Last week I watched Acid Test (below), a thought-provoking piece on carbon dioxide pollution and the resulting phenomenon of ocean acidification. Presented by Sigourney Weaver and created for the Natural Resources Defense Council in the States, it worth taking a small amount of time out of your day to watch it. Not only is it highly informative, it's beautifully shot and full to the brim with wonderous creatures of the ocean.

Watching it got me thinking not only about the current challenges we face over global warming and climate change but also how digital media is being used to raise public awareness over these important issues. Especially how it's being used to extend the message away from computer screen and out into public spaces.

Digital installations are at their strongest, I think, when they intergrate well into the existing enviroments, using a layer of intrigue to pique the interest of passers-by. The following examples – from the Watermarks Project projection displaying future water levels, through to the breath-taking CO² Cube, a YouTube-powered communications platform of spectacular proportion – demonstrate how digital media is being used by artists and organisations worldwide:

Watermarks Project (Bristol, 2009) 

Appearing on surfaces around Bristol during February 2009, this series of large-scale ‘flood marks’ shows the potential future high water levels (as projected on to building facades across the city).

These marks, as well as being specific and accurate in terms of their height / position, were based on scientific projections of possible future flood scenarios induced as a result of climate change. The message is immediately apparent. Devastating in its simplicity, no technical diagrams, graphs or flow charts are needed to explain: Act now or your neighbourhood is gone.  

Nuage Vert (Helsinki, 2008)

In February 2008, the vapour emissions of the Salmisaari power plant in Helsinki were illuminated to show the current levels of electricity consumption by local residents. A laser ray traced the cloud during the night and turned it into a city-scale neon sign. 

Living Light (Seoul, 2009) 

Living Light is a permanent outdoor pavilion in the heart of Seoul with a dynamic skin that glows and blinks in response to both data about air quality and public interest in the environment. Citizens can enter the pavilion or view it from nearby streets and buildings. They can send a text message with a zipcode to the Living Light Hotline and receive a text message reply with the neighborhood’s current air quality. At the same time, the panel of the requested zip code blinks and the facade becomes a register of collective interest. 

Amphibious Architecture (New York, 2009)

Amphibious Architecture is a visual interface floating on the water’s surface, a veritable looking glass into the aquatic ecosystem. "This manufactured point of connection submerges ubiquitous computing into the one element that covers 90% of the Earth’s inhabitable volume and which envelops New York City but remains under-explored and under-engaged". 

An SMS interface allows citizens to text-message the fish, to receive real-time information about the river, and to contribute to a display of collective interest in the environment.

Here’s a visualisation of how it works: 

CO² Cubes (Copenhagen,2009)

And finally, with the eyes of the world and political movers and shakers converging on Copenhagen last December for COP15 (the global summit on Climate Change), Millennium ART in partnership with the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI) took the opportunity to visualise CO² emissions with this contemplative art sculpture of light and sound.

The breathtaking cube is the size of a three-storey building – this being the representation of what 1 metric tonne of carbon dioxide (CO²) looks like when measured and stored at standard atmospheric pressure. Frighteningly, this is the amount of CO² the average person in an industrialized country emits each month.

Working with Obscura Digital, Google and YouTube, this stunning installation displays infographic animations, YouTube content and solutions for reducing our carbon footprint. 

Read more about the project over at Millennium ART, view more gorgeous imagery at Obscura Digital, or watch it on YouTube.

N.B. The irony of consuming much energy to promote less consumption is not entirely lost on me which is why I was excited to read about recent developments of a more energy-efficient and fully recyclable lighting component, grapheme over at Science Daily (via treehugger).

I would love to hear about any other similar uses of digital media – feel free to post any examples in the comments below.