Non Toxic Vision

Eco-vis challenge at Eyebeam Gallery, NYC

The Eyebeam Sustainability Research Group began a as forum for past and present residents, fellows, and staff to engage in a critical dialog about environmental sustainability. The group's monthly meetings have covered a range of issues, from sharing creative research to working on practical ways to "green" the Eyebeam facility. Out of these meetings, a number of public programs and exhibitions have been developed, including the Eco-Vis Design Challenge, the upcoming Eyebeam exhibition have been developed, including the 2007-8 program series, Beyond Light Bulbs. Check out www.eyebeam.org

Galapagos Island - Tourism

Just the fact that one of the UNESCO world heritage has been added to the "in danger list" really sends some chills down my spine. How dare we? How obsessed are we with hard to travel to sites, that we actually overwhelm them and eventually ruin them? What exactly is unsustainable tourism and what are we doing to reverse it? Unsustainable tourism is simply a phenomenon, where we think we really really need to see a place before my neighbor gets to see it and therefore travel to it because we must be there before everybody else. Which means we do not give the government of Ecuador any chance of constructively prepare for large amounts of tourists. Locals are not prepared and therefore are not able to accommodate you and are not able to make a living from visitors. Only an estimated USD 63 million of the USD 418 million generated by tourism enters the local economy. And only about 40 % of the 80 tourism boats allowed on the Galapagos islands are owned locally. On the other hand - why is Ecuador surprised it gets cheap tourists if the standards are set so low? I personally always liked the idea of having to pay in order to ensure the upkeep of local business, traditions and ensuring everybody gets a fair share of the cake.