Sounds icky, but it's true -- the FDA has approved a polymer suture made from modified bacteria using recombinant DNA technology.
The material in Tepha Medical Devices' TephaFLEX Absorbable Suture breaks down in the body as a deep wound or surgical incision heals, improving the healing process and preventing infection. Recombinant DNA allows the manufacture of materials from organisms that would be difficult if not impossible to produce otherwise.
The incandescent electric light was one of the paradigm-shifting inventions of the last 125 years, transforming the way people live, work and play. But the era of the incandescent light bulb may be drawing to a close.
Though more expensive up front, compact flourescent light bulbs are far more efficient -- and environmentally friendly -- than incandescent bulbs, using less electricity and lasting longer while providing the same amount of light. For that reason, local and state governments have been encouraging the adoption of compact flourescent bulbs, largely through subsidizing their cost. However, Australia is moving toward banning incandescent bulbs altogether by 2010. By enforcing minimum energy performance standards, selling incandescent bulbs would effectively be illegal. In the US, California is considering a similar measure that would outlaw sales of incandescent lights by 2012. The measure is significant because, as the nation's most populous state, California is a trendsetter in environmental and health legislation. Indeed, state governments in Connecticut and New Jersey (ironically, where Edison developed his light) are considering similar bans on incandescent lights.
The private sector is also jumping on the compact flourescent bandwagon. Retailers plan to increase shares of the bulbs substantially, and light bulb manufacturer Philips will stop manufacturing incandescent bulbs by 2016.
By switching to compact flourescent bulbs on a national level, Australia could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by four tons per year.
Source: International Herald Tribune
Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins. Children wait after filling containers with water in the neighbourhood of Antimano in Caracas, Venezuela, October 26, 2009. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, on October 22, 2009, called for water conservation, saying low rainfall caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon meant water levels were critically low in the El Guri reservoir, one of the world's largest dams.
It looks like difficulties with the U.S. dragging its feet on climate change [...]
Just like with “clean coal”, the same type of euphemistic hope is being stuck on tar sands oil. Those invested in the industry were even saying it can be “low carbon”. That was based in part on assuming carbon capture and storage (CCS) will save the day and allow us to use the dirtiest oil on earth and feel OK about it. A new report by investors says wait a minute — we can’t [...]
As the U.S. moves towards a new type of green economy and renewable energy (slowly and painfully) President Obama has announced an extra $3.4 billion for smart meters and the smart grid.
The funding will be for ’smart grid’ projects aimed at promoting green power and reducing electricity bills and blackouts. Dan Reicher, Director of Climate and Energy Initiatives for Google testified this week on the smart grid during the second day of the [...]
Charles J. Hanley of the AP reported that in Canada’s Northwest Territories, the permafrost is melting and the Earth is burping out huge slugs of methane, one of the most potent of the greenhouse gases. This methane has the potential to drive extremely rapid warming. It’s known as a feedback loop: As more methane escapes, it traps more heat in the atmosphere, which in turn melts more permafrost, and so on.
The prospects are alarming enough [...]
The Senate and Congress, the majority anyway, seem to understand the seriousness of climate change. So then why are they content with a bill that seemingly won’t be adequate to fight climate change enough to make a difference — if at all? This is Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, expressing his frustration at lack of movement (so far) on climate change. The fact is, aggressively addressing climate change will change our energy structure and [...]
I’m podcasting every day this week, so check out the podcast site at Futurism Now Radio. That means my writing here will be less labor-intensive than usual, but there will still be as much daily news here as we can come up with, with a little help from our fellow climate writers.
Image of the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite
The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a 315 million Euro ($465 [...]
Climate change skepticism seems to be growing, at least online. In the mainstream media, the so-called “debate” seems to be finally disappearing and global warming is now taken as truth by the media, but they still don’t talk about it enough. It gets a mere mention now and then.
George Monbiot, a well-known writer and activist in the UK, wrote an article recently that puts out a theory as to why climate change skepticism seems to [...]
