“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on the broken glass.”
Anton Chekhov
Striking a powerful chord
Images have power. They can often deliver messages more effectively than words. This graphic was developed by climate scientist, Professor Ed Hawkins, to raise awareness. The “warming stripes” image strikes a powerful chord and, aside from the polar bear, has become the most common symbol of climate change.
Each stripe from left to right represents the average global temperature for that year compared with the long-term average. The darker the blue, the cooler the year was, and the opposite is true with red. The beauty is in the simplicity. By translating objective data into artwork, the Earth’s accelerated warming in recent years is glaringly obvious.
#ShowYourStripes
In 2018, Meteorologist Jeff Berardelli saw the image, and encouraged his colleagues to incorporate it into their broadcasts on summer solstice. The following year, June 21 became #ShowYourStripes day, and the hashtag took off. Since then, the image has gone beyond social media, showing up in all sorts of places – on clothing, accessories, artwork, and even cars.
I don’t know about you, but I was struck when I first saw it. Visualizing how fast the planet is warming hit home. If every picture tells a story, this one is pretty easy to interpret. The important thing is it’s still evolving. We can sit back and wait to see what color the next stripe will be, or we can choose to play a role in reversing the pattern.
What can we do?
This Wednesday is #ShowYourStripes day. The warming stripes image is a conversation starter and is free to download and use. On June 21, why not try one the following and see where the conversation takes you?
- Forward this article
- Tag #ShowYourStripes on social media
- Send the warming stripes graphic to a friend (or several)
Let’s do something about climate change. Learn about it. Think about it. Talk about it.