Ghosts of Spring
Poetry and art by Andy Abraham
WE WILL BEAR WITNESS to our world. This media project collects stories from earth's citizens, recording climate destruction, devastation, resilience and hope.
Tell your story.
Flowering plants are not only beautiful, but they are a critical part of our global food chain, and they are threatened by much more than climate change.
Many believe we are at a tipping point. Insect species are declining globally, and many are endangered. So why are we losing something so essential to ecological survival?
Urbanization and related pollution have impacted biodiversity for decades, but the global impact of industrial agriculture and aquaculture is wreaking havoc on the biosphere, including pollinators, and it is threatening food security.
Rain forests are being cut down to farm and feed livestock. Crops are protected with herbicides and pesticides and high yields are obtained using three fertilizers, synthetically produced nitrogen, and mined phosphorus and potassium; yet 80% of soy production goes into animal feed including fish farms.
To justify its importance in our lives, the mining industry often uses the statement "if you can't grow it, you have to mine it". It's hard to argue with this because living without minerals, metals, and fossil fuels is impossible, but at what cost?
The mining industry's ESG reports are awash with green, and relay messaging that it is helping the environment, supporting biodiversity, and it is now essential to fighting climate change. At the same time, it is supplying fertilizers to industrial agriculture. Does this not make it complicit in the destruction and pollution of vast areas of the Earth's surface and biosphere beyond its mines? Not only on land, but near-shore dead zones. This elephant appears to have been quietly sitting unnoticed in the room.
Andy Abraham
From a kid collecting fossils, through the realms of academia and a geological career exploring remote regions of the world, Andy Abraham has lived, breathed, and felt the Earth’s dynamic processes. While earth science is still his passion, his art and writing holistically incorporate his deep interest in life, the anthropogenic impact on the environment and biodiversity, and all of the natural world around us. The interpretation of an image without a description is often seen as a way to allow individual perspectives to flourish. While he recognizes the positive impact of doing this, he uses photography, poetry and written information to educate and bring today’s key issues to the forefront of people's thoughts.
WE WILL BEAR WITNESS to this moment in history. This media project features stories from earth's citizens, recording climate destruction, devastation, resilience and hope. Tell your story.