Kilimanjaro's Snows are Melting Away. Mount Kilimanjaro in June 2001 (left) and July 2009 (right). The satellite images show a vastly decreasing amount of snow.
“The snows of Mount Kilimanjaro will be gone within two decades, according to scientists who say that the rapid melting of its glacier cap over the past century provides dramatic physical evidence of global climate change.” Read this story here.
“Climate change is already [...]
The Denialus cricetus Cretin (common Denialist)
In response to a loud but minor Denialist movement made up of creatures who don’t understand or believe in science, (many of them also think the world is 6,000 years old and evolution isn’t true either) I’m printing the following from the Union of Concerned Scientists. The Denialists claim they are able to google, but since they can’t even find the tabs on this website explaining global warming, it’s [...]
Groggy delegates and observers arriving today in Barcelona for the final round of negotiations prior to Copenhagen were welcomed by TckTckTck’s cacophony of 1,000 ringing alarm clocks piercing the morning air in front of the Fira Gran Via conference hall.
The chattering alarm clocks served as a literal “wake up call” to the climate negotiators, many of whom veered off the path to the front door to snap pictures and watch the [...]
“Canada faces a dilemma as it prepares for next month’s UN climate summit in Copenhagen. It wants to present itself as environmentally responsible but also wants the profits from the tar sands, which cover an area of Alberta’s natural coniferous forest larger than England.”
Yeah, that’s a problem. Coal + Oil shale + Tar Sands = end of human civilization and most species on earth in 200 years or less. We have [...]
Short-sighted, Small-minded Backlash against Climate Legislation by Business, Industry
Eight-Country Investigation Reveals Forces Moving to Undermine Copenhagen.
It’s hard to imagine how business thinks it can do business in a world without civilization and/or people without an economy.
WASHINGTON — Global attempts to craft a pivotal new climate treaty in Copenhagen this December are being stymied by a far-reaching, multinational backlash led by fossil fuel industries and other heavy carbon emitters, according to The Global Climate Change Lobby, [...]
Climate talks in Barcelona are going about as well as the previous talks went. Too much focus on economics and blame, and this focus is unfortunately ignoring the serious climate change problem itself. We all hope the negotiators can get beyond their differences very soon . . . it also appears that the problem of holding back the talks described in the post below this one is working, based on the quote from a delegate from one of the [...]
Here is more proof that at least some Democrats still have a functioning backbone and stand up to obstructionists when necessary. Senator Boxer is the majority chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. For the last few days only one Republican has decided to show up for scheduled hearings, in order to stop movement on the bill. Two minority reps. are necessary for progress to continue, so the Republicans decided to deliberately obstruct the process.
“A [...]
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
Bergson+Futurism. Speed in thought
November 5, 2009
Universidad Complutense, Madrid
Giovedì 5 novembre 2009, presso la Facoltà di Filosofia dell’Universidad Complutense di Madrid, si svolgerà il convegno internazionale “Bergson + Futurismo. La velocidad en el pensamiento”. (”Bergson+Futurism. Speed in thought”).
La giornata di studi si propone di indagare i rapporti tra il Futurismo e la filosofia di Bergson, ancora non sufficientemente esplorati. Lo slancio vitale, il dinamismo, la simultaneità, l’intuizione, l’impatto dei nuovi media e delle nuove tecnologie, la nuova concezione dello spazio e del tempo: questi alcuni dei temi oggetto del convegno.
Nelle due sessioni (mattutina e pomeridiana) sono previsti interventi di studiosi provenienti dalle principali università della Spagna (Madrid, Valladolid, Granada, Alcalá, Salamanca) e da diversi paesi europei (Francia, Inghilterra, Italia, Polonia, Turchia). Per l’Italia intervengono Antonio Saccoccio, studioso delle avanguardie e fondatore del Net.Futurismo, e Rossella Catanese, esperta di cinema e dottore di ricerca all’Università La Sapienza di Roma.
