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December 12, 2021 11:36 PM Subscribe
"Unless we dramatically transform our way of life, climate change and other man-made perils will cause our civilisation to crash. Earth’s Black Box will record every step we take towards this catastrophe… The purpose of the device is to provide an unbiased account of the events that lead to the demise of the planet, hold accountability for future generations, and inspire urgent action. How the story ends is completely up to us. Only one thing is certain, your actions, inactions, and interactions are now being recorded.”
On a granite-strewn plain in South-West Tasmania surrounded by gnarled mountains and wilderness but accessible to tourists, will sit a giant steel box. Tasmania beat Malta, Norway and Qatar as the geologically stable place to locate the box which will be completed in 2022. Hosting solar panels and housing storage drives and a backup battery it collects information from the internet – newspaper headlines, key climate events, scientific data, etc. This material is so that future generations may have the opportunity of understanding what went wrong and who let it happen.
The box will be made from 7.5-centimetre-thick steel, cantilevered off granite, according to Jonathan Kneebone, co-founder of artistic collective the Glue Society, which is involved along with Clemenger BBDO creative agency with the intention to “hold leaders to account - make sure their action or inaction is recorded.” However Gizmodo writer George Dvorsky questions the project's ability to "make any sort of measurable impact, now or in the future".
On a granite-strewn plain in South-West Tasmania surrounded by gnarled mountains and wilderness but accessible to tourists, will sit a giant steel box. Tasmania beat Malta, Norway and Qatar as the geologically stable place to locate the box which will be completed in 2022. Hosting solar panels and housing storage drives and a backup battery it collects information from the internet – newspaper headlines, key climate events, scientific data, etc. This material is so that future generations may have the opportunity of understanding what went wrong and who let it happen.
The box will be made from 7.5-centimetre-thick steel, cantilevered off granite, according to Jonathan Kneebone, co-founder of artistic collective the Glue Society, which is involved along with Clemenger BBDO creative agency with the intention to “hold leaders to account - make sure their action or inaction is recorded.” However Gizmodo writer George Dvorsky questions the project's ability to "make any sort of measurable impact, now or in the future".
Tom Murphy, professor of physics at U.C. San Diego, states a continual 3 percent increase in energy production, has historically aligned neatly with a 3 percent increase in GDP. .
If energy were to increase at this 3 percent rate, as Tom Murphy calculates, then within around 400 years, the heat the economy generated would make the Earth hotter than the sun, regardless of whether fossil fuels are used.
posted by Narrative_Historian at 12:52 AM on December 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
If energy were to increase at this 3 percent rate, as Tom Murphy calculates, then within around 400 years, the heat the economy generated would make the Earth hotter than the sun, regardless of whether fossil fuels are used.
posted by Narrative_Historian at 12:52 AM on December 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
Given that a major partner in this is a "marketing communications company" one might be tempted to think this is a publicity stunt.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 12:56 AM on December 13, 2021 [17 favorites]
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 12:56 AM on December 13, 2021 [17 favorites]
On a granite-strewn plain in South-West Tasmania surrounded by gnarled mountains and wilderness but accessible to tourists, will sit a giant steel box.
Also accessible to anybody who needs building materials in a depleted future. But sure! Let's carry on!
Tasmania beat Malta, Norway and Qatar as the geologically stable place to locate the box which will be completed in 2022.
Malta is small and one of the few European countries that really likes bribery in governance. Norway is extremely expensive. Qatar is usually regarded as problematic. Tasmania is the poorest area of Australia, and would probably let you install a giant purple dildo if you paid enough money.
Hosting solar panels and housing storage drives and a backup battery it collects information from the internet – newspaper headlines, key climate events, scientific data, etc.
Solar panels, you say? They sound valuable. Now, about this data backup: which headlines are you grabbing? All of 'em? Which science data? Who is your archivist, and your data librarian? How are your hard drives going to last?
Or is this just going to be an empty steel box on a hill in 2024?
posted by The River Ivel at 2:51 AM on December 13, 2021 [23 favorites]
Also accessible to anybody who needs building materials in a depleted future. But sure! Let's carry on!
Tasmania beat Malta, Norway and Qatar as the geologically stable place to locate the box which will be completed in 2022.
