Earth Beat, 16 September 2011. Small is beautiful. Not just things like seeds, bugs and microphotography, but footprints as well. We take a look at the small things and small solutions that make a big difference to our ever-changing world.
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Host Marnie Chesterton introduces the theme with the story of smallpox. Bioweapons expert Jonathan B. Tucker says that although the disease has been eradicated, we just can’t bring ourselves to get rid of it completely.
Slinkachu
Street artist Slinkachu is a miniaturist. He poses tiny model figures in city scenes, photographs them, and leaves his hard work behind, on the mean streets of big cities. As his new exhibition Concrete Ocean opens, he explains what drew him to this Lilliputian art form. More photos by Slinkachu below.
Igor Siwanowicz - winner of the Olympus BioScapes competition - on insect glamour photography and how he brings the world of creepy crawlies to life with brilliant size and colour. More photos below.
Photo gallery - Insect glamour photography
The seed bank - in a bank
They say good things come in small packages, and it’s hard to think of a better example than seeds. Seed collector Jeremiah Gettle is passionate about seeds and has opened a seed bank - in an actual bank. He tells Marnie how his hobby became a job. Link - Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
Cola Life
Even in the remotest parts of the world you can usually find a shop that sells Coca-Cola. So why is it then that fizzy drinks can reach parts of the world where medicines can’t? Simon Berry, founder of Cola Life, talks about his campaign to distribute life-saving medicines contained in small pods that fit between Coke bottles which are transported around Africa. Is this potentially a small idea with a big impact? Photos below
Video - Simon Berry speaks at a TEDx event, Berlin
Steve Tinsley, a professor at the Sustainable Development Research Centre in Forres, took samples in Findhorn - a town in northern Scotland - from its 300 residents and 3000 annual visitors, estimating the environmental cost of everything they did. Download a PDF of the report.
Living in Findhorn
Most of us would agree that a small environmental impact on the world is a good thing. The people of Findhorn have taken that to heart and have claimed the prize of the town with the smallest eco-footprint ever measured. Link - Findhorn Foundation.
Video - trailer for ‘The Turning Point: A Return to Community’
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