It was a hot, dry summer in Vermont. According to the National Weather Service in Burlington, July was the hottest month ever recorded in the Queen City. The average temperature was 76 degrees, and the heat index — a measure of the combined effects of heat and humidity — regularly topped 100 degrees. To cope, Vermonters watered gardens and irrigated fields. They swam in streams, downed cold drinks, and stayed inside with fans and air conditioners. But what kinds of creative local and regional solutions to the warming climate might they find going forward? This question will be addressed at the Feverish World Symposium, a free series of arts, humanities, science and technology events taking place Saturday through Monday, October 20 through 22. At various locations in downtown Burlington and at the University of Vermont, guest and local artists will present interactive exhibits and performances, scholars will give presentations, and attendees will engage in discussions. "The format is quite unusual," said Adrian Ivakhiv, the symposium's lead organizer and the Steven Rubenstein professor for environmental and natural resources at UVM. "They're not standard academic talks. It's a mix of artistic and informational events focused on involving ... participants in multiple ways." Ivakhiv is coordinator of EcoCulture Lab, a research and practice collaboratory, or center without geographic walls, based at UVM. The lab is "devoted to new forms of collaboration between artists, humanists, scientists, designers and engaged practitioners of many kinds," according to its website. It aims to solve current ecological and social challenges — particularly those related to climate change — through "imagination, creativity, deep questioning and radical resourcefulness." Feverish World is the lab's first community-based large-scale project, conceived and designed by its steering committee, which includes local artists and activists, as well as faculty from UVM and Champlain and Saint Michael's colleges. Inspiration for the symposium arose from the impacts of a warming planet, including "hurricanes, wild fires and droughts that we know contribute to social disruption," said Ivakhiv. Additional drivers were "the political situation of this country since the last presidential election" and increased social instability worldwide. "All of that contributes to the sense that the world is getting a little bit out of hand, getting more and more feverish," said Ivakhiv. "How prepared are we if, in fact, it's going to continue that way?" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change just published a report "that's really as…
It was a hot, dry summer in Vermont. According to the National Weather Service in Burlington, July was the hottest month ever recorded in the Queen City. The average temperature was 76 degrees, and the heat index — a measure of the combined effects of heat and humidity — regularly topped 100 degrees. To cope, Vermonters watered gardens and irrigated fields. They swam in streams, downed cold drinks, and stayed inside with fans and air conditioners. But what kinds of creative local and regional solutions to the warming climate might they find going forward? This question will be addressed at the Feverish World Symposium, a free series of arts, humanities, science and technology events taking place Saturday through Monday, October 20 through 22. At various locations in downtown Burlington and at the University of Vermont, guest and local artists will present interactive exhibits and performances, scholars will give presentations, and attendees will engage in discussions. "The format is quite unusual," said Adrian Ivakhiv, the symposium's lead organizer and the Steven Rubenstein professor for environmental and natural resources at UVM. "They're not standard academic talks. It's a mix of artistic and informational events focused on involving ... participants in multiple ways." Ivakhiv is coordinator of EcoCulture Lab, a research and practice collaboratory, or center without geographic walls, based at UVM. The lab is "devoted to new forms of collaboration between artists, humanists, scientists, designers and engaged practitioners of many kinds," according to its website. It aims to solve current ecological and social challenges — particularly those related to climate change — through "imagination, creativity, deep questioning and radical resourcefulness." Feverish World is the lab's first community-based large-scale project, conceived and designed by its steering committee, which includes local artists and activists, as well as faculty from UVM and Champlain and Saint Michael's colleges. Inspiration for the symposium arose from the impacts of a warming planet, including "hurricanes, wild fires and droughts that we know contribute to social disruption," said Ivakhiv. Additional drivers were "the political situation of this country since the last presidential election" and increased social instability worldwide. "All of that contributes to the sense that the world is getting a little bit out of hand, getting more and more feverish," said Ivakhiv. "How prepared are we if, in fact, it's going to continue that way?" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change just published a report "that's really as…