Malta is small and one of the few European countries that really likes bribery in governance. Norway is extremely expensive. Qatar is usually regarded as problematic. Tasmania is the poorest area of Australia, and would probably let you install a giant purple dildo if you paid enough money.
Hosting solar panels and housing storage drives and a backup battery it collects information from the internet – newspaper headlines, key climate events, scientific data, etc.
Solar panels, you say? They sound valuable. Now, about this data backup: which headlines are you grabbing? All of 'em? Which science data? Who is your archivist, and your data librarian? How are your hard drives going to last?
Or is this just going to be an empty steel box on a hill in 2024?
posted by The River Ivel at 2:51 AM on December 13, 2021 [23 favorites]
Given that a major partner in this is a "marketing communications company" one might be tempted to think this is a publicity stunt.
I'm as wary as the next person of sinister marketing astroturfing, but this...criticism?...doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Idea: Earth Black Box
Purpose (from the linked article)
1. Provide an unbiased account of the events that lead to the demise of the planet.
2. Hold accountability for future generations
3. Inspire urgent action
Implementation: Artistic collective folks to design and build the black box, University of Tasmania researchers (presumably to guide inclusion / exclusion criteria for datasets), and yes, a marketing company. Turns out if you want your project to get eyeballs, marketing it helps!
Solar panels, you say? They sound valuable. Now, about this data backup: which headlines are you grabbing? All of 'em? Which science data? Who is your archivist, and your data librarian? How are your hard drives going to last?
Or is this just going to be an empty steel box on a hill in 2024?
It's almost as if the article you are snarking on that is linked in the FPP could answer your questions!
Which headlines are you grabbing?
Which science data?
Well, at least the University of Tasmania is involved, though I'm not sure why you are demanding the identities of everyone involved.
posted by lazaruslong at 2:58 AM on December 13, 2021 [37 favorites]
I'm as wary as the next person of sinister marketing astroturfing, but this...criticism?...doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Idea: Earth Black Box
Purpose (from the linked article)
1. Provide an unbiased account of the events that lead to the demise of the planet.
2. Hold accountability for future generations
3. Inspire urgent action
Implementation: Artistic collective folks to design and build the black box, University of Tasmania researchers (presumably to guide inclusion / exclusion criteria for datasets), and yes, a marketing company. Turns out if you want your project to get eyeballs, marketing it helps!
Solar panels, you say? They sound valuable. Now, about this data backup: which headlines are you grabbing? All of 'em? Which science data? Who is your archivist, and your data librarian? How are your hard drives going to last?
Or is this just going to be an empty steel box on a hill in 2024?
It's almost as if the article you are snarking on that is linked in the FPP could answer your questions!
Which headlines are you grabbing?
Contextual data such as newspaper headlines, social media posts, and news from key events like Conference of the Parties climate change meetings.You can also see a livestream of the sorts of headlines they are collecting on the linked site!
Which science data?
It will collect measurements of land and sea temperatures, ocean acidification, atmospheric CO2, species extinction, land-use changes, as well as things like human population, military spending, and energy consumption.Who is your archivist, and your data librarian? How are your hard drives going to last?
...
The black box will record backwards, as well as forwards in time, to document how we got to where we are — pulling any available historical climate change data off the internet.
Well, at least the University of Tasmania is involved, though I'm not sure why you are demanding the identities of everyone involved.
Using compression and archiving, the developers estimate there will be enough capacity to store data for the next 30 to 50 years.I really wish we could do better than just shitting on something either reflexively because a marketing company is helping to get eyeballs on it or because we just...didn't read the goddamn article.
In the meantime, they're investigating ways to expand that capacity, and more long-term storage methods including inscribing to "steel plates".
"This will enable us to be far more efficient with how each tier of storage is used and make it possible to store data for hundreds, if not thousands of years," they said.
posted by lazaruslong at 2:58 AM on December 13, 2021 [37 favorites]
cause our civilisation to crash...events that lead to the demise of the planetWell which of these is it? Because they're not the same thing. The incredibly common tendency to conflate them does, I think, harm to the cause of environmental preservation.
As far as I can see, there's nothing to suggest that humanity will or could cause "the demise of our planet": we may well cause a major extinction event, but the history of life on Earth is regularly punctuated by such events, at least some of which (the Permian–Triassic extinction event in particular) were significantly more harmful to life than anything we appear to have the capacity to cause.
