The Metronome clock in Manhattan, N.Y., once used for the simple purpose of telling passersby the time, was assigned a new objective on Sept. 19—to display the remaining time we have to act on climate change.
Despite the chance of stirring up further environmental anxiety, publicly displaying a climate countdown in Union Square is a productive plea to do something concrete about climate change before the environment faces irreversible damage.
The climate clock is not the first instance of activists publicly ‘counting down’ to demonstrate the urgency of a world crisis.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created a similar Doomsday Clock in 1947 following the use of atomic weapons that ended the Second World War. It has since been used to inform society on the possibility of a science-led demise if technological research is left unchecked.
Its most harrowing prediction came in the midst of the Cold War, when the Doomsday Clock was set to bring attention to the Cuban Missile Crisis—one of the closest instances the world has come to nuclear warfare.
The Bulletin’s decision to set the Doomsday Clock to seven minutes to midnight during the crisis triggered widespread anxiety. However, the clock’s representation of the end of humanity simultaneously signaled the importance of avoiding nuclear confrontation. This use of the clock undeniably influenced the daily lives of Americans in 1962, as a majority feared nuclear war was looming.
Pushed by Americans’ panic and concern, former U.S. President John F. Kennedy quickly sought a conclusion to the Cuban Missile Crisis, negotiating terms to slow the nuclear arms race, and successfully moving the Doomsday minute hand further away from midnight.
In comparing the Doomsday Clock to the Manhattan climate clock, it is easy to draw parallels between the observably clear demonstrations of urgency. Both clocks hold the potential to influence bigger decision makers than the average citizen.
Environmental anxiety has a strong presence in many people’s lives. Questions about what the future will hold for us is natural. Even the artist behind the climate clock used the birth of his child as inspiration for acting on his climate anxiety. However, it is also clear environmental concern does not bother everyone, as climate change deniers continue to ignore professionals.
Although being shown our decreasing lifeline can seem overwhelming, this anxiety could not arise during a more critical time in American politics.
As voters think about their next governing party in the midst of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, environmental anxiety will stay with them as they cast their ballots—ensuring climate change remains a crucial part of their decision when voting.
Additionally, only 100 companies are responsible for 71 per cent of climate change. While it may not be those CEOs strolling past the clock on a daily basis—rather ordinary people who are nowhere as responsible for the climate crisis—the dire situation we currently face needs to be seen for what it is.
Through the use of influences like social media, the clock can remain visible, targeting relevant change makers. As new light shines upon grassroots politicians and political movements, the climate clock can be used productively as a tool for challenging bigger climate change contributors than the everyday person walking the streets of Manhattan.
Hopefully, the increase in anxiety associated with seeing Earth’s lifetime wind down on a big screen in one of the world’s largest cities will be the last push needed for the elite and ordinary alike. This ‘push’ has the potential to further acknowledge the urgency of climate change, driving them to do more than simply bear witness to continual environmental negligence.
Whether or not the climate clock is publicly displayed, the time we have left to reverse progress of climate change will continue to wind down. Displaying this passing of time simply renders this timeline tangible and more easily visualized for those who might see climate change as an abstract rather than concrete concept.
In the time of COVID-19, all action for self-preservation is dominated by the aftermath and current state of the pandemic. However, our attention cannot remain solely on this topic. The conversation must include both COVID-19 recovery and environmental recovery—and the climate clock will remind us to do so.
Featured graphic by Danielle Cole.