Elenco dei relatori:
La giornata di studi è stata organizzata per celebrare il centenario della pubblicazione del primo manifesto futurista e i 150 anni dalla nascita di Henri Bergson.
The Future in Five Senses: Echoes of Italian Futurism in New York Architecture and Design
Monday, November 16 6:00pm
Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, New York University
FREE
For the “heroic” avant-gardes of early twentieth-century, perhaps no metropolis invited the projection of utopian aspirations more than New York City. The Futurists’ actual presence in New York was minimal and belated. But if the movement drew upon the city’s dynamic example from afar, Futurism, in turn, has contributed to New York’s spaces, textures, and tectonic innovations. Whether double-filtered through the post-war innovations of Italian design, or else absorbed through the wide-ranging ripples of Futurism in multi-media global culture, the movement’s legacies in New York are at once nowhere in particular and everywhere experienced.
Reckoning the space and time that separates (or perhaps joins) the present of New York and the past of the Futurist avant-garde, this panel consider the legacies of Italian Futurism in the built environment. Focusing on the rapports between architecture, design, and the five senses, our panel considers New York¹s place in the history of Futurism, as well as the future of architectural and design practice.
Introduction: Ara H. Merjian, NYU
Panelists: Rodolphe El Khoury, Andre Lepecki, Ted Sheridan, David Humphrey
Organized by Ara H. Merjian and Stefano Albertini. Presented by New York University and Casa Italiana.
Full a complete schedule and information on each project go to
http://www.performa-arts.org/blog
Nov 1 Opening 3 - 6 PM / Nov 1-22 Regular Hours TH-M 12 - 6 PM,
100 Years (VERSION # 2) at P.S/1 Curated by RoseLee Goldberg and Klaus Bisenbach. Organized by P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in collaboration with Performa
Nov 3 Opening Reception 7 - 9 PM / Nov 3-20 Regular Hours M-F 10 AM - 4 PM
FUTURIST MANIFESTOS at The Italian Cultural Institute Curated by Renato Miracco. Presented by the Italian Cultural Institute in collaboration with Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio, Bologna, Italy.
Nov 3 Opening Reception 7 - 9 PM / Nov 3-20 Regular Hours M-F 10 AM - 4 PM
FEMININE FUTURES, an exhibition on Valentine De Saint-Point at the Italian Cultural Institute Curated by Adrien Sina and Sarah Wilson. Presented by Performa and the Italian Cultural Institute
Nov 6 Opening Reception 6 - 7:30 PM / Nov 1-20 M-F 10 AM - 4 PM
FUTURISTE: WOMEN IN ART AND LITERATURE at Casa Italiana Zerili-Marimò Curated by Giancarlo Carpi. Presented by New York University and Casa Italiana
Nov 2 at 4 PM
L’INHUMAINE AND RHAPSODY IN STEEL at MoMA Organized by Anne Mora. Part of Nuts and Bolts: Machine Made Man in Films From the Collection. With sincere thanks to Sony Pictures Entertainment, Toho Co. Ltd., Lana Wilson, and RoseLee Goldberg. Tickets $10 / $8 Seniors / $6 Students / Children and MoMA Members free at http://www.moma.org
Nov 3 + 9 at 7 PM
THE FUTURIST CANON, part of The Polyexpressive Symphony: Futurism on Film, at Anthology Film Archives Curated by Lana Wilson (Performa). Presented by Performa. Tickets $9 / $7 Students and Children / $6 Performa and AFA Members, available at the door.
Nov 3 + 11 at 9 PM
FUTURIST-RELATED PERFORMANCE ON FILM, part of The Polyexpressive Symphony: Futurism on Film, at Anthology Film Archives Curated by Lana Wilson (Performa). Presented by Performa. Tickets $9 / $7 Students and Children / $6 Performa and AFA Members, available at the door.
