Futuristic · Eco-Chick

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In Memory of Central Park – Interview with Queenelle Minet

Last month saw the release of a new book by author Queenelle Minet entitled In Memory of Central Park. It is a futuristic story of New York City. In the book, the city has seceded from the United States. Within this microcosm the author describes political, social, and environmental issues that mirror our own global issues today. It is also a love story, based on the author’s own relationship with her husband and her years of practice as a clinical psychologist. The characters are vivid and real against the fantastic backdrop of a futuristic city that is in peril. A compelling–and provocative read.

Ms. Minet co-authored the book with her husband, Dr. Aaron Spilken, who passed away in 2003 before the book was completed. I had the chance to interview Ms. Minet this month about her book.
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Amanda: Thank you for taking the time to discuss your new book with me. I don’t get a chance to read fiction as often as I’d like, but I actually picked it up and read it in a single day. It reminded me that I need to take time to read more for pleasure.

I’d like to ask you a few questions and share you answers with my readers. First of all, the original manuscript for the book had been started by your late husband. What was the single biggest factor for you deciding to finish the story?

QM: The most important reason I decided to finish the book was my realization that the quirky vision of New York City my husband had created was an extremely apt metaphor for the world we live in today.

Amanda: In the book, the future you paint is bleak. The citizens of New York live totally disconnected from the natural world. In fact, as the title suggests, Central Park has been destroyed to make room for more housing. Do you see this same disconnect happening in the world today? Do you think it is a real threat for future generations?

QM: Yes. I don’t think it likely that Central Park itself will actually be built over. Rather, the destruction of Central Park is a symbol for the destruction of nature that’s going on all over the world—damage that is so extensive and so serious it threatens the earth itself and all its life forms, including humans. The basic root cause is the same as that which resulted in Central Park being built over in my novel—overpopulation. In 1986 humans reached the earth’s carrying capacity. Ever since, we’ve been living beyond our means by over-exploiting our fisheries–whole species of fish are in serious threat of extinction, overgrazing pastureland so that it becomes desert, destroying forests, and polluting the earth’s water and atmosphere. Add to this the Co2, global warming problem and the fact that by the year2050, the population is projected to reach 9.1 billion (an increase of approximately the size of the populations of China and India put together) and the future does indeed look bleak.

Amanda: The citizens of New York suffer a terrible fate because they have poisoned their own environment. Yet, up until the very end, they refuse to believe they are in danger. What parallels do you see between this fictional scenario and the environmental concerns that people are ignoring today?

QM: The parallel is quite clear. Look at what the main concerns are in the world today—the economy, terrorism, the War in Iraq. While these things are worthy of concern, they are not nearly as serious a threat, nor will they cause nearly the loss of life and suffering as will the environmental problems that so far are not being dealt with in any effective way. It seems that only when millions are actually displaced by flooding, only when millions are actually dying from starvation, only when uncontrollable fires are actually raging across drought stricken lands will people wake up and realize the danger they are in.

Amanda: The book describes a society that, over time, has become controlled by a single political party which has offered them ‘protection’, and in exchange has taken away their freedoms. What important factors do you think have contributed to this political landscape?

QM: Well, once again, this is going on right now in our own country. Civil liberties have diminished as never before since the Bush administration has been able to use terrorism as an excuse to carry through with their desire to greatly strengthen the presidency—to make it more like an old fashioned monarchy or a dictatorship.

book review, environmental activism, futuristic, In Memory of Central Park, political satire, Politics, Queenelle Minet

Project Earth Day Fashion Show in NYC

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by Olivia Zaleski · 04/22/07

By Olivia Zaleski and Starre Vartan

The above video, filmed by Brian Clark Howard, with Olivia Zaleski as host and Starre Vartan as producer, was recorded the night before the fashion show. Check it out to hear from some of the designers who showed their stuff, as well as learn about the sustainable aspects of the show’s set design.

NEW YORK, Thursday, April 19th – Who knew organic cotton, hemp, and recycled soybean fiber could be so hot? Well, we at Eco Chick had a pretty good idea, but thanks to EGBNY’s Project Earth Day Fashion Show, the rest of the world is catching on. The show featured two sections: a student-design competition, and a local NYC eco-designers showcase, proving once and for all that green is beautiful, sexy, and fashion-forward, not frumpy.

Set & runway designer Amber Nelson
Image by Starre Vartan

Organized by EGBNY (which stands for Emerging Green Builders New York, and is part of the national US Green Building Council), and co-sponsored by Teknion, Green Drinks, and 02NYC, the event pulled out all the green stops by reducing, reusing, and recycling on all levels, including a sustainable runway made from 100% recycled plastics, re-using shipping pallets (which will be returned to the warehouse after the show), and modular carpet samples made from recycled fibers. Even the hardware securing the runway was salvaged.

Project Earth Day fashion show coordinator Molly Garretson says, “EGBNY wanted to host a fun annual event to celebrate Earth Day and to encourage learning, networking, and sharing new ideas about green interior design and eco-fashion.” Mission certainly accomplished!

Part One: The Student Competition

The winning student design, by Xay Xiong
Image by Josh Wiese

Second-place winner from designer Kacie Rushton
Image by Josh Wiese

Rear detail of Rushton’s recycled polyester pants and hemp jacket
Image by Starre Vartan

Third-place winner Jennifer Kim’s futuristic creation
Image by Josh Wiese

Red Dress
Image by Starre Vartan

Back of Red Dress
Image by Starre Vartan

An Honorable Mention went to for this Chanel-print-inspired coat by Caroline Hur.
Image by Josh Wiese

Dress made with recycled fabrics and a bodice woven from a plastic bag

Student designers with their models
Image by Starre Vartan

The judges’ table (from L to R): Jennifer Busch of Contract Magazine, Randy Fahey of Gensler, Christian Larsen from MoMA, Jill Danyelle, of FiftyRX3 (and a designer herself) and Margaret Lydecker of GreenDrinksNYC.
Image by Starre Vartan