ECOfreak: Mysteries of Mercury
William and Mary's Mercury Sustained Global Inquiry Group (these groups are collaborative explorations of topics with global significance that stretch across disciplinary borders) is gearing up for the culmination of years of study, travel and collaboration with their upcoming International Mercury Expo at William and Mary.
The title for their inquiry group program is Mercury: a Hazard Without Borders. They had me at mercury.
I sat down and talked with expo Executive Producer Adam Stackhouse and as he
explained the plan for the expo I thought, what a great way to engage people -
even people with no background in the sciences - with a topic that should really
matter to them. If you eat seafood or use CFL bulbs, or use power from a power
station, mercury is a part of your life.
We read stories about mercury
here and there in the news. Faculty members and students do research on it,
various individuals have been hurt by its effects, and communities around the
world have had their share of devastating mercury-related problems, but the
inquiry group is about to bring all these discussions (and more) together on one
weekend (Earth Day weekend, April 22-25), with every discipline offering its own
perspective on the issue.
On the inquiry group Web site, they explain the idea behind the expo
very well: "Mercury is an unusual metal with a long history of usefulness and
peril to humans.
"From Minamata, Japan, to the Blue Ridge Mountains of
Virginia, in Latin American gold mines and Chinese coal-burning power plants,
mercury is an environmental hazard that does not recognize national borders.
Mercury's transboundary pollution raises economic, legal, social, health, and
policy issues around the globe."
At the expo, there will
be talks and presentations by local professors and experts as well as visitors
from abroad on many every day ways that mercury touches our lives - one talk
will be on mercury levels in fish and how safe (or not) fish are to consume; one
will likely be about the proposed coal-fired power plant in Surry, which will
release tons of mercury into the local environment; there will also be a
discussion on mercury in dental fillings.
Another topic of discussion
will focus on the Minamata disaster in Japan - I was going to post a short
YouTube clip about it, but there are some pretty disturbing images that might
not be right for everyone. Feel free to search for yourself if you aren't
familiar with the story, but the short version is that decades ago a town in
Japan with a factory that released large amounts of mercury into the nearby
water had terrifying impacts on local health.
Aileen Smith, wife of famed
American photojournalist Eugene Smith, will also be at the expo. She'll be
opening an exhibit of her late husband's photos of residents stricken by
"Minamata Disease," the mercury poisoning I just described. The couple lived in
Minamata in the early 1970's just to bring the disease to the public's
attention; his photo essay and subsequent book of the victims has become
world-famous.
This alone makes the expo worth going, whether you're a
tree-hugger or not.
Also fun on the artistic-side of the expo will be a
new play by the travelling troupe and their mobile stage, the Virginia Theater
Machine (who you might recall from their successful show on Merchants Square
last year).
They'll be unveiling their newest show, tentatively titled
"Speed the Plow, but Think Twice About the Tuna."
Here's their blurb on
it: "This project is inspired by the media frenzy following the actor Jeremy
Piven when he quit the performance of the Broadway run of David Mamet's play
Speed-the-Plow because of mercury poisoning associated with the actor's sushi
heavy diet.
"As of this posting, the verdict is still not out on how this
story ends. Other elements being woven together include: conflicting opinions
about tuna consumption; the relationship of mercury emissions and coal fired
electric power plants (of much timely interest in the State of Virginia); the
fact that electronic waste (CPU's, Monitors, Keyboards, etc) is a fast growing
component of the municipal waste stream and not only adds to the volume of trash
but contain toxins including mercury; the 1930's radio series Mercury Theatre on
the Air by John Houseman and Orson Wells, famed for their broadcast of HG Wells
The War of the Worlds."
I am totally going to be the first in line for
this show.
Want to attend some (or all) the various events at the
weekend-long Mercury Expo? It will be centered mainly in and around the Sadler
Center on April 22 through the 25, with most of the public-centered events
happening Friday through Sunday. Aside from the talks and programs I just
described, there will be many presentations and displays around Sadler, and some
other fun things to do (related to mercury, of course).
The "Fact or
Fiction" panel discussion topic is on mercury and seafood (if you eat lots of
tuna, maybe you should go. Even if you don't, you should go.)
Take a look
at the schedule here, and keep in mind there are many events that are free and
open to the public, and some that are open to the public but require a paid
ticket.
Something not on this list that's going on concurrently is a
series of mercury-related films running for free at Kimball Theater in
Merchant's Square the same weekend. You'll have to check their Web site closer to the date for details.
Any
questions? Want to be a sponsor? Want to apply to share a presentation? Email
Adam Stackhouse adam.stackhouse@gmail.com.
Web site for the
week
This week, I've already added tons of links in the blog. I'll
leave you with this video about the Expo - enjoy!
Tip for the
week
Go to the mercury expo! A more fun task than the ones I usually
suggest - just mark your calendars now, so you have some time set aside. It'll
be a busy eco-holiday weekend!
