Scott Bluedorn
Scott Bluedorn is an artist and environmentalist from East Hampton, New York. He is extremely passionate about local conservation and about the connection between social and environmental issues and art. He values the traditional ideals and culture of the original Bonackers, a major aspect of this being the rich maritime history. He draws inspiration from buildings and ideas of the past while integrating ideas for a better future culturally and environmentally.
Scott's Thoughts
I had the pleasure of Interviewing Scott and asking him about his thoughts regarding art, sustainability and what we can do now to support a better future. The above piece is entitled “Integrated Ocean Energy Farm” and shows Scott's vision for repurposing man made creations like oil drilling platforms into a station devoted to sustainability. It includes an aquaculture system and kelp farm under the surface and solar and wind energy plants above.
What were some of the first things you focused on when learning about the overall health of Suffolk County Waterways?
“I really became interested in looking at the ponds of Suffolk county, for example, Georgica pond. It used to be fine, but due to severe algae blooms, now you can't go in the pond. This led me to begin learning about bioremediation--using naturally occurring things to help the water which makes all the sense in the world. I initially became interested in kelp because it is edible and a part of many Asian cuisines. Then I started learning about how beneficial kelp is to preserve and improve water quality. Kelp creates habitats, can help filter heavy metals out of the water like a sponge--also nitrogen and carbon dioxide. It decarbonizes the water by drawing down that carbon, storing it in the plant life, and the way it's sequestered is when the kelp dies, it goes into the deep sea where it gets buried and goes back into the carbon cycle. It's also one of the fastest-growing plants in the world. It's the bamboo of the sea in a way. If we start to farm kelp out on the East End, which New England has done for 20 years now, we could not only sequester carbon but also create new habitats and spread an amazing food crop. It is extremely healthy -- it contains many different minerals and lots of protein. Kelp has entered into the public knowledge of American cuisine fairly recently, but it has many other uses including fertilizer--because it adds nitrogen back into the soil, and food stock for animals. Kelp has even been proven to help to reduce methane produced by cows which is essentially the number one gas impacting climate change. Kelp could also be used as a biofuel--we can potentially run the whole world off of biofuel just by using algae and kelp. It can also be used to create bioplastics - we can be replacing anything that is petroleum-based with algae-based bioplastics. These are just a few of the many uses that kelp can have to improve sustainability and water quality.”
What is the next step in implementing kelp in these ways and in people’s daily lives?
“Right now, New York State doesn't have the permitting structure to allow people to farm seaweed or kelp as a food crop. It can be grown experimentally with an experimental permit but that's it. In northern coastal states, they have been growing kelp as a food crop for around years so getting it to become more widely spread in Suffolk County is just changing legislation. This would involve creating a permitting structure, meaning that anyone who wants to get an aquaculture lease can do that. Kelp is an extremely inexpensive farming operation to start and run. By making these farms and permits accessible, locals could make a profit off of selling kelp as a food source within the first few years while helping to bring down carbon. There are no detriments to this--it's just win win win.”
How can kelp and shellfish be grown together to make both more effective at filtering the water?
"Kelp farming works well with oyster or mussel farming or any kind of shellfish so a lot of the oyster farmers now are doing it; they are experimentally growing kelp to improve the health of their oysters. The kelp helps the oysters by cleaning the water around the farms and the oysters also clean the water which creates a little island of clean water where these farms are.”
What are the threats to kelp now? If it is growing naturally off of Montauk, why isn't it more prevalent?
"One reason is the habitat. Kelp needs a rocky bottom to grow. Two other main reasons are climate change and water quality. In order for kelp to grow, the water has to be clear enough for light to reach down 15 or 20 feet to where it grows. Climate change is an issue for the kelp because if the water is warmer and becoming more acidic then the kelp will die or migrate north to colder waters. Montauk is really the southern range of kelp so it may continue to move north if the waters continue to warm. A lot of fishermen will also pull up kelp as a bycatch while they drag the bottom. For fish and shellfish."
Do you think that local oyster farmers would be willing to start kelp farms if legislation was passed to allow anyone to grow kelp as a food crop?
"Definitely. I think every oyster farmer right now would want to get into growing kelp because there are no downsides-its very cheap, very low maintenance. It would basically add value to the farms that they already had. I don't think anyone would not want to do it. Another thing about kelp farms is there are no floating components other than a couple of buoys. This would mean that it wouldn't impact boaters by obstructing the waterways. So it's really something that I think is a no brainer for this area. It could potentially create a whole new industry. Also the season for growing kelp is in the winter. Many local fishermen have to take the winter off unless they are out deep sea fishing. Kelp could become an amazing off season source of income for the fisherman while improving water health. What I would like to see are these farm lease areas, but also conservation areas where the kelp is able to fulfill its life cycle and sequester large amounts of carbon. I think this could be an important conservation project moving forward.”
How do you think that art and issues like permitting kelp farms are related? Do you think that art is an important way that we are going to raise people’s awareness of these issues in the future?
"Yes! Kelp itself can be used in art--I’ve been making these lamps out of kelp because it's such a luminous material. There is also a tradition of pressing seaweed between books to flatten it- and that stretches back to the late 1700s or early 1800s with the rise of cyanotype photography. But yeah, I think art is a good way to talk about anything. For me, it's like two worlds that combine. Both the environment and art are personal to me so I enjoy bringing them together.”
I love how in a lot of your work you combine nature and animals with artificial elements like houses and buildings to bridge the gap between the two. Everything is so interconnected in this day and age-especially regarding the environment. Have you seen how people have been more deeply impacted by your work that focuses on specific environmental issues?
"I would hope so. A lot of what I'm doing does have a specific image like if I'm using a whale as an image it is because I want to draw attention to whales and the threats they face. A lot of people use environmental issues almost as a cover for their own agenda instead of really learning about what they are trying to protect. Everything I'm doing is related to ecology and a lot of it is about humans thinking that they are special. We are in a lot of ways- but they say that we are not animals and not a part of the natural world so I try to use my art to show that that isn't the case."