Artists have an unique and powerful ability to provoke emotion and influence public perception. They also have a moral responsibility to use their talent to promote the awareness of sustainable development, says Larry Woodfork, who chairs the International Year of Planet Earth. Woodfork is also an adjunct professor of geology at Marshall University in the United States.

International year of Planet Earth was proclaimed by the United Nations, while this year was chosen as the core period, as a part of a triennium from 2007-2009. IYPE aims to ensure greater and more effective use of the knowledge of the estimated 400,000 scientists in the field of Earth sciences globally.

IYPEs subtitle Earth science for Society represents the goal of helping to build safer, healthier and wealthier societies.

IYPE has outlined 10 themes groundwater, hazards, Earth and health, cimate, resources, megacities, deep Earth, oceans, soil, and life to help spread an understanding of the role and importance of geosciences. Science and art can work together to benefit mankind, says Prof Woodfork.

Eduardo de Mulder a professor from the Netherlands, and who is executive director of the IYPE Secretariat cites the cave paintings of Lascaux in France to illustrate the indispensible relationship between art and Earth. The ancient cavemen have used the irregularity in the rock to make the bull painting more expressive 15,000 years ago, he says, adding that many great artists such as Vincent Van Gogh painted nature. He was referring to the cave paintings of bulls, as well as cows, bison and horses, in Lascaux, France. On the other hand, Van Goh painted The Hill of Montmartre with Stone Quarry, 1886 to capture the disappearance of rural life. (View the painting and a description at www.vangoghmuseum.nl)

De Mulder says the Earth is a common theme explored by artists and that it has inspired many.

He points out that the Earth is a big rock and we humans are occupying its surface. Its 6,370 kilometers thick before you enter the core of the earth. We are just living on a small layer of it. There are still a lot of lives under our feet.

De Mulder points out that according to estimates the worlds population will soar to 9.3 billion by 2050, and the IYPE has undertaken research on ways to build safe, underground structures for human habitation.

Wyss Yim, deputy chairman of the IYPE Climate Change Science Implementation Team, says humans have to change their attitudes to help maintain a sustainable world. Yim is a professor at the Department of Earth Sciences at University of Hong Kong.

Art has helped us document the past. We have to work hard to preserve the present, he says.

Prof Yim explains that sustainability is defined as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.