The Collective Picture

It has been over a month since the earthquake hit Haiti, the shock over the devastation seems to have moved into a focus on the long-term support that is needed to facilitate recovery. But yesterday (Saturday, February 27 2010) the world was pulled back into the state of crisis that surrounds a natural disaster as an earthquake hit Chile. The earthquake in Haiti was recorded at a magnitude of 7.0, lower then the 8.8 that was felt in Chile. Yet the devastation and loss of life was significantly higher in Haiti, with a death toll now estimated at over 200,000. This most recent disaster in Chile is the second largest to hit the country, rivaled only by the 1960 earthquake that was recorded at a magnitude of 9.6. The devastating effect of the 1960 earthquake served as a catalyst to tighten building code requirements, which saved lives during this more recent disaster. These events in Haiti and Chile should give further proof to the importance of disaster preparedness, a point that will hopefully be taken to heart for the groups that have pledged support to rebuild Haiti.

For me the importance of preventing the kind of devastation that occurred in Haiti isn’t well displayed by magnitude scale recordings and stats on infrastructure damage. What makes these events so real is the fact that we live in an era where we quickly have access to images documenting a crisis. The connection we have to these disasters exist, in part, because of the vivid photographs of the devastation that stream across the airwaves within hours of an event. The role of these images show the importance of a photographic record, not just to bring awareness of a crisis but to contextualize the realities of these experiences in a way that magnitude numbers don’t seem to grasp. Here are some images from the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco and the 1926 earthquake in Palestine; a photographic record of natural disasters that, in a hundred years, will likely include some of the striking images that have come out of Haiti.

c1906, June 8. Block of burned buildings in San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake with fire truck spraying water on them.

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c13371

c1906. Down Market St., Phelan Bldg. in foreground, San Francisco, Cal. Detroit Publishing Company. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a13227

c1906. Foot of Market Street, showing earthquake upheaval, San Francisco, Cal. Detroit Publishing Company Photograph Collection. Library of Congress http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a13221

c1906. Edge of Chinatown, San Francisco, Cal. Detroit Publishing Co. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a13215

c1906. Ruins of earthquake, damaged San Francisco City Hall. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c13370

1927 July. Palestine events. The earthquake of July 11, 1927. Wreckage of the Winter Palace Hotel, Jericho. A complete collapse. G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/matpc.03034

1927 July. Palestine events. The earthquake of July 11, 1927. Blocked-up street in Nablus, choked by fallen houses which entombed many inhabitants. G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection. Library of Congress http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/matpc.03042

1927 July. Palestine events. The earthquake of July 11, 1927. Deep fissures or land openings near the Dead Sea, caused by the earthquake. G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/matpc.03039

1927 July. Palestine events. The earthquake of July 11, 1927. Wrecked dwelling house on Olivet. In which three people were killed. G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection. Library of Congress http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/matpc.03030

1927 July. Earthquake damage. G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection. Library of Congress http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/matpc.10441

1927 July Earthquake damage. G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/matpc.10434

Humanity has always been intrigued by the strange and exotic, a trip into Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ showcases this fascination with the unexplored ’savage’ lands that fueled the colonial era. Exhibits displaying individuals from indigenous cultures, such as the ‘Negro Village’ at the 1878 Paris World fair, highlights this history of gawking at the proverbial ‘other’. It is this showcasing of the ‘other’ that has, in the past, left me unsettled by displays of animals and the zoo experience. As much as I relish the ability to see animals that would otherwise be unknown to me I am quick to feel unnerved by concerns over quality of life.

Many zoos have faced criticism regarding this, such as the Calgary zoo, which is having its practices reviewed because of these concerns. Despite these problems zoos, at least the well-managed ones that emphasize research and advocacy, play an important role in furthering our understanding of and ultimate ability to preserve animal populations. As habitat loss, poaching and pollution wage winning battles of destruction on animal populations our best efforts to preserve a species often relies on the use of protective custody. With the world giant panda population at an estimated 1,600 U.S. born pandas Mei Lan and Tai Shan have left their homes at zoos in America to assist in China’s breeding programs.

