Art offers us the ability to go outside the barrier of what we currently know or think, allowing us to change our perceptions, ignite new ideas, and generate critical thinking. -Susan Buroker
I am a life long resident of Long Island. My work is grounded in social issues witnessing the poisoning to our bodies from the industrial pollutants and the socioeconomics that have forced people from their land. I am currently focused on the effects of nitrogen pollution and plastic pollution affecting the wetlands including the small ponds in my local community. These both pollutants are poisoning the wildlife, destroying the ecological balance leading to fish kills by late summer. I have witnessed this rapid change to my community and these stories have no become the raw material for my art. My works are now informed by studies crossing different disciplines ad ideas that range from social issues to ecological imbalances. "My theory is now created from action".
Urban storm water runoff and other non-point sources are the primary contributing source of pollutants. Storm water runoff carries nitrogen from lawn fertilizers and nitrogen from animal waste causing HAB's. The low level oxygen inhibits the growth of the fish and causing stagnation resulting to fish kills by late summer. -Susan Buroker
Witness, 11' x 11' x 33' painted steel sculpture. Exhibition, HIGH CONTRAST: Culture Confronts Chaos at WCC Gallery, 27 North Division Street, Peekskill. September 10 - November 28. Reception: Tuesday, September 25 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm. Artworks also on view at BeanRunner Cafe, 201 South Division Street, Peekskill. September 10 - October 28. Reception: Saturday, September 15 from 4 - 6 pm.
"Underlying all of these problems of introducing contamination into our world is the question of moral responsibility... The threat is infinitely greater to the generations unborn; to those who have no voice in the decisions of today, and that fact alone makes our responsibility a heavy one."
-Rachel Carson
Over 100 million marine animals are killed each year due to plastic debris in the ocean. Currently, it is estimated that there are 100 million tons of plastic in oceans around the world. https://conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-threats-marine-debris/
Billions of pounds of plastic can be found in swirling convergences in the oceans making up about 40 percent of the world's ocean surfaces. 80 percent of pollution enters the ocean from the land. https://www.ecowatch.com/22-facts-about-plastic-pollution-and-10-things-we-can-do-about-it-1881885971.html
44 percent of all seabird species, 22 percent of cetaceans, all sea turtle species and a growing list of fish species have been documented with plastic in or around their bodies. https://www.ecowatch.com/22-facts-about-plastic-pollution-and-10-things-we-can-do-about-it-1881885971.html
Of the 8.3 billion metric tons that has been produced, 6.3 billion metric tons has become plastic waste. Of that, only nine percent has been recycled. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/plastic-produced-recycling-waste-ocean-trash-debris-environment/
Sewage leads to the decomposition of organic matter that in turn leads to a change in biodiversity. Even if the ocean’s ecosystem isn’t destroyed entirely, it is still changed drastically, and usually not for the better. https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-ocean-pollution-facts.php
Fertilizer runoff creates eutrophication that flourishes algal bloom (rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in aquatic systems), which depletes the oxygen content in the water that affects marine life. https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-ocean-pollution-facts.php
There are dead zones in the oceans that have been created by pollution making life in those zones impossible for marine or plant life. https://www.rubiconglobal.com/blog-ocean-pollution-facts/
More than 72 billion gallons of water is used to make those empty plastic bottles. Consumers spend more than $7 billion on bottled water in the US alone. https://helpsavenature.com/plastic-pollution-facts
Nutrient pollution, a form of water pollution, refers to contamination by excessive inputs of nutrients. It is a primary cause of eutrophication of surface waters, in which excess nutrients, usually nitrogen or phosphorus, stimulate algal growth, causing HAB’s (harmful algae blooms). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrient_pollution
Excess nitrogen can harm water bodies. Excess nitrogen can cause overstimulation of growth of aquatic plants and algae. Excessive growth of these organisms, in turn, can clog water intakes, use up dissolved oxygen as they decompose, and block light to deeper waters. https://water.usgs.gov/edu/nitrogen.html
Unlike temperature and dissolved oxygen, the presence of normal levels of nitrates usually does not have a direct effect on aquatic insects or fish. However, excess levels of nitrates in water can create conditions that make it difficult for aquatic insects or fish to survive. http://www.wheatleyriver.ca/media/nitrates-and-their-effect-on-water-quality-a-quick-study/
When the densely concentrated algal cells die off, the decay process, assisted by bacteria, can deplete the water of oxygen, which in turn can lead to the death of oxygen-dependent marine creatures. (Algae, being plants, require nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus to grow. http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/A-Bi/Algal-Blooms-Harmful.html
Nitrogen is a crucially important component for all life. It is an important part of many cells and processes such as amino acids, proteins and even our DNA. It is also needed to make chlorophyll in plants, which is used in photosynthesis to make their food. https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/960-the-nitrogen-cycle
Fertilizers and animal manure, which are both rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, are the primary sources of nutrient pollution from agricultural sources. Excess nutrients can impact water quality when it rains or when water and soil containing nitrogen and phosphorus wash into nearby waters or leach into ground waters. https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-agriculture
Sewage causes pathogens to grow, while organic and inorganic compounds in water can change the composition of the precious resource. According to the EPA, low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water are also considered a pollutant. https://www.livescience.com/22728-pollution-facts.html