Melanie Grinney

Environmental degradation often is imperceptible, but with devastating consequences to ecosystems and human health. My current work is motivated by dismay over the ongoing assault on our environmental protections, including the Clean Water Act, established in 1972 to protect the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of our waters. Along with other works in this series, Drains to Waterways incorporates coke ash, which contains arsenic, lead, and aluminum, among the many toxins flowing into our streams with storm water runoff. This ash was collected along railroad tracks at a northeast Birmingham industrial site where it settles into drainage ditches. Runoff carries the fine black powder to Village Creek, a tributary of the Locust Fork and Black Warrior River. Violations of the Clean Water Act elicit little response from state environmental management.

Raw tobacco stain refers to the maddening story of how scientists who misled the public about the dangers of smoking tobacco later were engaged by the fossil fuels industry to cast doubt on the well-established science of climate change. Their insidious campaigns continue to misinform and confuse the issues.