Earlier this week, artists Gan Golan and Andrew Boyed decided that they wanted to showcase just how damaging we as a society, as the Earth’s population, have been to the environment. They did this by displaying a large scale digital clock in Union Square in Manhattan, New York. 

The clock is supposed to expose just how much time we have left, down to the very second, before we have used up all of Earth’s natural resources, and the effects have become entirely irreversible. As of the very moment this article is being written, the clock reads seven years, 98 days, 7 hours, 10 minutes, and 10 seconds. 

However, that is not all that the digital clock displays. In contrast to the countdown timers vibrant red, there is a striking green section of the clock that showcases available energy from renewable resources. It is referred to as the “lifeline.”

“Simply put, we need to get our life line to 100% before our deadline reaches 0,” reads the clocks official website, ClimateClock.world. 

At its core, the clock’s message is relatively straightforward: to retract the damage we have done and preserve the Earth, we need to reduce our carbon emissions completely.  

However, this drastic change will not work unless everyone on the planet is on board and fully understands the issue at hand. “Different countries and different communities may have different roles, but we all have to be on the same timeline,” stated Golan for the Washington Post. 

Though the piece is only supposed to be on display for Climate Week, which runs until Sept. 27,  both artists are hopeful that the clock’s impact will be felt and will remain a permanent installation. Golan and Boyed also urge individuals to make their own versions of a climate change clock. Jennifer Hassan, for Washington Post, writes, “The artists are now calling on people to create their own clocks and say they are working with cities around the world to install their own versions.” 

Seeing this clock slowly wind down should start putting things into perspective for believers and non-believers alike. It is time for us to face the harsh and severe reality: we are running out of time. We must focus our time on government officials who see the science for what it is: fact. Furthermore, enact actual policies that will help us do our part in reducing the Earth’s carbon emissions. 

It is time for us to look at ourselves and the lives we lead. We must evaluate the simple changes we can make in our day to day lives that will help the lifeline on the Climate Clock reach 100%. Our future generations depend on us to leave them a habitable home, and we have, according to Golan and Boyed, seven years before the chance to repair what we have done is out of our hands. 

Hassan states, “If Earth’s temperatures increase by 1.5 degrees Celsius, the planet will fall victim to extreme heat waves, fires, droughts and limited water availability.”

We have it in our power to decrease the Earth’s overall temperature and prevent the state of the Earth from getting worse than it already is. We see the effects of climate change daily today. It is time to stop talking about change and start acting on the change we wish to see and desperately need.