by Nora Maccoby
– USA –
“The question for me has always been: How can I help the world?” Mara Haseltine smiles – her large aquatic blue eyes bright and passionate. “Because it’s a race against time. We have to engage people into a scientific narrative so that everyone can be part of the solutions.”
In her thirties, Haseltine is both a professor of Environmental Studies at The New School in New York City and a ground breaking artist – merging science, functionality and art. She was one of the first people in the world to be exposed to bio-informatics, the 3D representation of molecular and submolecular data that went along with the Human Genome Project, run by her father, Dr. William Haseltine.
“With the discovery of how proteins function, we saw how we could advance medicine from the dark ages to a new renaissance. What I saw with proteins was that function follows form,” Haseltine explains. “So I began making sculptures with molecular and submolecular armature/shape. Taking things you couldn’t even see and making them giant.”
But it was when she became introduced to the concept of “Geotherapy” – a movement whose goal is “long term survival in an acceptably maintained global ecosystem” – that she began working in earnest to merge functionality and art.
It was during this time that I first met Mara. We became instant friends, bonding over a common goal and a shared passion that enabled us to form The Green Salon – a think-tank where experts and innovators in the area of environment and energy bring solutions to people in power in a private setting. Notable attendees have included Prince Turki al Faisal of Saudi Arabia, former head of the CIA Jim Woolsey, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and numerous ambassadors.
The term “Geotherapy” was first coined at a conference held in Lyon, France at the Universite Claude Bernard in 1991. Organized by scientist Richard Grantham, the conference brought scientists together from all different backgrounds to consider how, as a group, they could best address climate change and environmental devastation. Grantham, along with Van Renessler Potter – originally a cancer researcher and author of the seminal book, Bioethics a Bridge to the Future – are the fathers of the term “Geotherapy”.
“Seven years ago I had a crisis of consciousness. I have a deep connection to the water and I went on a quest to figure out how to purify water and create healthier ecosystems,” Haseltine explains. In 2006, working with marine biologist and atmospheric scientist Dr. Thomas Goreau, she created the sculptures for New York’s first “Solar Powered Oyster Reef” at College Point, Queens.
New York City was once dubbed the “Oyster Capital” of the world, boasting over 350-square miles of oyster reef. They are a keystone species, which means they grow on top of each other, creating the architecture of their reefs. Natural, self-repairing beach break, reefs prevent beach erosion and give habitat to over 300 species of aquatic life.
Oyster gills are designed for maximum flow-through of water. “One oyster can filter in the range of 30 gallons of water a day. At the time when Henry Hudson first landed on the island of Manhattan 400 years ago, all water in and out of New York City estuaries was filtered by the oysters within forty-eight hours,” Haseltine shakes her head in wonder. “If they could do it then, there’s no reason we can’t do it now.”
Haseltine’s quest led her to Indonesia to study reef restoration with Dr. Goreau and the late Wolf Hilbretz. An architect, Hilbretz was creating reefs by perfecting an accreation process originally developed in the mid-19th century by the inventor of the DC battery, British scientist Michael Faraday, who noticed a fluffy white precipitation when running electricity through water. This white fluffy substance, if grown properly, creates calcium carbonate – the substance that coral and shell are composed of – three times the strength of concrete, and the favorite substrate for both coral and oyster larvae to colonize for reefs worldwide.
The reefs are powered using alternative energy such as solar, wind and tidal power. The negative force of the electricity also has the added beneficial effect of boosting the metabolism and immune system of aquatic life in its field, making some corals grow three times as fast and making them impervious to damage from temperature rise due to climate change as well as pollution.
Haseltine returned to New York City where she and Dr. Goreau began perfecting Wolfe’s process, adjusting it to the colder and less salty estuarine waters of New York City. Initial tests appear to have the same effect on oysters, making their shells thicker, stronger and healthier. Using even lighter negative volts, Haseltine and Dr. Goreau are observing a distinct increase in larval colonization. “Baby oysters are very picky about their homes – because they are going to stay there for life. They cling, unlike mussels or clams. Their bodies create the architecture for many life forms.”
Haseltine now teaches and practices holistic reef restoration. Her goal is to eradicate plastics from the restoration process, using only natural materials which can either be incorporated into a reef or dissolve over time. “The ultimate goal is a healthy reef in which human intervention is not readily apparent in one hundred years,” Haseltine smiles. Her current projects include a series of sculptures that is meant to be submerged, creating the “perfect substrate surface for future aquatic life.”
Working with visual depictions of microscopic aquatic life gathered by Charles Darwin over a century ago during his seminal expedition on the HMS Challenger (later drawn by the artist Ernst Haeckle and wholly influential to the Art Deco movement), Haseltine uses these models in the reef design, continuing the quest to merge the aesthetics and functionality of the natural world with our modern reality.
Teaching is one of Haseltine’s brightest spots, as she engages both college and high school students throughout New York City via holistic reef restoration workshops. “The kids get it straight away. The value that they get from realizing that they can partner with nature – is beyond words. It gives them a real sense of purpose and understanding of the power of collaborating with each other and within the natural world. We are nature too, after all.”
Haseltine is now leading a global charge to fast-track solutions, partnering with the New York and New Jersey Baykeepers on reef restoration, and building models like The Geotherapy Institute – a school which will focus on a multidisciplinary approach to solving the planet’s environmental ills. She is also collaborating with Tara Oceans on ocean acidification, collecting plankton (which produces 50% of the world’s oxygen), and working with both the National Academy of Sciences and The Green Salon to bring divergent perspectives and solutions together with financiers in an effort to bridge the gaps that may truly salve an otherwise ticking time bomb.
With enough focus, money, inspiration and collective energy,” says Haseltine, “we can work with the elements to rebuild the oceans and in the process save ourselves.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nora Maccoby was born in Mexico City and grew up in Washington D.C. where she graduated from The Sidwell Friends School. She received a BA in Theater from Oberlin College and an MFA in Film Directing from The American Film Institute, where she won numerous awards. Her short film “Dropping the Bomb on My Street” received the Youth Jury: Leopard of Tomorrow award at Locarno Film Festival in 1994. She went on to co-write “Bongwater” (Jack Black, Luke Wilson, Brittany Murphy) and “Buffalo Soldiers” (Joaquin Phoenix, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Anna Paquin) which won The Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Screenplay in 2004.
In 2002, Nora began working with the local government in Grenada, West Indies, to develop clean energy solutions. She co-founded Nature’s Partners and The Green Salon with the same goals, and has spent the last 5 years working primarily with the Department of Defense as a Senior Communications Specialist. She is a member of The Energy Consensus, serves on the board of The International Fund for China’s Environment, and is currently working on two films for The Cordoba Initiative in New York City. She lives in Washington D.C. with her husband, Todd Hathaway and their son, William. Nora’s book, The Energy Conversation: the first 3 years is available online at www.energyconversation.org.
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