“Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting.
We allow them to disperse because we’ve been ignorant of their value.”
— Buckminster Fuller
If you don’t know Buckmister Fuller you can watch a documentary below… Fuller remains an inspiration for a world in sore need of it.
What is AIR-INK?
Collaborating with Graviky Labs, the local energy-efficiency nonprofit CORE had four murals painted by local artists with AIR-INK. Part of the 2nd annual Imagine Climate in 2020, these 8-foot-square billboards convey the message about climate change and “Shorter Winters.” The winter of 2020 was the 6th hottest on record for the U.S., and spring is arriving earlier.
What is AIR-INK?
AIR-INK is a revolutionary solution to repurpose PM 2.5, aka soot and other carbon particulate matter, captured from several industrial air polluting sources, such as cars and brick kilns. A proprietary process makes this “waste” into ink for artists.
Carbon is the major waste product of burning fossil fuels. PM 2.5 can pollute soil, crops, and seafood when in dump streams. Anirudh Sharma, the founder of Graviky Labs, and his team saw an opportunity to recycle this pollution waste when they saw soot staining their clothing. They developed the KAALINK, a device that could capture air pollution at the source, in engines or factory machinery. From this captured pollution, Graviky Labs makes AIR-INK. Each marker holds about 30 Milliliters of AIR-INK, equivalent to approximately 45 minutes of diesel car pollution. Future products planned using AIR-INK technologies include construction materials, industrial yarn, automotive paints, consumer plastics, and more printing items.
Black ink has been made with the powder that remains after burning coal or oil. The technical term for the substance is “carbon black” AIR-INK, on the other hand, is made from sequestering carbon emissions. AIR-INK addresses pollution since the global warming potential of carbon PM2.5 is 450 times higher than CO2. The product is also more sustainable since it doesn’t burn extra fossil fuels to make the black ink.
The manufacture and use of AIR-INK also have health benefits. Particle exposure, such as PM 2.5 or soot, leads to around 20,000 premature deaths in America each year. Research also shows that soot annually causes almost 300,000 asthma attacks. Besides implementing non-polluting sources of energy, sequestration of this pollution would help prevent such deaths.
1st billboard is by Brian Colley as part of the “Climate Billboard Project.” The artwork is located at The Launchpad in Carbondale, CO.
2nd billboard is by Carbondale-based Chris Erickson. Addressing the ramifications of industrialization and climate change, this mural is displayed at the Town Hall in Basalt, CO.
3rd billboard is by Kelly Peters, and it’s shown at The Collective in Snowmass Village, CO.
4th billboard is by Kate Howe. Photo credit: @coreaspen
Buckminster Fuller – Thinking Out Loud (documentary 1996)
Fuller is considered by some to be one of the 20th century’s most noteworthy, controversial and creative thinkers, since his death in 1983. The film looks at his unconventional life, his innovations, and his radical view of the contemporary world. Best known as the inventor of the Geodesic Dome, Fuller had many other inventions, such as an air-streamed three-wheeled car, and ideas of how to ‘benefit mankind.’
The film includes interviews with Philip Johnson, Merce Cunningham, John Cage and Arthur Penn. It is narrated by Morley Safer and Spalding Gray is the voice of Buckminster Fuller. The filmmakers were the first journalists to have open access to the vast collections of Fuller’s personal papers. As Fuller was widely documented, the film includes extensive archival footage of Fuller from scores of sources. The film premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 1996 and was nominated for an Emmy for Best Cultural/Historical Documentary the same year.”
