New York, NY (November 30, 2006) –
The Precipice Alliance, a non-profit organization collaborating with artists to direct public attention to global warming, launched its mission with an inaugural artwork by contemporary artist Mary Ellen Carroll at the American Can factory buildings in Jersey City, New Jersey on November 1, 2006.
“Timing is critical,” said Donna Wingate, co-founder of The Precipice Alliance. “We are at a stage where a brief opportunity exists to mitigate the substantial, potentially irreversible effects of global warming, and public awareness is absolutely essential in creating a solution.”
The Precipice Alliance’s mission includes practical actions toward energy conservation and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. To that end, Mary Ellen Carroll’s illuminated artwork is carbon-neutral by using low-wattage, energy-efficient transformers and lead-free glass tubing. Solar panels installed at the site combined with Green Tags from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation have offset the remainder of the energy consumed by the project.
“Exploring the issues of global warming through art is a completely new and exciting venue to address global warming,” said Tom Starrs, vice president of marketing and sales & chief operating officer of the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. “We are very excited to continue our relationship with The Precipice Alliance on future artworks that inform and educate the public about the environmental impacts of carbon-intensive lifestyles.”
The artwork consists of 8-foot high illuminated characters spelling out the phrase:
It Is Green Thinks Nature Even In The Dark and will be exhibited through April 2007. The work will be illuminated at night and will be visible to tens of thousands of commuters traveling daily on the Pulaski Skyway and the New Jersey Turnpike. To see images of the artwork and learn more about the significance of the phrase, visit
http://www.precipice-alliance.org.
About The Precipice Alliance
Artists Joel Sternfeld and executive director Donna Wingate have founded The Precipice Alliance, a 501(c)(3) organization sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts with the mission to increase awareness of the global effects of climate change through art. For more information visit http://www.Precipice-Alliance.org.
About the Bonneville Environmental Foundation
The Bonneville Environmental Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was established in 1998 and was a pioneer in developing the market for renewable energy certificates, which it calls Green Tags. BEF reinvests all the net revenues from Green Tags sales in support of its mission, which funds solar power systems for schools and businesses, wind power systems for farms and ranches, and restoration efforts for salmon-bearing streams. Visit www.GreenTagsUSA.org to learn what individuals, utilities, and businesses are doing to increase the use of wind and solar power in our nation’s electricity grids.
