that your project must be able to be realized in a low-budget manner!
NEW LIFE CANCUN is a collaboration between Wooloo.org and the Mexican climate change collective Carbonding
Image credit:Â Stephanie Claverie
Bloggerscircle: why we need a plastic bag tax
Rob Greenland at The Social Business blog wrote, a couple of days ago:
It’s in the news today that supermarkets just missed their target of 50% reduction in plastic bag use (they got to 48%).  I’m not a big fan of supermarkets but I think on this one they need to be congratulated.  Remember the reaction against proposals to tax plastic bags, and how, many believed, people would never change their habits.
Far too many bags are still used but a 48% reduction is a massive improvement.  If businesses and the public can get their act together on this issue, what other seemingly impossible environmental problems might we solve?  It may also suggest that it’s better tonudge people into doing the right thing (like the clever question the checkout assistant was trained to ask), rather than taxing them into behavioural change.
50% sounds great, doesn’t it?
But in Ireland the introduction of a plastic bag tax in 2002 cut the use of plastic bags immediately by 90%, and created millions of Euros in government revenues which were pledged for use in environmental projects. Cutting ours by 50% is nothing to be proud of in comparison to that figure, especially as much of that 50% is people like Rob, me, and you, dear reader. The remaining 50% are inevitably going to be much harder to reach. Even with Tesco offering the carrot of Nectar card points for every bag reused, this is still too slow. It’s time to get out the sticks.
Like it or not, taxation is the most effective behaviour change lever government has. As Anthony Giddens suggests is in The Politics of Climate Change these are levers we’re going to have to use, and not be afraid of using. But the revenue used from these taxes must be used creatively and positively if we’re going to trust the system. Denmark’s carbon taxes, introduced in the 90s, have created an absolute fall in Co2 emissions from that country not only because they disincentivise carbon use, but because the revenue created by the fed directly back into subsidising energy-saving measures.
This post is part of a collaborative initiative at bloggerscircle.net
Go to RSA Arts & Ecology
What if women were in charge of cutting carbon?
Caleb Klaces writes: In December this year representatives from 192 countries will meet in Copenhagen for the 15th UN Conference of the Parties (COP15) to discuss international targets for the reduction of CO2 emissions. The roughly 1,500 delegates will mostly be men, as they always have been. During the period …
Go to RSA Arts & Ecology
DramaBiz magazine – The Eco-Friendly Theatre of the Future
“Greening” operations can reduce your carbon footprint while still delivering stellar productions—and help keep your audience and staff healthy
According to the U.S. Green Building Council, buildings are responsible for 72% of electricity consumption, consume 40% of our raw materials, spew 38% of all CO2 emissions, create 136 million tons of construction waste, and use 15 trillion gallons of water per year in the United States alone.
Green buildings, on the other hand, consume 26% less energy while emitting 33% fewer greenhouse gases. The USGBC also estimates that if “half of new commercial buildings were built to use 50% less energy, it would save over 6 million metric tons of CO2 annually for the life of the buildings—the equivalent of taking more than 1 million cars off the road every year.”
Now take a deep breath – because those are significant numbers that should give us pause. But it does not mean we should all go out and start looking for a green architect and a wealthy donor. Not yet, anyway. Rebuilding from the ground up is not the first step. Efficiency and green building experts agree that the first and most important thing you can do is improve conservation and efficiency within your current operation and facility.
Portland Center Stage, Theatre For A New Audience, and Theatrical Outfit in Atlanta have all taken the big step. Each of these companies work in what are known as LEED certified facilities. LEED – or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – is a certification program managed by the U.S. Green Building Council. The program works on a point system, with points awarded for things as diverse as proximity to public transit to how efficiently the building uses (and reuses) water and electricity. Depending on the number of points earned a building can receive one of three levels of certification from Silver to Platinum, with Gold in the middle. Theatrical Outfit, for example, produces in a renovated historical building with a LEED Silver rating and was the first performing arts facility to be LEED certified in the nation. Portland Center Stage also renovated a historical building in the heart of Portland, earning a Platinum rating from the USGBC. Their facility includes such eco-friendly features as a rainwater collection and reuse system, natural ventilation, extensive use of natural lighting throughout the lobby and administrative offices, and radiant heating in the lobby. The building also reportedly uses about 30% less energy than code requires.
Visit DramaBiz magazine  for the entire article.