Spencer Tunick is an American artist who is best known for his installations that feature large numbers of nude people posed in artistic formations. These installations are often situated in urban locations throughout the world and his models are volunteers who receive a limited edition photo as a reward.
However at the beginning of this month he took to more rural surroundings in the heart of Burgundy France in an effort, together with Greenpeace, to urge political leaders to take action regarding climate change at the upcoming UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December.
On October 3rd on an uncharacteristically sunny day for that time of year, 713 brave French men and women stripped off completely to send a message about climate change. A mass of naked bodies spread themselves throughout the Maconnais vineyards to bring attention to the world about the impact of global warming on the French wine industry.
The artist posed the exposed volunteers in four different groups; one with women alone, one with men alone and two more in different vineyards.
Tunick has been organising these mass nude art pieces for more than 15 years all over the world and gained major attention when in 2007 he got together with Greenpeace and organized six hundred dedicated Swiss to pose nude on a melting glacier at temperatures of -10c. This was done to draw attention to global warming and the shrinking glaciers, which are predicted to disappear by 2080.
This more recent French demonstration is aimed at highlighting the impact of climate change on French wine production. The climate in the wine-growing regions is changing with warmer temperatures which according to a recent Greenpeace report mean that "Wines end up having higher sugar levels and alcohol content while retaining less acids - which means they are unbalanced with an overripe flavour and heavier texture."
Given current emission levels, an increase in temperatures of 4 to 6°C between now and 2100 is predicted. Such changes in the climate would leave the vineyards increasingly vulnerable.
VINE MOTH CONCERNS IN THE NAPA.
It has been recently announced that a new pest larvae that has been found in an Oakville-area vineyard is the first known infestation in the United States and as a result, agricultural inspectors are setting out traps in vineyards throughout the Sonoma and Napa valley.
The European grapevine moth Lobesia botrana, can feed on the flower or the fruit of the grapevine. If the pest attacks mature grape clusters, the berries can become further damaged through infection of botrytis. Inspectors from the Napa County Agricultural Commison have been checking special traps spread over a 9-square-mile area of Napa County to "very quickly figure out how widespread this thing might be," the commissioner said. The infestation is obviously causing concerns amongst the two counties farmers. The president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission said "If it did get here, it could be pretty damaging, so it certainly is a concern to growers."
The moth has damaged berries and berry-like fruit in Europe, the Mediterranean, southern Russia, Japan, the Middle East, Near East and northern and western Africa, officials said. Besides grapes, the pest can feed on such plants as olives, blackberries, cherries, nectarines, persimmons and pomegranates.
A 2003 report concluded that the Sonoma and Napa counties could be a suitable habitat for the moth and rated the potential economic impact from an infestation as "high." The pest's larvae "can seriously affect the mature grape berry harvest," according to the report by scientists from the University of Minnesota.
Since 1984 federal inspectors have discovered only 20 such moths, largely associated with international airline passengers, researchers wrote.