“Communication is nothing more than the exchange of information. Hence, at its broadest sense, environmental communication is necessary for the survival of every living system, be it an organism, an ecosystem, or a social system.”
-Alexander G. Flo (Environmental Communication, 2004)
The interdisciplinary field of environmental humanities weaves together research from the natural, applied, and social sciences with storytelling, art, creativity, and community building. It values indigenous ways of knowing as well as non-human perspectives.
The Pesticide Crusade
In his art piece “The Pesticide Crusade,” Franklin Okoronkwo transports us into a monochrome world in which the last living flower is murdered at the hands of an ominous plague doctor.
Franklin, who created the piece as a response to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, explains, “I wanted to capture the long-term effects of pesticide use and the potential future that it can cause if unchecked.”
You’ll note the bright yellow of the last living flower pops off the page. Franklin writes, “The flower itself is based on Washington DC’s state flower, the Rosa American Beauty. I gave it color, but you can see it is wilting by the spray being administered. It is supposed to represent the last piece of nature in the world, and how humans are poisoning it to ‘save’ it from bugs.”