FutureSeaLevel.org project aims to turn tide on climate change

Collaborative art project and web site illustrate the potential effect of climate change in the Bay Area

FutureSeaLevel.org, a collaborative art project created by the Aquarium of the Bay Foundation, Sierra Club's San Francisco Bay Chapter, and the San Francisco Department of the Environment, has launched an interactive web site aimed at educating and inspiring Bay Area residents to take action against climate change. As part of the launch, San Francisco Public Library buildings throughout San Francisco were temporarily wrapped with our brightly colored FutureSeaLevel.org tape to illustrate the projected effects of a rising tide on the Bay Area.

The concept for FutureSeaLevel.org was initiated in 2006 by temporarily installing brightly colored tape around the entire Aquarium of the Bay building at Fisherman's Wharf to illustrate how high the sea level would rise in San Francisco if the ice covering Greenland or Antarctica were to melt. The project has since expanded into a collaboration that strives to inspire action amongst all Bay Area residents and has supported public wrappings of schools, libraries and cultural organizations.

Visitors to the FutureSeaLevel.org web site can order tape and get step-by-step directions on how to wrap their own schools, offices, or other buildings; and share stories, videos, and photos of their art installations with the public. Visitors can also calculate their carbon impact, access classroom lesson plans, and take a pledge to become more climate-friendly in their own homes and communities. FutureSeaLevel.org will support visitors' efforts by showcasing success stories, photos, and videos from public art displays, and will keep in contact with pledge-takers to help them reach their goals.

The web site features maps provided by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) which hone in on the portions of local land that may become submerged. The San Francisco Bay could potentially rise one meter as a result of global warming, which would flood most of the land around the San Francisco and Oakland airports, portions of Highway 101 and I-80, and areas of San Jose.

A chance to express yourself creatively

Here's your opportunity to get creative in the way you spread the word about climate change! FutureSeaLevel.org has just launched "Turn the Tide", its first creativity competition. The goal of "Turn the Tide" is to inspire teams and individuals to stretch and flex their creative muscles to help demonstrate and raise awareness for the impact that climate change will have on the Bay Area. Individual and team entries will be accepted until July 15.

"Turn the Tide" participants can create murals, sculptures, plays, or public art. It might be a song or photo essay, a clever bumper-sticker idea, graphic icon, or board game - any form of visual, performance, or written work that conveys how climate change concerns or affects you.

WhatYouCanDo

To help the Bay Chapter with this effort, contact Aaron Israel at izzinsf -at- gmail.com or (415) 515-2683.

For information about the Future Sea Level project as well as its contest prizes, rules, and other important "Turn the Tide" guidelines, please visit www.FutureSeaLevel.org