Activist+Art

=**Materials**= [|Nike Material Sustainability Index] [|Nike Making App]
 * General Resources**

=**Gloria the Whale: Who She is & Her Purpose-**= Gloria the Whale is the project that the Materials Team 2014-15 is worked on. After many attempts to find a big project for our team to tackle this year, including dyeing bags with cabbage and weaving old whole foods bags into new bags, we decided we wanted to make activist art. The material we wanted to use was recycled plastics, so we began brainstorming what kind of art we could create with old bottles. After a few weeks of prototyping, our whale design emerged. Hundreds of pieces of old plastic bottles and cups, from tiny pieces to large ones, are glued to a 4 by 8 foot piece of wood in the shape of a whale. Going slowly from large pieces to small ones resembles how plastic thrown in the ocean may get smaller and smaller, but they never fully disappear. Through Gloria the Whale, we would like to raise awareness about trash being thrown in the ocean and how it’s destroying our planet. The ocean is not our trash can, it is full of vast species and lifeforms, and many are being ruined due to the trash thrown into the water. By recycling plastics, instead of littering or throwing them away, we can make a change. =**Updates:**=
 * 6/11/15:**
 * We are currently painting the wood frame of the whale that we had attached to the back side of the whale. We plan to sign our names, and create a plaque with some info on Gloria's purpose. We still need to get the drill and materials needed to physically hang the whale up, but there's hope for hanging it up before the year ends! Also, we'd like to thank carpentry, Mr.C, Ms. Slattery and the art department for the supplies, and all the members of our class who helped the team get the job done! To say we are proud of what we've accomplished this year would be an understatement.**
 * Thanks,**
 * Charlotte, Emma, Elinor, Izzy**



-A recent study suggests that 268,000 tons of plastic debris are currently floating in the ocean (Source: http://5gyres.org/see_global_research/) "Contamination was defined as 'the introduction of substances into marine environment which alters concentration and distribution of substances within the ocean.' Marine pollution is: the introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the marine environment resulting in deleterious effects as harm to living resources, hazards to human healthy, hindrance to marine activities including fisheries, impairment of quality for use of sea-water and reduction of amenities" (Advances in the Science and Technology of Ocean Management, 61-62)
 * Difference between contamination and pollution:**

-Petroleum plastic- a product created to last, but in this day and age is thrown away after one use -Once it ends up in the water, the sun breaks the plastic into smaller parts but does disappear -Since plastic is built to last a long time, it will remain in our oceans
 * What are the causes of plastic pollution?**

-Plastics often absorb toxic chemicals that have entered the ocean, which would poison whatever eats it -Smaller fish absorb these toxic chemicals, so when the larger fish eat the small fish, they are poisoned also- ultimately every species in the ocean will be either directly or indirectly affected -until the 1970's, stuff such as pesticides and radioactive waste was deliberately dumped into our ocean, and salt water has the ability to move these pollutants into clean, fresh water, contaminating it -gyres are formed: enormous floating groups of plastic that exist as a result of the winds carrying large amounts of plastic to the same direction -The Coriolis Effect is a term that describes the wind patterns of the ocean, wind patterns can be low or high pressure, and they do not travel in a straight line -there are five large gyres which have formed, however many smaller ones exist //North Pacific Gyre:// -researched most heavily -is about two times the size of the United States //South Pacific Gyre// //North Atlantic Gyre// //South Atlantic Gyre// //Indian Ocean Gyre//
 * Why is plastic pollution an issue?**

[] http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/ocean-gyre/?ar_a=1 http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/ocean_gyres.html http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/The-Ocean-in-Action/Sci-Media/Images/Map-of-ocean-gyres
 * Sources:**

Meet Gloria the Greengineer! Gloria is made from dozens of plastic bottles. Over the last 10 years, humans have produced more plastic than the entire last century. Our oceans are suffering from the increasing use of plastic products. Whales and other species ingest the waste we mindlessly throw away. Many creatures in the ocean become trapped and entangled in the plastic trash, that has been thrown away or littered, but either way ends up in the water. Though it is a useful material, plastic is poisoning and polluting the homes of millions of creatures and species of the ocean. Gloria the Whale represents the extreme and detrimental pollution of our oceans. the plastic pieces that Gloria is made of, transition from large to small, paralleling how the plastic in the ocean slowly breaks down, but never really goes away. Through Gloria, we hope to raise awareness about the pollutions of the oceans that are home to many wonderful animals and plants. Simple changes, such as using a reusable water bottles or recycling our plastics, can help to minimize the damage on our oceans. Yours truly, Izzy, Charlotte, Emma and Elinor
 * Introduction of Gloria:**