Washington Zoo’s Farewell Cake for Panda Tai Shan

Aside from creating globe trotting animals to ward off extinction zoos are also collecting and preserving DNA. Scientists at the San Diego Zoo are preserving the genetic material of a growing number of species, creating what has been dubbed the ‘frozen zoo.’ This term brings to mind some sci-fi B flick that centers on an apocalyptic future where children view animals as stored test tube offspring. But the reality is far less mad scientist, using DNA to clone endangered animals that are then ‘mothered’ by a genetically similar surrogate, but this approach has its limitations. The potential that this frozen zoo has to restock the earth’s animal populations rests on the challenge of creating and maintaining natural spaces for these species to have their second chance. Even scientists involved in this project are quick to acknowledge that despite the potential that this work creates it does not outweigh the importance of preventative measures, such as preserving habitat. So as scientists work on collecting and preserving banks of DNA, the rest of us must ready for a future, ideally building a world where animals like the giant panda do not need to rely on captivity and surrogacy for their survival.

Central Park – feeding hippo. George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress). No date recorded on caption card.

Zoo feeding. Paul Martin (1864-1944)_Collection of National Media Museum

1890. Baby elephant at the zoo. Collection of National Media Museum/Kodak Museum

1899 ca. Group of public school children looking at bears in the National Zoo, Washington, D.C. Frances Benjamin Johnston Collection Library of Congress http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a01568

1900. A zookeeper smokes a pipe while feeding the bears. Lincoln Park Zoo.Part of the Illinois Urban Landscapes Project: www.fieldmuseum.org/urbanlandscapes/

1900. Zebra (probably Grant’s) Lincoln Park Zoo with man in bowler hat and suit feeding it or looking through cage. Brick building behind with arched doorways. Part of the Illinois Urban Landscapes Project: www.fieldmuseum.org/urbanlandscapes/

c1901. The Bear pit, Lincoln Park, Chicago. Detroit Publishing Co. Library of Congress. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a07947

Between 1909 and 1923. Deer at the zoo, National Photo Company Collection (Library of Congress) http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.18934

1925 ca. Baby elephant at Taronga Zoo. by Sam Hood. State Library of New South Wales

1925 Better Ole Club Orchestra at Zoo. National Photo Company Collection (Library of Congress) http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.13289

28 september 1961. Caretaker Jan van Keulen cleans the mouth of a hippopotamus. Nationaal Archief: www.nationaalarchief.nl

Further Reading:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/03/010309080531.htm

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/conservation/science/at_the_zoo/the_frozen_zoo/

Transportation systems form the outline of a city, mapping points of intersection and defining spaces based on these connections. In one sense they appear as very industrialized, dug into the earth, fortified and stabilized with construction and existing as almost dead spaces devoid of natural growth. But nature’s organisms have been building transporting systems long before the inauguration of the London underground in 1863. Researchers in Japan have recently shown that these well designed distribution systems exist not just in ant colonies but also in slime mold. The researchers used the slime mold as the center city and placed pieces of oat around it to represent smaller towns. The mold stretched out to form a tunneled system that best retrieved and distributed the nutrients from the oat. Once the mold had its system set up it resembled the transit system of Tokyo as can be seen in these images. http://www.sciencenews.org/view/access/id/55515/name/tero2HR_edited.jpg

The full article can be found here. http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/55512/description/Slime_mold_is_master_network_engineer

Congestion continues to plague many urban spaces, a problem which requires increasingly innovative approaches to the idea of transportation. Recognizing that these modes of distribution exist in the very basic structures of life has the potential to inspire better design. The underworld of a subway may seem removed from the cities that they run under but they are the lifeblood of it. At its very core a subway provides the circulation system similar to what exists in our own human bodies, in an insect community and yes even in mold. Life on earth depends on sourcing and distribution and the more efficient and adaptable we are to this the better chances we have of living in sync with our surroundings.

Between 1900 and 1906. City Hall subway station, New York. Detroit Publishing Co. Library of Congress. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a11579

June 8, 1901. Rapid transit construction work at Union Square, New York City, June 8, 1901. Photo copyrighted by Underhill, N.Y.C. Library of Congress. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b11129

Construction du métro, Paris 1902-1910.

c1904. In the subway, New York, N.Y. Detroit Publishing Company Photograph Collection. Library of Congress hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a11582

c1904. Ticket office, City Hall subway station, New York. Detroit Publishing Co. copyright claimant, publisher. Library of Congress. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a11578

Between 1905 and 1945 Senate Subway R.R. Harris & Ewing Collection (Library of Congress). Washington, D.C. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hec.14709

c1912. LaSalle St. Tunnel – looking south from north end of Twin Bore. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Copyright by Wm. M. Christie. Library of Congress. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c28456

Entrance, Berlin. Library of Congress. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Subway fire, breaking through subway roof. George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress). http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.18110

1896. Millennium Underground, the end of the tunnel at Heroes’ square in Budapest, Hungary.