Earlier last week, Manhattan’s Union Square gave us a big surprise by unveiling a new digital clock that tells us exactly how long we have left to do something before the irreversible destruction happens due to the climate crisis. The clock itself actually is a part of an art installation in Union Square that was used to display the time of day, but now it has been used for the greater good.

The Climate Clock unveiled by artists Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd warned at 1:30 p.m. Monday that there were 7 years, 101 days, 17 hours, 29 minutes, and 22 seconds until Earth’s carbon budget is depleted, based on current emission rates. The Climate Clock is a collaboration of artists, scientists, and activists, which is part of the Beautiful Trouble community of projects.

As many people still would not act even worse to deny the truth about climate crisis, Golan and Boyd with the team put an effort to pressure the governments and us worldwide to take real, bold actions to reduce emissions. 

The Climate Clock in Union Square is not the first time Golan and Boyd made a move to raise awareness about global warming. Cited from The Washington Post, “In September 2019, just days before Greta Thunberg addressed the U.N. General Assembly, the teen climate activist asked Boyd and Golan to build her a handheld climate clock. 

At the time, she said she wanted to show it to the U.N. secretary-general — and had found the artists after they had offered to work with the IPCC on a clock to accompany its scathing 2018 climate report.” Since then, she has carried the handheld climate clock anywhere as she travels around the world.

Time heals, but this time it may also destroy, or as Climate Clock put it on their official website, “These clocks are drawing the world’s attention to the urgency for action. But if our species is to survive, we need a constant, public reminder of our climate deadline — everywhere!”

Photo Source: The New York Time