Nov 4 at 4 PM
METROPOLIS AND LA MARCHE DES MACHINES, part of Nuts and Bolts: Machine Made Man in Films from the Collection, at MoMA Organized by Anne Mora. Part of Nuts and Bolts: Machine Made Man in Films From the Collection. Tickets $10 / $8 Seniors / $6 Students / Children and MoMA Members free at http://www.moma.org
Nov 4 + 11 at 7 PM
MAN AND MACHINE, part of The Polyexpressive Symphony: Futurism on Film, at Anthology Film Archives Curated by Lana Wilson (Performa). Presented by Performa. Tickets $9 / $7 Students and Children / $6 Performa and AFA Members, available at the door.
Nov 4 + 11 at 8:30 PM
TRAINS, TRAINS, TRAINS, part of The Polyexpressive Symphony: Futurism on Film at Anthology Film Archives Curated by Lana Wilson (Performa). Presented by Performa. Tickets $9 / $7 Students and Children / $6 Performa and AFA Members, available at the door.
Nov 10 at 7:30 PM
SANDRA GIBSON AND LUIS RECODER: NOT A FUTURIST FILM BUT A FILM WITHOUT A FUTURE at Light Industry Presented by Light Industry. Tickets $7, available at the door.
Nov 12 at 6:30 PM
BALLI PLASTICI at the Museum of Arts and Design Produced by The Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center and the Museum of Arts and Design. Tickets $10 / $7 Performa and MADMembers at http://www.madmuseum.org or call 212-299-7780.
Nov 12 at 7:30 PM
THE FUTURIST IMPULSE AFTER FUTURISM at Anthology Film Archives Curated by Robert Haller. Presented by Anthology Film Archives. Tickets $9 / $7 Students, Seniors, and Children / $6 Performa and AFA Members, available at the door.
Nov 14 at 1:30 PM
TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY AND THE LEGEND OF JOHN HENRY, part of Nuts and Bolts: Machine Made Man in Films from the Collection, at MoMA Organized by Anne Mora. Part of Nuts and Bolts: Machine Made Man in Films From the Collection. Tickets $10 / $8 Seniors / $6 Students / Children and MoMA Members free at http://www.moma.org
Nov 16 at 8 PM
FUTURIST LIFE REDUX : TRISHA BAGA, CHAMECKI-LERNER, MARTHA COLBURN, BEN COONLEY, GEORGE KUCHAR, LYNN HERSHMAN LEESON, SHANA MOULTON, SHANNON PLUMB, AIDA RUILOVA, MATTHEW SILVER & SHOVAL ZOHAR (THE FUTURE), AND MICHAEL SMITH at Anthology Film Archives Curated by Lana Wilson (Performa) and Andrew Lampert. Commissioned by Performa with SFMOMA and Portland Green Cultural Projects. Presented by Performa and Anthology Film Archives. Special thanks to Sally Berger and Marie Losier. Tickets: $9 / $7 Students, Seniors, and Children / $6 Performa and AFA Members, available at the door.
