Clipping Board » Environmental Pollution & Change ─ How dirty the human heart is, how dirty the environment will be...
Update Date: 2008/07/21 18:36
This report, compiled by Zheng Yongze and reviewed by Mo Wen, is a synthesis of foreign news reports from July 21, 2008.
Most of the drugs and chemicals we ingest eventually exit our bodies through wastewater. If wastewater and waste treatment facilities are not designed to filter out these chemicals, the contents of our medicine cabinets could end up back in the water supply. In London, where tap water is sourced from surface water, traces of the medications we consume can be found in the drinking water. The food and drugs consumed by people in different areas are reflected in the composition of the local tap water.
Tuur van Balen, a master's student in Interactive Arts at the Royal College of Art, decided to explore this issue and launched an interactive design project earlier this year to put his hypothesis to the test.
The water quality in London can reveal the behavior and lifestyle of residents in various districts. For example, the tap water in Notting Hill is likely influenced by the area's dense concentration of organic stores, while the water in the city center may contain higher levels of stimulants, ranging from coffee to cocaine. Golders Green, a well-known Jewish area, might produce "fertile water" (implying pregnancy) since few people there use contraceptives.
Starting from January this year, Tuur launched a solo exhibition titled "My City is My Body" as part of his research on the future interaction between biology and urban environments. More precisely, as biotechnology advances and our understanding of genetics deepens, how will this change our interactions with others and our urban surroundings? He provided tap water to visitors and asked them to contribute their urine samples along with their postal codes. These samples, carrying the biological information of the donors, were then mapped onto a London map according to their postal codes, revealing potential "city-body ecosystems" in different areas.
This tap water puzzle creates distinct zones within the city. Could these zones be biological reflections of different communities?
The next step was to use a website to allow London residents to describe, speculate, piece together, and share what they believe to be the characteristics of their local tap water. This map thus reveals the potential "city-body" ecosystems of different areas. If you want to sell your tap water, you can also customize labels and download them from the system.
This is what the designer aimed to achieve. He set up a stall at the Broadway Market in Hackney, a trendy area frequented by organic product enthusiasts, allowing people to "buy" bottled tap water labeled with their residential areas. This initiative aimed to spark discussions among customers about the possibilities of this new urban ecology.
You can find detailed information about the quality of different tap waters on many websites. However, these analysis systems do not check for substances like antidepressants or cocaine. What if biotechnology could provide cheaper detection tools?
With the assistance of James Campbell, a bioengineer at the Royal College, Tuur designed a conceptual tool for urban biogeography. This device allows anyone to study the distribution of "urban biodiversity" by monitoring sewage without the constraints of time or space. By drawing in a small amount of sewage, the machine can scan for various drug and chemical residues, eliminating the need to lift any manhole covers.
Using synthetic biology, particularly some "biological building block" tools, modified bacteria are transformed into affordable biological probes. These bacteria probes, housed in transparent small grids, change color when they come into contact with female hormones, antibiotics, Viagra, or Prozac in the water.Since synthetic biology is a modular and publicly accessible resource, not only can all urban biogeographers redesign this tool to detect other chemicals, but an increasing number of amateurs are also beginning to utilize this technology. Under ideal circumstances, the data collected could potentially influence local housing prices or healthcare costs...
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……rl/ d/ a/ 080721/ 109/ 13n6s. html
Art Student Presents London's Biogeography: My City = My Body
This report, compiled by Zheng Yongze and reviewed by Mo Wen, is a synthesis of foreign news reports from July 21, 2008.
Most of the drugs and chemicals we ingest eventually exit our bodies through wastewater. If wastewater and waste treatment facilities are not designed to filter out these chemicals, the contents of our medicine cabinets could end up back in the water supply. In London, where tap water is sourced from surface water, traces of the medications we consume can be found in the drinking water. The food and drugs consumed by people in different areas are reflected in the composition of the local tap water.
Tuur van Balen, a master's student in Interactive Arts at the Royal College of Art, decided to explore this issue and launched an interactive design project earlier this year to put his hypothesis to the test.
The water quality in London can reveal the behavior and lifestyle of residents in various districts. For example, the tap water in Notting Hill is likely influenced by the area's dense concentration of organic stores, while the water in the city center may contain higher levels of stimulants, ranging from coffee to cocaine. Golders Green, a well-known Jewish area, might produce "fertile water" (implying pregnancy) since few people there use contraceptives.
Starting from January this year, Tuur launched a solo exhibition titled "My City is My Body" as part of his research on the future interaction between biology and urban environments. More precisely, as biotechnology advances and our understanding of genetics deepens, how will this change our interactions with others and our urban surroundings? He provided tap water to visitors and asked them to contribute their urine samples along with their postal codes. These samples, carrying the biological information of the donors, were then mapped onto a London map according to their postal codes, revealing potential "city-body ecosystems" in different areas.
This tap water puzzle creates distinct zones within the city. Could these zones be biological reflections of different communities?
The next step was to use a website to allow London residents to describe, speculate, piece together, and share what they believe to be the characteristics of their local tap water. This map thus reveals the potential "city-body" ecosystems of different areas. If you want to sell your tap water, you can also customize labels and download them from the system.
This is what the designer aimed to achieve. He set up a stall at the Broadway Market in Hackney, a trendy area frequented by organic product enthusiasts, allowing people to "buy" bottled tap water labeled with their residential areas. This initiative aimed to spark discussions among customers about the possibilities of this new urban ecology.
You can find detailed information about the quality of different tap waters on many websites. However, these analysis systems do not check for substances like antidepressants or cocaine. What if biotechnology could provide cheaper detection tools?
With the assistance of James Campbell, a bioengineer at the Royal College, Tuur designed a conceptual tool for urban biogeography. This device allows anyone to study the distribution of "urban biodiversity" by monitoring sewage without the constraints of time or space. By drawing in a small amount of sewage, the machine can scan for various drug and chemical residues, eliminating the need to lift any manhole covers.
Using synthetic biology, particularly some "biological building block" tools, modified bacteria are transformed into affordable biological probes. These bacteria probes, housed in transparent small grids, change color when they come into contact with female hormones, antibiotics, Viagra, or Prozac in the water.Since synthetic biology is a modular and publicly accessible resource, not only can all urban biogeographers redesign this tool to detect other chemicals, but an increasing number of amateurs are also beginning to utilize this technology. Under ideal circumstances, the data collected could potentially influence local housing prices or healthcare costs...
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……rl/ d/ a/ 080721/ 109/ 13n6s. html