Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
by Dnyaneshwari Haware ’23
Staff Writer
“The Earth has a deadline” followed by the numeric “7:103:15:40:07” can now be seen flashing a rhythmic countdown on the glass exterior of One Union Square South on 14th Street in New York City. The clock currently reads that there are seven years, 103 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes and seven seconds left to prevent irreversible damage to the environment.
The idea of the end of the world is not restricted to sci-fi books and films anymore, but many refuse to accept this reality. The Metronome, a public art project that has been in existence for more than 20 years, has now been turned into the Climate Clock, a graphic displaying the amount of time remaining for us to take significant action toward saving our planet. The transformation of the 62-foot-wide 15-digit electronic clock into a climate clock was done by artists Andrew Boyd and Gan Golan and commissioned by the Related Companies in collaboration with the Public Art Fund and the Municipal Art Society. The clock shows we only have seven years whereas many corporations, governments and international organizations such as the U.N. have pledged to adapt sustainability and development goals to alter their environment-degrading activities by 2030. y
On a YouTube talk show hosted by comedian Ted Alexandro, Boyd said, “It’s a very harsh timeline to reckon with. There’s different ways to slice the numbers and if we can get to net zero carbon in that amount of time, that gives us a 67 percent chance of staying under the red line that scientists are telling us we really shouldn’t cross of 1.5 degrees centigrade warmer.”
The artists reject the idea that this is a doomsday clock. “It is showing our time window for action,” Goland said. “This is the best period of time we have to really make a difference.”
The installation has been praised but also criticized for its focus on individuals rather than the corporations that are responsible for the majority of environmental degradation causing climate change. Either way, the Metronome clock has been given a new life, one that dismisses any arguments against the existence of climate change and its importance. It is now viewed not only by passersby but people around the world.