I think it is interesting to think about how it is possible to mark a site for future generations, possibly after our languages have all disappeared...how can we communicate these dangers in pictures ? Also, by marking a site, you are also drawing attention to it merely by act of marking. Thus, marking it could have the reverse effect that we intend. How can we mark a spot to universally express danger for thousands and perhaps hundreds of years in the future when communication and civilization as we know it will have so drastically changed?
I think this is really interesting to think about because it conveys the massive extent and unbounded nature of this problem both spatially and temporally.
4 comments:
I think this concept is fascinating. Beyond having to tap into a root human language of symbolism--spikes, screaming faces, daunting towers--simply the act of considering this reveals a remarkable crack in the common narrative of the future. While it seems perfectly logical to employ these measures, it nonetheless counters the dominant logic of the present day, which instructs us to invest all of our hope in the story of a future of interplanetary civilization and hyper-technological human society. Even small breaches of this dominant rhetoric to expose rational expressions of transience is startling and significant.
A lot of us laughed when we saw these images in class. It's such a sharp contrast from technological achievements we've made, which makes it seem so juvenile. We can blow things up, have the great power of nuclearism, and yet to protect ourselves from its aftermath, all we have are these markers and images. It's really sad how far we're progressed in destructive things and yet can't sufficiently get rid of its radioactive aftermath.
In a more serious manner, I don't really know how we'd competently warn future generations about these dangers. Justine's right about how marking it can also possibly reverse our original intentions. There's no real way to warn the future except to watch the situation day by day, and adapt new nuclear waste markers as technology progresses.
I find all three commentaries very interesting. The subject matter is fascinating in itself. I think it is almost pitiful that we have to worry about the danger we are posing to future generations. Nonetheless, I think it is essential and our responsibility to do so. However, it almost seems absurd that we have the potential to threaten the lives of generations thousands of years from now.
When I first saw the pictures in class, I really thought they were just mocking modern nuclear technology.
However, now I see that it is a real issue that has to be dealt with. In my opinion, there is no telling how future generations will interpret our warnings. I just hope they do.
wow, this discussion is incredibly sobering... and though we've already discussed it, the most powerful question it asks for me at least is, what will generations thousands of years after us have to remember our lives by? I think of this sometimes in relation to other environmental disasters. the fact that some of the most lasting physical landmarks our civilization will leave behind is entombed garbage in the form of landfills, and radioactive nuclear waste dump sites is horrifying. rather than artifacts, small items like ancient shards of pottery or art, perhaps generations far into the future will see the lasting impact we had on our own natural environment, and see THIS as an archeological find, reading into it the cultural tendencies and political/economic systems that made it possible. The violence humanity commits and condones against the environment is less gruesome than the violence it commits against itself, but ultimately they feed into each other and so in some respects, I think an argument can be made that they are one and the same. The harrowing consequences for people living in areas contaminated by nuclear waste is a tragic example of this. Though it’s somewhat of a tangent, I think there’s definitely a connection between this sort of violence, and the values of sustainability that it undermines. The idea of sustainability lies in direct opposition to the exploitative patterns of empire and contemporary acts of war (especially those with economic reasons), by claiming that it is the current generation’s responsibility, duty, and even pride to create and perpetuate a world and a way of living for future generations that is no worse than the current one.
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