the Painting Activist

2.5″ x 10″ mixed media painting in an 11″ x 14″ frame, $190 ($10 donated to The Nature Conservancy)

While watching one of the episodes recently, I was reminded that there is a tremendous amount of daily activity on our planet that we benefit greatly from, don’t contribute to, and get for absolutely free. We’re all painfully aware of the cost of using natural resources such as oil and natural gas, but did you ever think of the free services we receive, such as pollination for example? Probably not since the connection between the existence of much of the vegetation around us and the bees who carry and deliver pollen, like free mini UPS workers, is not obvious (again, maybe because it’s not affecting our wallets).

Well, you may have thought about if you’ve seen the ‘Bee Movie.’ The importance of pollination was highlighted in the animated film when the bees practiced nonviolent resistance by halting their pollination until the humans agreed to stop commercially producing honey by means of forceful bee slave labor. The boycott resulted in a domino effect of dry lifeless landscapes, and ecological and economic sickness of immense proportions (covers quite spectrum of issues, huh? environmentalism, labor laws/human rights, social community organizing).

If you care to engage in two starkly different cinematic approaches to gaining an appreciation and understanding of our environment and the role we play, pop some popcorn, get cozy and make a movie night of it. Hmmm, good idea Ashley!