The development for environmentally safe measures and the green movement has taken over the minds of many concerned people in the world. New ideas and methods for new energy, production processes, and recycling are being tested every day. Fears dwell that greenhouse gases and chemicals from farm run-offs and factories will continue to harm the Earth and all living organisms. The concern of safe disposal of objects like batteries, electronics, and even plastic bags and bottles weigh heavy on the minds of many.
Brower Hatcher created a wonderful sculpture called Crucible located at the entrance of the Environmental Health & Safety Services Building. It is a mixed media sculpture that shows the goal of the building. The base of the sculpture is a metal bowl shape representing a crucible. Above the metal shape, three separate geometric metal structures rise into the air. The outside structure has pieces of glass attached to it, representing the substance in the crucible. And the two inner structures represent fire. The Environmental Health & Safety Services Building takes focus on transforming harsh compound chemicals into safe molecules. The crucible is used to heat up substances to melt, or alter, the substance in order to do a variety of things including chemical reactions and analysis, removing unwanted material or creating new compounds. It is often used for metals, glass, and other like materials. Crucibles have been used since the 15th century. Through the years, crucibles have created new alloys, and have made metals like silver and gold more durable to help the industrial revolution. Hopefully the use of one in present times can help find new ways to break down harmful substances that otherwise might infect the Earth or create new compounds that are safe for our health and the environment. However, the word crucible has multiple definitions.
Crucible also means "severe test" and "situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development" according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. We continue to test new ideas for the future, hoping to produce the best we can for ourselves and generations to come. we test new fuels for cars, new products made from recycled materials, natural energy sources, and inventions that save energy or are bio-degradable. Through this constant testing and concern for the Earth's condition we are going through a time of change and development.
We, as a community, are also going through a struggle to preserve the earth and reverse the damages we have already caused. We continue to hear about new studies that show how global warming is hurting life forms, like the polar bear, and could ultimately kill our earth. New ideas and methods to stop the spread of harmful chemicals into nature as well as the ability to break down chemicals to safely dispose of them is a high priority. Places like the Environmental Health & Safety Services Building right here on our campus, focuses on this very goal.
Also the movement to use re-usable water bottles has been a hot issue. It not only reduces the millions of plastic water bottles at landfills, which each take about 450 years to decompose according to Penn State University and the Ocean Conservancy, but it also contains no Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in many plastic products that new studies fear can cause breast or prostate cancer as well as other dangerous conditions. If we use less of the disposable bottles and recycle the ones we do have, products like pens can be made out of the bottles; we can help reduce the waste that is accumulating on our planet.
These ideas are just a few that have been created to enrich our life and preserve and rebuild our planet for all who dwell in it. Companies whose motivation is to break down harmful chemicals, or invent new ones that will be more environmental friendly to take the place of material that is not (like Styrofoam which never decomposes), are a great drive in this movement. Crucible represents those initiatives. In the future, I hope the goals of the green movement will continue to help us in our search for better production methods, disposal systems, and a healthier way of life. However, these goals can only be met when everyone on this planet takes responsibility for their own actions and do the steps in order to save the Earth.
-By Emily Van Nostrand
