Rauschenberg Foundation Now Allots Funding to Climate Change Solutions

by Whitney Kimball on November 13, 2014 · 3 comments Newswire

Robert Rauschenberg, Earth Day Poster 1970 (Image courtesy of the Rauschenberg Foundation)

Robert Rauschenberg, Earth Day Poster 1970 (Image courtesy of the Rauschenberg Foundation)

The Rauschenberg Foundation, which typically gives money to art-related projects, is now also accepting proposals for efforts to combat climate change. Aimed at creating more sustainable living practices, the new Climate Change Solutions Fund awards organizations or individuals directly working with climate scientists or “climate-facing organizations”. The organization is particularly interested in local solutions, and ones which service low-income communities which are often hit hardest. I’m thinking of UPROSE, which is currently working to shore up Sunset Park for future super storms.

The topic can be daunting for artists who traditionally play a peripheral role in society. But the Foundation reminds people that this is an all-hands-on-deck scenario:

Global warming is real, and it is here. It is not a distant threat 10 or 15 years away but very much a part of our everyday lives – from a higher grocery bill to a rise in catastrophic natural disasters.

To some, the role of arts, culture, and creativity may seem frivolous in this context. However, our proposition is that a problem this massive and urgent requires experts in creative problem solving, a skill that is a prerequisite for outstanding artists.

Through December 22nd, applicants can request anything from $25,000 to $150,000 over one or two years. Projects don’t even have to be art-related.

Good.

 

{ 3 comments }

Jim Corcoran November 13, 2014 at 6:29 pm

Save taxpayer’s money AND defund climate change and environmental destruction by ending the enormous subsidies and tax breaks for animal agriculture!

With 60+ BILLION food animals on the planet our best chance to mitigate climate change is to severely reduce consumption of animal foods. More than 1/3 of human induced warming is attributable to animal agriculture. Methane is 24 times more potent than CO2 but takes only 7 years to cycle out of the atmosphere. CO2 takes around 100 years to come out. Human pursuit of animal protein is the leading cause of methane release and a primary cause of CO2 concentrating in the atmosphere. Check the facts and act!

“As environmental science has advanced, it has become apparent that the human appetite for animal flesh is a driving force behind virtually every major category of environmental damage now threatening the human future: deforestation, erosion, fresh water scarcity, air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice, the destabilization of communities, and the spread of disease.” Worldwatch Institute, “Is Meat Sustainable?”

“If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetables and grains… the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads.” Environmental Defense Fund

“A 1% reduction in world-wide meat intake has the same benefit as a three trillion-dollar investment in solar energy.” ~ Chris Mentzel, CEO of Clean Energy

There is one single industry destroying the planet more than any other. But no one wants to talk about it… http://cowspiracy.com

Step by Step Guide: How to Transition to a Vegan Diet http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/step-by-step-guide-how-to-transition-to-vegan-diet/

klem November 13, 2014 at 10:27 pm

Ever wonder why you repeatedly post the same long boring comment and nobody bothers to give you an ‘up’ vote?

Really, you actually wonder why?

Jim Corcoran November 15, 2014 at 12:17 pm

I get plenty of up votes, kadiddlehopper.

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