Climate Art Addendum to Emory’s 2023 Climate Action Plan

Emory’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives has compiled a collection of climate- and environment-related artwork to accompany Emory’s 2023 Climate Action Plan in a Climate Art Addendum. We believe that art, story-telling, expression, connection, and community are powerful tools on the path to climate resilience. We hope that this compilation will create a sense of optimism and community while helping each of us better understand our relationship with the changing climate. On this webpage, you will find art created by the Emory community during the summer and fall semesters of 2023. We thank all those who participated in the creation process!

Nothing Else Matters by Dana Kahn

. . .

And what will you do, if this is the last time you see stars when you look up?

by Isabel Cuellar

Don’t go yet, unpaved road that takes me from one side of the mountains
to the other and in the rain will take me down.
Factories on either side now, so almost I forget while I drive
what was ever worth saving about this place.

Vegetation crammed together like cousins staying over on Christmas Day.
Vines and moss and crooked finger trees that strangle each other for daylight.
Don’t go yet, and it used to be that the blood red painted wood terrace
was the quietest place on Earth. Ash-nourished pine to the left, carousel horse to the right.
Up ahead, the lake, laying back against the earth like a woman choosing her own bed.
And even the wind would move quietly, all of us tiptoeing
because the silence made the trees jealous.
Don’t go yet, quiet one. Even as the mountains start to rumble
and car engines break the peace, even as unpaved roads are drowned in cement
and the lake town starts looking like a bloodbath of light at night, wait a little longer.
The world is so loud now, but maybe if you stay, and stay quiet, it’ll all come back.
Don’t go yet. Only quiet hears what quiet says.

. . .

The Dumpster Dive By Laura Asherman *Password: Microplastics!

In The Dumpster Dive, cockroach news hosts Howard Scourge and Madison Von Vermin report on how microplastics could have dire consequences for their species’ biggest nuisance: humans. Toeing the line between documentary and fiction, Asherman combines expert testimonial, collage animation, puppetry, and live cockroaches in this short hybrid film.

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Hot day hottest day

The heaviest sun I’ve known

Still I am hopeful

Anonymous Haiku from the Emory community

. . .

. . .

I am new here

I am learning about Earth

Earth is pretty cool

Anonymous Haiku from the Emory Community

. . .

Deep in the forest

One individual left

Warzone turned profit

Anonymous Haiku from the Emory Community

. . .

. . .

Record heat again

Cold rain on summer morning

Unexpected winds

Anonymous Haiku from the Emory Community

. . .

Home is fast changing

But policy disagrees

What makes facts a fact?

Anonymous Haiku from the Emory Community

One Voice, One Change (Climate Change) by Justin Bright. This song explores how addressing climate change is a group effort, a symphony of instruments accompany each other and build upon each other, metaphor for climate activists.

. . .

Renewables slay

We need a green future now,

A just transition

Anonymous Haiku from the Emory Community

. . .

Dogwood flowers, me,

Small and cool under the trees

Slipping through fingers

Anonymous Haiku from the Emory Community

. . .

The climate’s changing

And only we can stop it

So let’s get to work

Anonymous Haiku from the Emory Community

. . .

Waterfalls are dry

Humanity is trying?

Profits rule the world

Anonymous Haiku from the Emory Community