Mother Earth Aches—Tree Farts, Sea Snot and Missing Monarchs

Mother Earth usually starts her day with a good “tree fart.” 

This foul odor emanates from “ghost forests”

—dead trees along her coastal shores that give off carbon emissions. 

The rise in sea level caused by climate change is poisoning the soil with saltwater and leaving stands of rotting trees in its wake. Mother Earth is mourning her trees— their last toxic breath—another warning sign.

"Boundaries"  Pigment Print on Rag Paper

By mid-afternoon it’s time to unload her “sea snot”

—a nasty mucus-excreting organism (phytoplankton bloom) 

that has become a threat to her coastal flanks. 

Agriculture and sewage runoff are feeding the algae in her seas forming “sea snot,” a gelatinous blanket attracting viruses and bacteria that are taking over large bodies of water—polluting them, blocking out the sun, depleting oxygen, and suffocating coral and fish.

While sipping her evening cocktail, Mother Earth, with an aching sadness 

for her beloved missing Monarch butterflies, 

keeps asking—“where have they gone?” 

Climate change, pesticides, and habitat destruction have ravaged this once thriving population. Where once there were over 4 million Monarchs in 1980 there are now fewer than 2000—a drop of 99%. Mother Earth asks all of us to plant milkweed and pollinator-friendly native flowers, food for the monarch larvae in the hope that once again she can see and hear the flutter of golden wings.

Jeff Key's work can be seen at the Ruth Bancroft Garden through August 29th

Ruth Bancroft Garden—1552 Bancroft Rd., Walnut Creek, CA 94598

For Ticket Information: www.ruthbancroftgarden.org/sculpture2021/

Additional work can be seen at:  Sculpturesite Gallery:   https://sculpturesite.com/exhibit/155

Jeff Key— Website:  http://www.jeffmkey.com/
 Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/jeffmkey/