Nov 6 at 6 PM
Futurism and Women at at Casa Italiana Zerili-Marimò, New York University Organized by Ara H. Merjian and Stefano Albertini. Presented by New York University and Casa Italiana. FREE
Nov 8 at 4 PM
THE UNIVERSE WILL BE OUR VOCABULARY: FUTURIST MUSIC, FILM, AND LITERATURE at The Performa Hub Curated by Lana Wilson (Performa). Presented by Performa. FREE
Nov 9 from 6:30 - 8 PM
BRUNO JASIENSKI: MANNEQUINS’S BALL at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Curated by Daniel Gerould and Frank Hentschker. Presented by the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center for Performa 09. Co-presented by the Polish Cultural Institute in New York. FREE
Nov 11 from 4 - 7 PM
Shock and Awe: The Troubling Legacy of the Futurist Cult of War at The Kaye Playhouse, Hunter College Organized by Emily Braun, Distinguished Professor, Hunter College. Presented by the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, the Hunter College Department of Art, and Performa. To RSVP or for more information call 212-772-4007. FREE
Nov 12 - 13 11/12 9:30 AM-6 PM and 11/13 from 9:30 AM-12:30 PM
BEYOND FUTURISM: F.T. MARINETTI, WRITER at Teatro of the Italian Academy, Columbia University (11/12) and the Italian Cultural Institute (11/13) Presented by Columbia University. Organized by the Department of Italian at Columbia University. Co-sponsored by the Italian Poetry Review, the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna, Centro di Studi “Aldo Palazzeschi” (Università degli Studi di Firenze), the Italian Cultural Institute in New York, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò (NYU), Crossroads Cultural Center, and Performa. RSVP to pc2159@columbia.edu FREE
Nov 13 - 14 11/13 5-6 PM and 11/14 9 AM - 6 PM
FUTURISMO/FUTURIZM: FUTURIST AVANT-GARDE IN ITALY AND RUSSIA at Beineke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 121 Wall Street, New Haven, CT
Presented by the Department of Italian at Yale University. Register by October 30th at http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/futurism/registration.shtml FREE
Nov 16 at 6 PM
THE FUTURE IN FIVE SENSES: ECHOES OF ITALIAN FUTURISM IN NEW YORK ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN at Casa Italiana Zerili-Marimò, New York University Organized by Ara H. Merjian and Stefano Albertini. Presented by New York University and Casa Italiana. FREE
Nov 2 at 7 PM
RAGNAR KJARTANSSON AND ALTERAZIONI VIDEO, SYMPHONY N.1 at PS122
Curated by Barbara Casavecchia and Caroline Corbetta. Co-presented by Performa and Performance Space 122. Produced by Performa. Supported by Luhring Augustine, New York and Prometeo Gallery, Milan. Order tickets at https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/203/1254438000000 FREE
Nov 4 - 6 from 12 - 3 PM
MARIJE VOGELZANG / PROEF: PASTA SAUNA at the Performa Hub
Curated by Esa Nickle. Commissioned by Performa. Supported by The Mondriaan Foundation. FREE LUNCH
Nov 10 - 14, 11/10 - 11/13 at 8:30 PM, 11/14 at 5 + 8 PM
JOAN JONAS: READING DANTE at the Performing Garage A PERFORMA PREMIERE. Supported by Performa Producer’s Circle Member Shane Akroyd. Tickets: $20 / $16 Performa Members http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/84624
Nov 11 at 6 PM + 9 PM
CARLOS SOTO, CHARLES CHEMIN, CHRISTIAN WASSMANN, AND LUISA GUI: GIRLMACHINE at Columbia University Curated by Carlos Soto, Charles Chemin, Christian Wassman and Luisa Gui. Presented by the Italian Academy and the Department of Italian, Columbia University. Suggested donation $10, at the door.
Nov 11 from 6:30-8:30PM
VIVA FUTURISM! REVOLUTION, VANGUARDIA, AND THE MODERN METROPOLIS at El Museo del Barrio Curated by Deborah Cullen and Lynda Klich. Presented by El Museo del Barrio. FREE RSVP at http://www.elmuseo.org
Nov 12 at 8 PM
A PERFORMA COMMISSION with SFMOMA and EMPAC. Produced and presented by Performa. Curated by Luciano Chessa with Esa Nickle. Thanks to AIR, Art International Radio and the Clocktower Gallery for rehearsal spaces.
