User:Cschettino/sandbox

Museums, as a trusted part of the informal education system, are able to address the economic, cultural, and social dimensions of sustainability. They achieve this by engaging the public with interactive exhibits and by publicizing their own green efforts. The goal, stated or unstated, is to educate patrons about the effect they have on their environment, the ecological, economic, and cultural risks taken when they ignore their impact on the world, and introduce ways that they can reduce their carbon footprint. Thus, museums achieve civic engagement and social responsibility through teaching. Some musuems, such as the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Saskatchewan, Canada, take a global approach to civic engagement. The Royal Saskatchewan Museum's green exhibit is titled The Human Factor and aims to show patrons the human ecological impact on the planet, what practices they can adopt to lessen this impact, and project what the future will be if humans do not take action. Visitors are helped to understand what Earth looked like before humans and gradual human impact over time through colorful depictions in the "Time Tunnel". The subsequent gallery, "Living Planet", explains how a global ecosystem functions and what human stresses are to the Earth's global ecosystem on a rotating globe. Specifically identified as a stress to the global ecosystem is the rising population. Curators placed clocks in the exhibit that count increases in population across the globe. Beneath the clocks are the forms of humans and in their shadow is the images of industrial productivity. The following gallery, Causes of Stress, identifies the source of ecological stresses as rampant cosumerism and explains what causes this extreme behavior. The solutions gallery depicts sustainable development and an electronic display of sustainability success stories. This is an effort to show patrons how their choices impact not only themselves and their parts of the world but other people and their environments. The last gallery, Looking Ahead, describes the projected future of the globe if humans adopt the prescribed changes. The desired effect is an emotional response to the human impact on the global ecosystem. The Bronx Zoo seeks to educate its patrons about water resources and the impact of restroom use on water resources through the EcoRestroom exhibit. At the same time, by installing this restroom with composting toilets the Zoo has reduced its carbon footprint. The restroom serves men and women with 12 toilets and six sinks for women and two toilets, four waterless urinals and four sinks for men. The sinks do not rely on electricity or battery power; rather, they recharge as water runs through them. The used water runs into a Grey Water garden that is unharmed by the bio-compatable soap available for use by patrons. The restroom doubles as exhibition space, informing visitors of water conservation. Along the pathway to the entrance of the restroom therre are water-droplet-shaped signs that give visitors tips for conserving and repurposing water at home. Signs continue over the sinks, providing visitors with facts about water use meant to inspire thought about their own use and what they can do to use less water. Signs on the inside of the stall doors inform visitors how composting toilets function and the impact they have on the environment. This installation not only shows patrons how they can make simple changes to conserve water but implements those changes in real time at the Zoo. In educating, the Zoo is also making a difference. As stewards of the public trust, Museums bear a responsibility to maintain collections utilizing the most efficient methods available. Museums must do their part to ensure that there is a public to enjoy the collection and resources to exhibit the collection. One way museums can conserve resources is to incorporate energy saving practices into their daily operations, altering the facilities they already inhabit rather than building anew. Brophy and Wylie identify simple solutions such as installing motion sensors that turn the lights on when visitors enter the gallery and turn the lights off when they exit, such as those found at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. Those lightbulbs could even be replaced with long-lasting LED bulbs.Other musuems that manipulate their facilities location include the Morgan Library, as identified by Brophy and Wylie, whose storage is "carved out of Manhattan bedrock." The bedrock provides natural cool storage without using electricity to generate an air conditioned climate. Thus neither money nor electricity are spent to control the climate of the storage space, which stresses not only museum funds but increasingly scarce electricity too. Museums further achieve social responsibility by implementing the sustainable practices that they advocate in building or altering facilities such that they are sustainable.This includes using LEED buidling practices and sourcing materials locally. Purchasing building materials and employing local labor stimulates the economy in the vacinity of the museum. It also reduces the carbon footprint of construction; materials purchased from local suppliers do not need to be delivered on a tractor-trailer, on an airplane, or on a ship, all of which consume fuel, time and money. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, CO, has incorporated locally sourcing materials into its LEED-Gold design plan. The Museum highlights that its green roof, furniture fixtures and equipment have all been locally sourced. The museum also encourages the use of public transportation by offering discounts to visitor who use this as a means of accessing the museum. In building to the LEED Gold standard, the Museum of Contemporary Art has also made its operations more energy efficient. The facade is built to maximize climate control and limit the use of traditional forced air. Radiant flooring circulates heat around the perimiter of the building. These are two ways that MCA Denver conserves energy. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego purchased paint, office furnishings, windows and doors from local vendors. By educating the community and putting advocacy into action, museums become socially responsible.