The problem I have with conflating the end of our civilisation/species and the end of the world is that it seems to (a) overstate the position in a way that makes environmental catastrophe feel less credible on an emotional level, and (b) obscure the fact that our best motivation for environmental preservation is a wholly self-interested one. The opponents of environmentalism are empowered to push it into the category of "worthy causes", rather than "existential priorities".
I'd prefer an environmental movement that says "Ultimately the Earth will be fine. It may get an extinction event a few million years early, but it's going to shrug it, and us, off. Don't think of environmentalism as a cause for impractical do-gooders: think of it as infrastructure and security investment to stop yourself/your family from dying young".
posted by howfar at 3:00 AM on December 13, 2021 [10 favorites]
Mod note: Quick note: I'm leaving the comments, since lazaruslong has answered so well, but yes, please don't just show up in threads to snarkily shit on whatever the topic is without checking out the actual source info or background. This is why people don't want to make posts. Nobody has to have a positive or approving attitude toward every post subject, but please have the respect to enter into a reasonable discussion rather than trying to show off with sarcasm or contempt. Thank you.
posted by taz (staff) at 3:12 AM on December 13, 2021 [42 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 3:12 AM on December 13, 2021 [42 favorites]
Sounds like something out of a 50s Hollywood "social conscience" film.
The plutocrats whose minds and hearts most need to be changed, however that might proceed, are unlikely to be affected by this. Emphasis added for a reason.
posted by Sheydem-tants at 3:13 AM on December 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
The plutocrats whose minds and hearts most need to be changed, however that might proceed, are unlikely to be affected by this. Emphasis added for a reason.
posted by Sheydem-tants at 3:13 AM on December 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
The plutocrats whose minds and hearts most need to be changed, however that might proceed, are unlikely to be affected by this.
Honestly, I tend to agree. The methods used to change minds and hearts of powerful plutocrats used in KSR's Ministry for the Future strike me as the ones I think will be necessary, but it's not polite to say that stuff out loud yet.
posted by lazaruslong at 3:24 AM on December 13, 2021 [7 favorites]
Honestly, I tend to agree. The methods used to change minds and hearts of powerful plutocrats used in KSR's Ministry for the Future strike me as the ones I think will be necessary, but it's not polite to say that stuff out loud yet.
posted by lazaruslong at 3:24 AM on December 13, 2021 [7 favorites]
And once it's finished recording, we'll launch it into outer space in the hope that one day it might reach someone who can tell others about us.
Of all the futures depicted in Star Trek, it really sucks that the most realistic one is what's depicted in The Inner Light.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:37 AM on December 13, 2021 [10 favorites]
Of all the futures depicted in Star Trek, it really sucks that the most realistic one is what's depicted in The Inner Light.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:37 AM on December 13, 2021 [10 favorites]
WHY DON'T THEY JUST MAKE THE WHOLE PLANET OUT OF THE BLACK BOX? THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW!
posted by Naberius at 5:44 AM on December 13, 2021 [14 favorites]
posted by Naberius at 5:44 AM on December 13, 2021 [14 favorites]
Well actually looking at the web site it kinda looks like a conceptual web art project. A so so render of a Richard Sera large metal object without doors or support equipment. There is a streaming list of tweet like clips that can not be clicked or cut to review/research. Is any of it real? Certainly ripe for snark. Clearly in a few million years the descendants of the cockroaches develop intelligence will be curious about what is inside and may use it to make better decisions, although a dump of wikipedia and the wayback machine may actually be more useful to them.
posted by sammyo at 5:52 AM on December 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by sammyo at 5:52 AM on December 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
Snark notwithstanding, the presentation is a little self-important, not unlike the Doomsday Clock from the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. But, y'know, the Svalbard Seed Vault is a good idea with similar intentions, so there's that. I don't think it's wrong to try to keep people aware of the need to take this shit seriously, but the ORACLE OF DOOM presentation is maybe a bit much.
