Climate Clock New York counting is a unique public art installation in New York City’s Union Square. Dubbed the “climate clock,” it displays two continuously decreasing numbers, including the approximate time amount and the increasing percentage of global energy.
The Climate Clock puts the urgency of climate change into stark numbers, which is understandable. The figures on the clock use the latest scientific data to show additional greenhouse gas emissions. This article will explore the comprehensive guide about the Climate Clock.
Behind the Numbers
The Climate Clock numbers constantly tick down and up, calculated by three scientists. They include Drew Shindell, Bill Hare, and Niklas Höhne. Shindell is a professor of earth sciences at Duke University who studies climate and health impacts. Hare has modeled emission scenarios for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), while Höhne has contributed reports to the IPCC.
As of February 2023, the clock showed that at current global emission rates, the “time left” figure stood at 7 years and 103 days until the planetary carbon budget was depleted. On the renewable energy side, renewables usage worldwide was listed at 12.7%. These numbers change slightly week by week, informed by an algorithm using the most up-to-date emissions data.
Art with a Purpose | new york counting
The striking red display of countdown clocks was envisioned by artist Gan Golan and producer Andrew Boyd of the nonprofit public art practice Art Not War. They collaborated with climate scientists and activists to design a new kind of climate tracker that would serve as a constant reminder that time is running out for meaningful action.
“We need a way to make the data on climate science real to people. We have to move it from the factual and analytical to the emotional,” said Gan Golan about the ethos behind the project.
The prominent location of the display on the flat side of the 14-story Metronome building means it will be viewed by many pedestrians and drivers along one of Manhattan’s busiest corridors. Passersby may be intrigued enough to stop and consider the significance of the numbers, sparking awareness and motivating civic action on climate change.
Spreading Across Cities
New York was the first city to set up a Climate Clock, but the initiators envision the concept spreading to become a coordinated worldwide endeavor. They released the software and methodology behind the calculations as open-source material so that other cities and organizations can develop their climate clocks.
In September 2021, clocks were simultaneously launched in dozens of locations around the globe, from classrooms to city squares in Berlin, Paris, Dublin, San Francisco, and elsewhere. This network hopes to mobilize citizens across borders to push for climate policies aligned with keeping planetary warming below catastrophic levels through a shared sense of urgency.
The goal is for elected leaders to be confronted by ticking climate clocks in their constituencies, pressuring them to back national commitments that help realize the Paris Agreement ambition of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.
Ongoing Action
The artists and activists behind the Climate Clock intend for it to inspire not just awareness, but real societal and political change. To motivate this kind of action, programming occurs in Union Square around the eye-catching display. Artists, musicians, indigenous leaders, and environmental advocates regularly come to lead demonstrations, performances, or teach-ins focused on keeping the spotlight fixed on the climate emergency.
Speakers often note that the pending exhaustion of the world’s carbon budget isn’t just an abstract calendar deadline, but represents actual consequences happening now to the world’s most vulnerable people through extreme weather, habitat loss, and smog-filled air. The ticking clock underscores that the window to alter this reality is shrinking, making immediate action an ethical obligation.
New York Counting Down to Change
For the amount of time remaining until ecological tipping points are breached, the Climate Clock numbers can seem bleak. And yet, the ticking display has a way of mesmerizing viewers rather than paralyzing them with doomist distress.
There is a steadfastness to the clock’s mechanical march towards various climate thresholds. When understood as the fixed laws of physics rather than a subjective human timeline, this relentless countdown compels intervention—our energy policies and consumption patterns must change course to slow the clock’s acceleration toward disaster.
The creators also note the power shifts that can happen in short periods when mass movements demand it; transformations unthinkable in one decade can become the very foundation of society just a few years later.
Many who pass by the display absorb this sense of ebbing opportunity mixed with hope. The Climate Clock has become an emblem of the race to pull back emissions before time runs out—and the belief that if humanity pushes hard enough while the clock still ticks, we can win.
Conclusion
New York’s eye-catching Climate Clock delivers a constant reminder of the closing window for action to alter humanity’s destructive emissions trajectory. But more than just raising awareness, the ticking display and programming around it connects concerned groups and sparks high-profile demonstrations to demand environmental policies equal to the urgency that scientists say is required. Art has a unique ability to convey vital data in ways that speak to our hearts, not just our minds—and motivate people towards progress before time expires on the clock. Cities and organizations that set up their climate clocks help this sense of awareness, alliance, and action spread worldwide.
FAQs
Who created the Climate Clock New York counting?
The project was envisioned by artist Gan Golan and producer Andrew Boyd of the nonprofit Art Not War. They collaborated with climate scientists to design the unique climate tracker.
How are the numbers on the clock calculated?
The calculations are done by an algorithm using the latest climate data. The time estimate was created by researchers Drew Shindell, Bill Hare, and Niklas Höhne to determine the remaining worldwide carbon budget.
Is there more than one Climate Clock New York counting?
Yes, after the first clock debuted in New York City in 2020, the artists released their concept as open-source creative material. Now climate clocks can be found in cities across the world, coordinated to inspire local climate action.
What happens around the Climate Clock display?
Artists, activists, indigenous leaders, musicians, and environmental advocates regularly host rallies, protests, vigils, performances, and educational events around the eye-catching clock.
Why was the Climate Clock created?
To put urgent numbers to the climate data that people can easily grasp, instead of just presenting scientific facts and figures. The artists wanted to “move the information from the analytical to the emotional” to motivate civic action.
