IMU gallery welcomes sustainability exhibit

The ocean has the power to sustain life both on land and in the water. It is the home of many creatures, all of whom take part in the delicate balance of life.

Yet the ocean has an enemy — plastic bottles.

These are themes that will be running at the education art gallery at 7 p.m. Friday at the Indiana Memorial Union.

The gallery is being sponsored by Volunteers in Sustainability, a student organization that focuses on uniting the campus and the community to take action in the three R’s: reduce, reuse and recycle.

The event will provide food and jazz music by David Linard.

The gallery and art exhibit was created to bring awareness to the dangers plastic bottles pose on the ocean.

“We want to inform the public about the problem,” junior Marine Tempels said. “But we also want to address the solutions to stop the problem.”

The statistics about the consumption of water bottles is staggering.

The United States is the world’s “leading consumer of bottled water, with Americans drinking 26 billion liters in 2004,” according to the Earth Policy Institute website.

“Any waste or plastic that makes it to a stream can end up in the ocean,” Tempels said.

The art of the exhibit is sustainable, as all the pieces are made from used plastic bottles.

The artists behind the pieces are all members of the local Boys & Girls Club.

The idea behind the art is “you are what you eat.” The students were inspired by fish in the ocean and made fish out of plastic.

“Many sea creatures eat plastic,” senior and Coordinator for VIS Elisabeth Gawthrop said. “Because their bellies are full of plastic, they can’t eat any more and die.”

Tempels said cleanup is difficult because marine life such as plankton, which are vital to the food chain, can be collected along with other trash.

VIS is not only doing an art exhibit but also taking action. VIS sells bottles students can reuse.

The University is also participating to make sure the campus water is clean by installing pure water stations.

Students can take their water bottles to the IMU and fill their re-usable water bottle with pure water.

“The water bottle problem could be solved easily if people do the three R’s,” sophomore Jakson Alvarez said. “We want people to be more aware of the impact our everyday choices make in the world.”