posted by briank at 5:59 AM on December 13, 2021
posted by briank at 5:59 AM on December 13, 2021
Also from the Department of Anthropocene Desert Monuments, the Clock of the Long Now. Brian Eno is providing its marketing juice.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:34 AM on December 13, 2021
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:34 AM on December 13, 2021
So I RTFA, and I got to the part where they addressed (if not precisely answered) the question that immediately popped into my mind:
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:43 AM on December 13, 2021 [4 favorites]
So let's say we go the full Mad Max; climate change causes crops to fail year on year; ocean food-webs collapse; it becomes impossible to feed eight, nine, 10(?) billion people; hundreds of millions are displaced by rising seas; economies shrink and society as we know it goes over the falls.That seems like a nontrivial matter, given the effort given in thinking about the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant simply warning people of the future--may not be literate, and if they are, may not have any language that's at all derived from the ones we use today--to not dig this stuff up because it will kill them. I suspect that this is really for the sake of people right now, not our theoretical descendents, extraterrestrials, and/or evolved cockroaches.
Those who have discovered the black box — now the colour of rust, its solar panels long since dead — have got no frame of reference for what they find inside or how to decipher it.
So now what?
"That is a [question] that we are still working on ourselves," the developers say.
"It is impossible to anticipate who or what will find [it].
"But it can be assumed that it will not be of any use unless it is discovered by someone or something ... with the capability of understanding and interpreting basic symbolism."
Gaining access to the box's interior through its three-inch-thick steel casing will already require some ingenuity.
The developers presume whoever is capable of that will also be able to interpret basic symbols.
"Like the Rosetta Stone, we would look to use multiple formats of encoding," they said.
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:43 AM on December 13, 2021 [4 favorites]
The project about which this post has been created is not even in the same league as the Long Now Foundation’s work. The latter has really thought through what’s needed for their work to still be existing, continuing to function and be accessible/consumable by humans many many years from now.
Said work has been ongoing for the past 25 years, has proper structures for maintaining governance over time, etc. This new project would be well served by trying to replicate what the LNF has done, not try to re-invent the wheel, etc.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 6:48 AM on December 13, 2021 [4 favorites]
Said work has been ongoing for the past 25 years, has proper structures for maintaining governance over time, etc. This new project would be well served by trying to replicate what the LNF has done, not try to re-invent the wheel, etc.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 6:48 AM on December 13, 2021 [4 favorites]
Imagine telling everyone you're building a giant snark magnet and then getting mad when people snark about it
posted by oulipian at 6:54 AM on December 13, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by oulipian at 6:54 AM on December 13, 2021 [6 favorites]
Given that a major partner in this is a "marketing communications company" one might be tempted to think this is a publicity stunt.
Marketing executive here. Given that the idea itself actually came from Clemenger BBDO, which is part of a worldwide ad agency, a healthy amount of skepticism is absolutely in order, no matter who else in involved.
To put it bluntly, this is the kind of stunt that brings attention, awards and new business leads to an agency and the creative director who came up with the idea.
Already the agency is using this project in its pitches to win new business, which is honestly the most important aspect from their perspective. There's little incentive for the agency to stay involved in the long run, or to come up with the kind of detailed planning that will ensure its viability in the future. They're already far more focused on the next Big Idea.
posted by bassomatic at 7:04 AM on December 13, 2021 [16 favorites]
Marketing executive here. Given that the idea itself actually came from Clemenger BBDO, which is part of a worldwide ad agency, a healthy amount of skepticism is absolutely in order, no matter who else in involved.
To put it bluntly, this is the kind of stunt that brings attention, awards and new business leads to an agency and the creative director who came up with the idea.
Already the agency is using this project in its pitches to win new business, which is honestly the most important aspect from their perspective. There's little incentive for the agency to stay involved in the long run, or to come up with the kind of detailed planning that will ensure its viability in the future. They're already far more focused on the next Big Idea.
posted by bassomatic at 7:04 AM on December 13, 2021 [16 favorites]
I'm sorry, but snark serves a very important function here: someone's got to point out that the emperor isn't wearing any clothes.
As Halloween Jack pointed out, the developers themselves are using a lot of "I dunno, maybe" language for things they should have already answered by the time they get featured in the New York Times. The website itself lacks a lot of details (and I have a hard time trusting someone to do a serious, long-term project when they post a gmail address as their sole form of contact.)
Years of Kickstarter scams, MLMs, NFTs, and more have honed our instincts to spot a scam/lofty wouldn't-it-be-cool-if idea when we see one. We have hard earned the lesson of "anyone can make a website saying they're going to do a cool thing". It gets certain individuals or organizations (including the click-hungry news media) a lot of publicity they use to jump to their next stunt, leaving the actual work to others or no one at all.
