Press Release
U TURN Towards Sustainable Transportation
A New, Contemporary, Environmentally Committed Exhibition at the Biosphère
Montréal, QC -- June 22, 2009 – As part of its LIVE GREEN and Outdoors summer programming, Environment Canada’s Biosphère is pleased to present U TURN, a major exhibition on sustainable, environmentally friendly transportation, from July 1 to October 31. This extensive installation with a contemporary, non-traditional, state-of-the-art design takes a fresh, new and environmentally committed look at this social phenomenon. To mark the opening of the exhibition, the public is invited to attend a free outdoor performance Auto-Fiction featuring the contemporary dance troupe Human Playground, on July 3 at 1:00 pm.
The objective of U TURN Towards Sustainable Transportation is to encourage visitors to switch to more environmentally friendly modes of transportation by making them aware of the impact of personal motor vehicles, particularly aging motor vehicles, on the environment and public health. Occupying 300 square metres of the belvedere, U TURN features four interactive zones (Cars at the heart of our lives; Impact zone; Solutions, actions and reflection; and On the road to the future) set up around a dissected automobile, of which half the parts are scattered about to give visitors a better understanding of the ecological footprint of an automobile.
Information on the National Vehicle Scrappage Program, Retire Your Ride, is also available. Vehicles manufactured in 1995 or in earlier years emit 19 times more pollutants than models manufactured in 2004 and subsequent years.
Visible from outside the Biosphère, a sphere three metres in diameter represents the average production of CO2 by an automobile in one hour, whereas the volume of the Biosphère itself represents the average production of CO2 by 50 automobiles in one year. The sphere resembles the Apollo sounding balloons that occupied the area during Expo 67. After visitors make a few rather sobering observations, they are encouraged to explore various alternatives, behaviour changes and options for individual and group action to improve the situation in transportation. They are called upon to take up the U TURN challenge. A travelling version of the exhibition will tour Canada starting in the fall.
To obtain additional information, please contact:
Environment Canada Media Relations
819-934-8008
1-888-908-8008