Nov 13 at 7 PM
TEXT OF LIGHT: CITY SYMPHONIES OUT OF DOORS on the High Line (14th Street Passage) Curated by Lana Wilson and Esa Nickle. Co-presented by Performa and Friends of the High Line with Rooftop Films. Sponsored by Viper Studios. Special thanks to Anne Morra, MoMA. Tickets $15 / $12 Performa Members at http://thehighline.org/events/all/2009/11/city-symphonies-out-of-doors-text-of-light
Nov 14 at 12 PM
TAN LIN: CHINESE CHALK IN FUTURIST LOT at Museum of Chinese in America Presented by the Asian American Writers Workshop, Museum of Chinese in America, and the Chinese American Association for Poetry and Poetics. FREE
Nov 14 at 4 PM
CHARLES BERNSTEIN and JOHN YAO: THE FUTURISMS OF AMERICAN POETRY at The Asian-American Writers Workshop Presented by the Asian American Writers Workshop, Museum of Chinese in America, and the Chinese American Association for Poetry and Poetics. FREE
Nov 14 from 6-8 PM
SPEED READING at Definitions Gym, 19 Union Square West at 15th Street Presented by Cabinet Magazine. FREE
Nov 14 at 6 PM
MARTI GUIXÉ: MEALING at The Performa Hub Commissioned and presented by Performa. Curated by Esa Nickle. Supported by the State Corporation for Spanish Cultural Action Abroad. Tickets: $25 / $20 Performa Members http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/85008
Nov 14 at 8:30 PM
BRADLEY EROS: FUTURIST FILM FUNERAL (FFF !!!) at ISSUE Project Room Commissioned by Performa. Co-presented by Performa and ISSUE Project Room. Special thanks to Andrew Lampert. Tickets: $10 / $8 Performa Members, at the door. https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/85262
Nov 22 at 7 PM
MARINA ROSENFELD: P.A. at Park Avenue Armory Co-presented by Performa and Park Avenue Armory. This performance is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. FREE
Thanks Tairone and Sherrard!
Friday and Saturday, November 13 and 14, 2009
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
SCHEDULE
Friday, November 13
3:45 - 4:45 registration
4:45 - 5:00 Opening remarks
5:00 - 6:00 KEYNOTE ADDRESS
The Audacity of Hope: Futurist Aura and National Difference in the Early Manifestos
Marjorie Perloff, Stanford University
6:00pm - 7:00pm Exhibition and Reception
7:30pm Film Screening-L’uomo meccanico by André Deed
Whitney Humanities Center, Auditorium, 53 Wall
Introduction by Angela Dalle Vacche, Georgia Institute of Technology
Saturday, November 14
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Millicent Marcus, Yale University - Moderator
The ‘Venice Preserved’ by F.T. Marinetti
Paolo Valesio, Columbia University
Futurist Chronotopes: The Spatial Politics of the Futurist Manifesto: Italy, Russia, Georgia
Harsha Ram, University of California, Berkeley
‘Il Mio Futurismo’: Reflections on Women and the Italian Avant-Garde
Erin Larkin, Southern Connecticut State University
10:30am - 11:00am Coffee Break
John MacKay, Yale University - Moderator
Marinetti’s Experiments with Acoustic and Visual Poetry: A New Semiotic Approach
John J. White, Kings College
Femminismo e antifemminismo futurista tra Italia e Russia
Cesare De Michelis, Università di Roma Tor Vergata
Aldo Palazzeschi e il Futurismo
Gino Tellini, Centro di studi “Aldo Palazzeschi”
12:45pm - 2:15pm Lunch (on your own)
Sebastian Zeidler, Yale University - Moderator
Victory Over the Sun / Anguish of the Machines: Utopian Violence in Post-Revolutionary Futurist Theater
Christine Poggi, University of Pennsylvania
Liberating the Italian Colony by the Neva: Italian Futurism and the Cultural Politics of the Late Russian Empire
Sarah Warren, Purchase College, SUNY
For Immediate Release: El Lissitzky and the Topography of G
Maria Gough, Harvard University
4:00pm - 4:15pm Coffee Break
Barbara Spackman, University of California, Berkeley - Moderator
Marinetti’s Total Theatre and the Modernist Conception of Gesamtkunstwerk
Günter Berghaus, University of Bristol
The Statistical Sublime (Marinetti x Mayakovsky)
Jeffrey Schnapp, Stanford University
The Abstract Novel as Futurist Performance Art: The Case of Benedetta’s “Viaggio di Gararà: Romanzo cosmico per teatro.”
Lucia Re, University of California, Los Angeles