Climate has been a major talking point since the mid-1900’s. When it was spoken about in the UN by Greta Thunberg to just everyday people talking about it. TikTok has been an outlet for many people to voice their concerns about climate change. Many people use the Climate Clock in New York’s Union Square to emphasize this issue. The clock was invented to show the world that climate change is a bigger problem than we think and that unavoidable disaster is closer than we thought.
Greenhouse gases like methane or carbon dioxide are extremely harmful to our atmosphere. The main contributor is carbon dioxide, and the main driver of it in our atmosphere is the burning of fossil fuels. The staggering emissions are well into the tens of billions of tons per year. These emissions keep increasing every year. Reaching zero emissions would mean releasing zero of these greenhouse gases. Another contributor is everyone’s carbon footprint, which means we all contribute to climate change in our own way. Our footprint is the amount of greenhouse gas that is generated by our actions.
The story of the Climate Clock began in September of 2019 when the young activist, Greta Thunberg, wanted a clock to remind the world of this issue. The first climate clock was made in Union Square by Human Impact Lab. This clock gained so much traction in the US and around the world that other countries began putting climate clocks in their main cities. Going from a monument to a movement around the world. These cities include Berlin, Rome, Seoul, and more.
The Climate Clock was always meant to be a reminder that we have a deadline to change our lifestyles for this planet. It was a warning and a way to make ourselves and more importantly, our leaders more aware of the urgent need to change. There are so many things we can do to change our lifestyles. They can be little but make a big impact if everyone focuses on the issue. Some ways that we as a society can leave less of a carbon footprint are saving water, less takeout, upcycling items, and so many more. It was a call to look inwardly and see that we are the problem Also, we can spread awareness that there needs to be more effort put into making our planet better. This clock stands not only for change but also for hope. It stands for hope for future generations, hope that we will all be able to see this beautiful planet in the future, and hope that there will be other deadlines not just this one.
