Ice, ice David.
Few people on this planet have done more to raise awareness of the destructive power of climate change than Sir David Attenborough. Now, that message is being brought into stark relief by a new artwork on the South Bank – as a two-metre tall ice sculpture of the beloved naturalist has been installed there.
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Though the climate crisis has taken a back seat to the immediate concerns of the coronavirus pandemic, our world faces serious threats from global warming, ecosystem destruction, and pollution. Inspired by Sir David’s message upon joining Instagram – that “saving our planet is now a communications challenge” – natural energy drink brand Tenzing elected to put the issue back on the agenda with the giant ice sculpture.
The sculpture is made of 5m3 of ice, and represents the amount of Arctica sea ice that melts as a result of one UK resident’s carbon emissions every fortnight. The message is clear enough: each one of us has a huge impact on the global climate without even realising it, and thus the lifestyle changes we make can make a massive difference.
You can pop down to the South Bank to take a look at Sir David’s ice sculpture on your next lockdown walk (he’s next to the Thames Beach and Gabriel’s Wharf), and hopefully the sight of a national treasure slowly melting will finally inspire us all to take decisive action in the fight against climate change…