Heck, even the Arecibo message was heavily criticized for not being as universal as the creators intended. Part of the message included the shape and dimensions of the Arecibo radio telescope itself, which is a cruel irony now that it fell apart from negligence.
But even beyond that, I dunk on this precisely because the wealthy ruling class (including the gatekeepers of the NYT) will embrace it and we know why: as Malcolm X put it, "The white man will try to satisfy us with symbolic victories rather than economic equity and justice."
posted by AlSweigart at 7:23 AM on December 13, 2021 [10 favorites]
As Halloween Jack pointed out, the developers themselves are using a lot of "I dunno, maybe" language for things they should have already answered by the time they get featured in the New York Times. The website itself lacks a lot of details (and I have a hard time trusting someone to do a serious, long-term project when they post a gmail address as their sole form of contact.)
Years of Kickstarter scams, MLMs, NFTs, and more have honed our instincts to spot a scam/lofty wouldn't-it-be-cool-if idea when we see one. We have hard earned the lesson of "anyone can make a website saying they're going to do a cool thing". It gets certain individuals or organizations (including the click-hungry news media) a lot of publicity they use to jump to their next stunt, leaving the actual work to others or no one at all.
Heck, even the Arecibo message was heavily criticized for not being as universal as the creators intended. Part of the message included the shape and dimensions of the Arecibo radio telescope itself, which is a cruel irony now that it fell apart from negligence.
But even beyond that, I dunk on this precisely because the wealthy ruling class (including the gatekeepers of the NYT) will embrace it and we know why: as Malcolm X put it, "The white man will try to satisfy us with symbolic victories rather than economic equity and justice."
posted by AlSweigart at 7:23 AM on December 13, 2021 [10 favorites]
Just don't bring it near the boxes of blame held by the Atlanteans and Amazons, I guess.
posted by Ashenmote at 7:28 AM on December 13, 2021
posted by Ashenmote at 7:28 AM on December 13, 2021
I am a bit curious how route wires into and out of the box (that internet connection has to come from somewhere!) as well as regulating the temperature within the box.
It would be really neat if they had some sort of acoustic coupling to transmit data through the steel to obviate the need for any wires, but that would limit bandwidth and also what then would you do about the solar panels?
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:30 AM on December 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
It would be really neat if they had some sort of acoustic coupling to transmit data through the steel to obviate the need for any wires, but that would limit bandwidth and also what then would you do about the solar panels?
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:30 AM on December 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
I read the background on this in other contexts. Didn't bother to read comments or snark above, sorry. Hopefully the following is insightful from a scientific perspective, regardless.
We collect data on temperature and carbon levels from geological records. This is why we know that greenhouse gas levels are climbing to historic levels not seen since the Permian extinction. Future civilizations or intelligent species with similar technology and scientific understanding facing a similar existential crisis may likely be able to do many of the same measurements and analyses to reach the same conclusion in their eras.
So it might perhaps not be necessary to have this one repository for data, which is already out there in nature. It is also one point of failure — should it or its contents succumb to looters or the elements, much or all of the information within would be lost forever.
Moreover, storing 30 to 50 years of data is not even a blink of an eye in geological time. A few thousand years is not really much longer. The utility of this as one source of empirical data seems generally limited, at the least, by very difficult engineering problems that marketers are unlikely to solve, leaving aside its particularly vulnerable physical situation.
It is an interesting art project, for sure, and adds to public awareness and to the larger discussion we must now have about the climate crisis. Not sure it should be considered more deeply than that, short of a more serious proposal from those involved.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 7:31 AM on December 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
We collect data on temperature and carbon levels from geological records. This is why we know that greenhouse gas levels are climbing to historic levels not seen since the Permian extinction. Future civilizations or intelligent species with similar technology and scientific understanding facing a similar existential crisis may likely be able to do many of the same measurements and analyses to reach the same conclusion in their eras.
So it might perhaps not be necessary to have this one repository for data, which is already out there in nature. It is also one point of failure — should it or its contents succumb to looters or the elements, much or all of the information within would be lost forever.
Moreover, storing 30 to 50 years of data is not even a blink of an eye in geological time. A few thousand years is not really much longer. The utility of this as one source of empirical data seems generally limited, at the least, by very difficult engineering problems that marketers are unlikely to solve, leaving aside its particularly vulnerable physical situation.
