ENERGY.
Scientific and artistic, utopian and critical visions of future terrestrial energy.
“Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be transformed.”
(The law of conservation of energy)
Energy makes change
E=mc2
In nature, energy is found in many different forms - kinetic (avalanches), motion (wind), sound (thunder), water (rain), thermal (fire), electrical (lightening), magnetic (Earth's magnetic field), radiant (light), etc. Energy is involved in all processes that take place in Universe and on Earth.
In human society, energy is the most essential resource driving its economy and its future development. Now, in the twenty-first century, it has turned out that human society with its information technologies need more resources to sustain its development then ever before. Yet, currently used forms of terrestrial energy production known today, have turned out to be finite, non-sustainable, posing a serious danger to the climate, people and environment.
Creative ideas and new approach today is requested nearly in all fields, while sustainable development of both energy and information technologies have become key issues in nowadays. Smart devices and energy internet, clean and renewable energy resources, alternative and ecological design and production methods, open source and hybrid approaches to information technologies - are just few of the broad potential quests that could change the future landscape of sustainability.
"The quest for a sustainable world may succeed, or it may fail. If it fails, the world will become unthinkable. If it works, the world will become unimaginable. In practice, people will experience mixed success". (Bruce Sterling)
Yet, scenario of "saving the world" can only have any success, if people from different fields - scientists and artists, politicians and business people, theorists and practitioners, futurists and engineers, producers and consumers, etc. - will eventually be open for new ideas and new collaborations.
The Energy conference and festival offers a space of exchange for an interdisciplinary group of participants, who will share their scientific and artistic, utopian and critical visions of future terrestrial energy.
Themes:
ENERGY IN NATURE AND SOCIETY:
The concept of energy and its various contexts: in Universe and on Earth
Invisible energy: in myths and legends, in nature and science
Energy technologies: in human life and in information society
CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF SUSTAINABILITY:
Environmental science research, climate change and ecology
Permaculture and biosystem design
Historical traditions vs. modern alternative solutions in urban planning and architecture
Alternative economics and visions of sustainable living
INFORMATION AND ENERGY:
Synergetic and co-relation between information and energy
Smart devices and Energy Internet
Sustainability using open source approaches: in art, culture, ecology, architecture, environmental design
SCIENCE AND ART OF RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIES:
Dye sensitized solar technologies
Green chemistry: new approach in biotechnology
Scientific and artistic explorations of clean and renewable energy technologies (sun, wind, water, tides, biomass, etc.)
Rasa Smite and Raitis Smits
Riga, 2009.