Cool Globes

With the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay as a backdrop, 35 seven-foot-tall globes decorated with varying degrees of whimsy remind passers-by that global warming is not so cool.

Bernard Williams, "The World Globe"

Peter Mars, "Mr. Polar Bear Goes to Washington"

The San Francisco exhibit (which also includes a number of globes in other parts of the city and runs through October 12) is part of Cool Globes:Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet. The exhibit originated in Chicago in 2007; currently it is having a reprise at the Field Museum, which is also the final stop of Natural World Museum’s Melting Ice/Hot Topic exhibition. Washington, D.C. is also hosting a cluster of globes, and they will appear in San Diego in late 2008 and in London in early 2009. Each city’s exhibit features local, national, and international artists, some professional and others newly minted to respond to the subject. Children and community groups have been major participants.

Emily Abrams and Michelle Korta Leccia, "Kids Care"

Faheem Majed and Gary Corner Youth Center, "The Corner Connection (Plastics, Metals, and Cell Phones OH MY!

Public art interpretations of a theme are not new–Chicago filled the city with cows in 1999, and San Francisco did hearts beginning in 2004–and they often benefit charities. In fact, many of the Cool Globes are being auctioned off to benefit environmental education organizations. So it’s possible to feel a little jaded about the globes. But what seems special about Cool Globes is the emphasis on both educating the public and prompting action.

Each globe illustrates one aspect of global warming and things that can be done to combat it–Take Simple Steps, Use Public Transportation, Residential Recycling, Encourage Green Government, etc. In addition, people are encouraged to pledge to take specific steps to reduce their own carbon footprint. When I visited the globes a GGNRA park ranger was getting people to sign the pledge and passing out information about how to agree to specific actions on line. In addition, the Cool Globes website lists “Top Tips” and “Activities for Families.”

I was pretty skeptical about the pledge idea. Even if people signed, how many of them will actually take the next steps? But ultimately, this is all about education. People are looking at the globes, reading the informational plaques with them, laughing at the funny ones, and talking to their companions about them. Even if someone doesn’t take an immediate step, looking at the globes, seeing and hearing that there are specific actions to take, can change the way people see their place on the globe, and their responsibility for it.

Cathryn Henry-Colcer and Dan Colcer, “Green Office”