It is an interesting art project, for sure, and adds to public awareness and to the larger discussion we must now have about the climate crisis. Not sure it should be considered more deeply than that, short of a more serious proposal from those involved.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 7:31 AM on December 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
They should also include something like this in the seed ark and in the "no go" doomsday vault where they're putting the nuclear waste (because we know someone's gonna go there).
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:32 AM on December 13, 2021
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:32 AM on December 13, 2021
I say this in a spirit that's about as far from snark as I can possibly get: the single most important thing that we, as a species, need to do in order to organize some kind of soft landing for the present global insanity is get the fuck over ourselves.
Littering the Tasmanian landscape with some fugly and fundamentally useless chunk of Ozymandian rusted steel Industrial Art is the exact kind of pointless, unnecessary, self-aggrandizing, self-flagellating, eyeball-dragging try-hard pseudo-impressive shitfuckery that's got us into our present mess.
I'm agin it. You want to make Big Important Architectural Statements, stick them in the forecourt at BHP HQ, not the fucking Tasmanian wilderness.
posted by flabdablet at 8:18 AM on December 13, 2021 [13 favorites]
Littering the Tasmanian landscape with some fugly and fundamentally useless chunk of Ozymandian rusted steel Industrial Art is the exact kind of pointless, unnecessary, self-aggrandizing, self-flagellating, eyeball-dragging try-hard pseudo-impressive shitfuckery that's got us into our present mess.
I'm agin it. You want to make Big Important Architectural Statements, stick them in the forecourt at BHP HQ, not the fucking Tasmanian wilderness.
posted by flabdablet at 8:18 AM on December 13, 2021 [13 favorites]
I do think the question of "which climate news pieces are they recording off the internet" is a good one. I did RTFA but all I see about this is that they are asking "an algorithm" to capture this information - and that doesn't entirely answer that question.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:22 AM on December 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:22 AM on December 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
Yes, the world needs to become more energy efficient, but "a continual 3 percent increase in energy production, has historically aligned neatly with a 3 percent increase in GDP" is false.
"Global energy intensity (total energy consumption per unit of GDP) dipped by 0.4% only in 2020, i.e. much slower than its historical trend (-1.5%/year on average between 2000 and 2019), widening again the gap with the 3.5%/year decrease required to achieve the 2°C scenario."
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:26 AM on December 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
"Global energy intensity (total energy consumption per unit of GDP) dipped by 0.4% only in 2020, i.e. much slower than its historical trend (-1.5%/year on average between 2000 and 2019), widening again the gap with the 3.5%/year decrease required to achieve the 2°C scenario."
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:26 AM on December 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
Eco's Basilisk?
Information itself requires energy, of course.
posted by jamjam at 8:37 AM on December 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
Information itself requires energy, of course.
posted by jamjam at 8:37 AM on December 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
Idea: Earth Black Box
A black box contains all of the information that lead up to a disaster. This will contain ... a smattering of climate data and a periodic internet search? The actual complete climate data is being collected at a rate measured in petabytes. Storing it in hardened media would require acres of space and billions of dollars.
Purpose (from the linked article)
1. Provide an unbiased account of the events that lead to the demise of the planet.
There is no reputable source predicting the demise of the planet. Rising temperatures will cause a massive rearrangement of where humans live, but absolutely no one is predicting any thing even close to an extinction level event. This purported techno-apocalypse is pure hype.
2. Hold accountability for future generations
Ummm, I guess? We have a rough idea of who was responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire -- and this thing is far more likely to provide a frustratingly spotty record of political upheaval than any useful climate data -- but okay, sure.
3. Inspire urgent action
A trivial inspection of recent history shows how incredibly unlikely that is. The idea that a box in the desert is going to inspire action is risible to anyone. Someone is trying to generate publicity using a stunt. The idea that a university wouldn't be party to that is doubtful at best.
So basically what we have here is a farce, blatantly incapable of serving in the capacity it is supposed to. I apologize for not being clear about that in my original comment but the unworkable nature of the thing -- particularly the issue of storing petabytes of data -- is the sort of basic problem that faces any archive project. What is being talked about simply can't be done.
