The Awakening, The Awakening Mural by the Essencia Art Collective, ArtWorxTO, Caledonia Road and 1265 Lawrence Avenue West, North York, Toronto, ON
Excerpt from webapp.driftscape.com/map/35e190de-f6a9-11eb-8000-bc1c5a8...:
The Awakening
A moment of quiet reflection, Mother Earth sleeps, regaining her strength. Lately, replenishing her energies has become more difficult; her circulatory system has been plagued with thick clots, blocking the flow of nutrients and impeding her from cleansing toxins from her system. The creatures that depend on her are starting to feel the illness themselves.
The oceans, her lungs, produce most of the oxygen consumed on Mother Earth, and along with the forests, her waters are essential in sustaining mammal life. A whale swims across her lungs, but there are signs of contamination, and this giant ocean mammal must be wary of its course. The oceans have become the bearers of plastics and pollution. With pH levels changing and oceans becoming more acidic, even coral reefs are disappearing. An estimated 4,000 fish species, and about 25 percent of marine life depend on coral reefs, not to mention that an estimated 500 million people earn their livelihoods from the ecosystems sustained by coral reefs. Without immediate and prioritized climate action, the impact humans will have on the oceans will create profound imbalances.
The health of our oceans is dependent on our ability to break our addiction to consumerism. Markets establish factories in developing countries, with less regulation and cheaper labour, child labour. In the era of “me, myself and I”, of social media likes and influencers, disposable fashion goes unquestioned. The global textile industry discharges tens of thousands of tons of toxic dye into Mother Earth’s waters. Cutting, dyeing and finishing textile processes contribute to the release of microplastics, and the main source of primary microplastics is synthetic clothing, which now account for 35 percent of microplastics in the ocean.
(First person) Mother, we pray with you. You grace us with your beauty, and we stray from your love. We walk through troubled times, and tread heavily about, stomping on your bones, fracturing and bruising you. Forgetting our brothers and sisters. And yet, still you hold us, remember us, feed us. Your beauty and wisdom determined to awaken us. We pray for healing of the lands, waters and air, and are reminded that we are one with you and all of your living creatures. Inhale, exhale.
(First person) And as we breathe our prayer, we get caught in the thickness of yellow grey clouds. Smog and viruses; air contamination and illness.
As our ancient but fragile ecosystem is affected, we wear these masks. As air pollution increases, our behaviour is impacted. Air pollution is known to penetrate deep into our lungs and cardiovascular system, causing diseases including stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and respiratory infections. Air contamination continues to rise, impacting economies and quality of life. It is estimated that nine out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants, and this dirty air is responsible for about seven million deaths globally per year. Climate change is expected to have a substantial effect on the burden of infectious diseases, including making conditions more favourable to their spread to new territories due to warmer climates, including Lyme disease, malaria and dengue.
(First person) Mother, we are surrounded by industry, outdated transportation modes, coal power plants and fuel usage, increasing floods and droughts, food insecurity and growing need for mass migrations – human and animal alike. For now, we shall wear these masks, and work towards a shift to renewable energies can lead us to clean airs once more.
In the distance, cries from the forests are muzzled by the ripping thunder of chainsaws. The old growth in Western Canada, the Amazon rainforest to the south; trees and their ancient wisdom are being cut down at massive rates. Animals lose their homes, protection against flooding and soil erosion is lost; local environmental racism hits hard. Nearby, a Deer Spirit stands in the tar sands, warning fellow animals to be cautious of toxic dangers that are seeping into the soils and waters, causing rare cancers and displacing communities. But extraction continues in order to satisfy our fossil fuel addiction, and profit goes up, and the intangible stock market grows.
The warning signs are here. Scientists have spoken for decades. Who will listen? Who will be brave enough to consider future generations in a time that only honours short term gains? Climate change has arrived, and it is up to us to be the protagonists in creating a sustainable future.
The Awakening, The Awakening Mural by the Essencia Art Collective, ArtWorxTO, Caledonia Road and 1265 Lawrence Avenue West, North York, Toronto, ON
Excerpt from webapp.driftscape.com/map/35e190de-f6a9-11eb-8000-bc1c5a8...:
The Awakening
A moment of quiet reflection, Mother Earth sleeps, regaining her strength. Lately, replenishing her energies has become more difficult; her circulatory system has been plagued with thick clots, blocking the flow of nutrients and impeding her from cleansing toxins from her system. The creatures that depend on her are starting to feel the illness themselves.
The oceans, her lungs, produce most of the oxygen consumed on Mother Earth, and along with the forests, her waters are essential in sustaining mammal life. A whale swims across her lungs, but there are signs of contamination, and this giant ocean mammal must be wary of its course. The oceans have become the bearers of plastics and pollution. With pH levels changing and oceans becoming more acidic, even coral reefs are disappearing. An estimated 4,000 fish species, and about 25 percent of marine life depend on coral reefs, not to mention that an estimated 500 million people earn their livelihoods from the ecosystems sustained by coral reefs. Without immediate and prioritized climate action, the impact humans will have on the oceans will create profound imbalances.
The health of our oceans is dependent on our ability to break our addiction to consumerism. Markets establish factories in developing countries, with less regulation and cheaper labour, child labour. In the era of “me, myself and I”, of social media likes and influencers, disposable fashion goes unquestioned. The global textile industry discharges tens of thousands of tons of toxic dye into Mother Earth’s waters. Cutting, dyeing and finishing textile processes contribute to the release of microplastics, and the main source of primary microplastics is synthetic clothing, which now account for 35 percent of microplastics in the ocean.
(First person) Mother, we pray with you. You grace us with your beauty, and we stray from your love. We walk through troubled times, and tread heavily about, stomping on your bones, fracturing and bruising you. Forgetting our brothers and sisters. And yet, still you hold us, remember us, feed us. Your beauty and wisdom determined to awaken us. We pray for healing of the lands, waters and air, and are reminded that we are one with you and all of your living creatures. Inhale, exhale.
(First person) And as we breathe our prayer, we get caught in the thickness of yellow grey clouds. Smog and viruses; air contamination and illness.
As our ancient but fragile ecosystem is affected, we wear these masks. As air pollution increases, our behaviour is impacted. Air pollution is known to penetrate deep into our lungs and cardiovascular system, causing diseases including stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and respiratory infections. Air contamination continues to rise, impacting economies and quality of life. It is estimated that nine out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants, and this dirty air is responsible for about seven million deaths globally per year. Climate change is expected to have a substantial effect on the burden of infectious diseases, including making conditions more favourable to their spread to new territories due to warmer climates, including Lyme disease, malaria and dengue.
(First person) Mother, we are surrounded by industry, outdated transportation modes, coal power plants and fuel usage, increasing floods and droughts, food insecurity and growing need for mass migrations – human and animal alike. For now, we shall wear these masks, and work towards a shift to renewable energies can lead us to clean airs once more.
In the distance, cries from the forests are muzzled by the ripping thunder of chainsaws. The old growth in Western Canada, the Amazon rainforest to the south; trees and their ancient wisdom are being cut down at massive rates. Animals lose their homes, protection against flooding and soil erosion is lost; local environmental racism hits hard. Nearby, a Deer Spirit stands in the tar sands, warning fellow animals to be cautious of toxic dangers that are seeping into the soils and waters, causing rare cancers and displacing communities. But extraction continues in order to satisfy our fossil fuel addiction, and profit goes up, and the intangible stock market grows.
The warning signs are here. Scientists have spoken for decades. Who will listen? Who will be brave enough to consider future generations in a time that only honours short term gains? Climate change has arrived, and it is up to us to be the protagonists in creating a sustainable future.