Rebecca Fowler

Climate Models — Not the Computer Kinds, the Flesh Kinds

This post comes from Chantal Bilodeau’s Artists and Climate Change Blog

Allegra LeGrande. Photo: Charlie Naebeck / Climate ModelsAllegra LeGrande. Photo: Charlie Naebeck / Climate Models

Can climate scientists be sexy? Francesco Fiondella, Communications Officer at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, and Rebecca Fowler, Science Writer at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, think so. Fiondella and Fowler are working on a 2014 wall calendar, affectionately called the Climate Models Calendar, that will feature 13 climate scientists–but here’s the kicker–dressed in high-fashion gear. Produced in collaboration with photographers Charlie Naebeck and Jordan Matter, creator of the New York Times bestseller Dancers Among Us, the calendar’s goal is to “humanize science and increase understanding of current climate research.” Says Fowler: “Photos in the calendar shatter stereotypes of scientists and show that they’re a diverse group of people doing important research to understand how our planet works. From studies of drought in the sub-Saharan Africa to reconstructions of Southeast Asia’s climate history using data obtained from tree rings, the information in the calendar covers a broad range of current climate science and describes what scientists are discovering about Earth’s past, present and future climate.”

Fiondella and Fowler just completed a successful crowd funding campaign to cover the calendar’s printing costs. Climate Models is also supported by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and Awesome NYC.

Several articles have been written about the project. Check out EarthFix, the Smithsonian Magazine, and Climate Central.

Artists and Climate Change is a blog by playwright Chantal Bilodeau that tracks artistic responses from all disciplines to the problem of climate change. It is both a study about what is being done, and a resource for anyone interested in the subject. Art has the power to reframe the conversation about our environmental crisis so it is inclusive, constructive, and conducive to action. Art can, and should, shape our values and behavior so we are better equipped to face the formidable challenge in front of us.

Go to Chantal Bilodeau’s Artists and Climate Change Blog

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