Chris Jordan and the Realities of our Time

I first heard about Chris Jordan when his work Running the Numbers came out years ago.  He used to be a lawyer but left the profession to focus on photography, with a purpose.  Running the Numbers aimed to show in pictures the staggering statistics of our times.  Although he used US statistics, the message is relevant for all of us, who contribute to some statistic in our own countries.

Chris Jordan then embarked on the Midway Project, photographing baby albatrosses that die from ingesting plastic from the Pacific Garbage Patch. It's truly heartbreaking, but it's something that we need to see.



I got reminded of Chris Jordan from Chase Jarvis' blog.  Chase is hosting a live interview with Chris September 8, 11AM Seattle time (Friday 2AM Manila).  It's unlikely that I will watching the live stream but will check out the recording for sure.

Here's another video of Chris from TED.




It was before Neil was born when I first knew about Running the Numbers.  Seeing it again has made the message more urgent and alarming for me because really, it's the younger ones who will suffer more from our excesses.  Like what Chris said in the video, one can be depressed by the enormity of the problem but it is also important to go back to the elements that we can control - our own behavior.

I appreciate people like Chris who let me see things beyond my small everyday concerns.  I am reminded about how our actions have a bigger impact, for better or worse.  And we can choose to do better, not just for our own sake but most importantly for those who will inherit this earth after we are gone.

One act at a time, one person at a time....

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