And it's really unlikely the the people at the university don't know that. But hey, publicity for a good cause, funding for the department. Why not?
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:56 AM on December 13, 2021 [5 favorites]
A black box contains all of the information that lead up to a disaster. This will contain ... a smattering of climate data and a periodic internet search? The actual complete climate data is being collected at a rate measured in petabytes. Storing it in hardened media would require acres of space and billions of dollars.
Purpose (from the linked article)
1. Provide an unbiased account of the events that lead to the demise of the planet.
There is no reputable source predicting the demise of the planet. Rising temperatures will cause a massive rearrangement of where humans live, but absolutely no one is predicting any thing even close to an extinction level event. This purported techno-apocalypse is pure hype.
2. Hold accountability for future generations
Ummm, I guess? We have a rough idea of who was responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire -- and this thing is far more likely to provide a frustratingly spotty record of political upheaval than any useful climate data -- but okay, sure.
3. Inspire urgent action
A trivial inspection of recent history shows how incredibly unlikely that is. The idea that a box in the desert is going to inspire action is risible to anyone. Someone is trying to generate publicity using a stunt. The idea that a university wouldn't be party to that is doubtful at best.
So basically what we have here is a farce, blatantly incapable of serving in the capacity it is supposed to. I apologize for not being clear about that in my original comment but the unworkable nature of the thing -- particularly the issue of storing petabytes of data -- is the sort of basic problem that faces any archive project. What is being talked about simply can't be done.
And it's really unlikely the the people at the university don't know that. But hey, publicity for a good cause, funding for the department. Why not?
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:56 AM on December 13, 2021 [5 favorites]
My main concern is that catastrophic climate change is only one of the vectors of human extinction. A pandemic (driven by climate change, but it's own thing) is clearly also a major risk. Pollution is another. Finally perhaps a lesser appreciated one, the lack of social systems to support the choice to have children.
I think all of these feed into each other. An (untreated) HIV patient can die of any number of causes. AIDS isn't a single thing, but multiple things all weakening the patient.
It's a bit of a stunt to do this, but that's kind of the point. Anything has to be a stunt to be heard over the noise of the political machines that whine on and on about maladaptive social policies. I just fear we need a few iron boxes in the wilderness for the other issues. I see they had a few sites available.
posted by bonehead at 9:52 AM on December 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
I think all of these feed into each other. An (untreated) HIV patient can die of any number of causes. AIDS isn't a single thing, but multiple things all weakening the patient.
It's a bit of a stunt to do this, but that's kind of the point. Anything has to be a stunt to be heard over the noise of the political machines that whine on and on about maladaptive social policies. I just fear we need a few iron boxes in the wilderness for the other issues. I see they had a few sites available.
posted by bonehead at 9:52 AM on December 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
In the end this is just monetising despair over climate change. It doesn't actually do anything to try and stop it, it's not even fit for the grandious purpose it's touted to have but it does very well convey the message that we're fucked and the best thing we can do is create a record of just how fucked we are for future generations.
The real truth of the matter is that while we are already seeing people killed (murdered) because of climate change, we've already done massive damage to the world's ecosystems, that doesn't mean this is irreversible damage even if we did go extinct. Which we won't.
There are a lot of selfish muppets who just want the world to burn just to get some more shareholder value out of it but at the same time there are solutions that are being implemented, though slower than necessary.
Having this sort of apocalyptic mindset doesn't help because it will only cause resignment.
posted by MartinWisse at 10:01 AM on December 13, 2021 [4 favorites]
The real truth of the matter is that while we are already seeing people killed (murdered) because of climate change, we've already done massive damage to the world's ecosystems, that doesn't mean this is irreversible damage even if we did go extinct. Which we won't.
There are a lot of selfish muppets who just want the world to burn just to get some more shareholder value out of it but at the same time there are solutions that are being implemented, though slower than necessary.
Having this sort of apocalyptic mindset doesn't help because it will only cause resignment.
posted by MartinWisse at 10:01 AM on December 13, 2021 [4 favorites]
A note found in a bottle, flung into the sea by the cello player aboard the Titanic: "Watch out for those icebergs."
posted by mule98J at 7:01 AM on December 14, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by mule98J at 7:01 AM on December 14, 2021 [2 favorites]
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posted by fairmettle at 12:25 AM on December 13, 2021 [2 favorites]