In an effort to raise awareness for our planet's rapidly changing climate, musician Daniel Crawford created an auditory illustration of global warming in A Song of Our Warming Planet. Crawford took temperature data from NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies and transcribed it into a cello composition. The resulting piece portrays the increasing urgency of climate change in audio form.
A Song of Our Warming Planet plots out each temperature data point from 1880 to 2012 in the form of music. Crawford used the annual averages to decide the pitch of each note. Since every note is a separate year, you can hear the temperature slowly creep up as the pitch increases.
The audio piece has been released with a Creative Commons license which means anybody can access it for free.
Climate-Inspired Compositions
'A Song of Our Warming Planet' Portrays Global Warming as a Melody
Trend Themes
1. Climate-inspired Music - Creating compositions that visually or audibly represent climate data can engage and raise awareness about the issue of global warming.
2. Data Sonification - Translating complex data into sound can provide new ways of understanding and experiencing information, opening up opportunities for innovative data-driven experiences.
3. Open Access Licensing - Using Creative Commons licenses for artistic works allows for wider access and collaboration, enabling the dissemination of important messages and ideas.
Industry Implications
1. Music - The music industry can explore climate-inspired compositions as a unique way to raise awareness and connect with audiences on environmental issues.
2. Data Visualization - The data visualization industry can leverage data sonification techniques to create immersive and engaging experiences that help people understand complex information, such as climate data.
3. Copyright and Licensing - Companies and artists in the copyright and licensing industry can adopt open access licensing models to foster collaboration and dissemination of important creative works, contributing to positive social impact.