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September
24
2020
Written by
Louise Bøgeskov Hou
Editorial #06: The ClimateClock
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The ClimateClock — Union Square, Manhattan, New York

The ClimateClock is an open-source project assembled by a team of artists, makers, scientists, and activists based in New York.

The project has recently gotten a lot of attention as the group has reprogrammed the Metronome in Union Square to adopt a new environmental mission.

Now, instead of measuring the usual 24-hour cycles, it's measuring what two artists, Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd, present as the critical window for action to prevent the effects of global warming from becoming irreversible.

On Saturday at 3:20 p.m., messages including "The Earth has a deadline" appeared on the display. Then the numbers — 7:103:15:40:07 — showed up, representing the years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds until that deadline.

The idea is to publicly illustrate the urgency of combating climate change and encourage Governments worldwide to take a stand and act against global warming, reduce greenhouse gas emission, and human-caused global heating.

At the launch Boyd said:

"The clock is telling us we must reduce our emissions as much as we can as fast as we can. The technology is there. We can do this—and in the process, create a healthier, more just world for all of us. Our planet has a deadline. But we can turn it into a lifeline." 

The clock indicates that we only have limited time to undertake bold transformation of our energy system and economy in hopes of keeping global temperature rise under 1.5°C. 

Right before the countdown began, Golan made the following statement:

"This is our way to shout that number from the rooftops!"

"Metronome" is a large public art installation by Andrew Ginzel and Kristin Jones, covering a 10-story-residential high rise located along the south end of Union Square in New York City. The work also includes concentric circles rendered in gold-flecked brick that ripple outward from a round opening. When it was unveiled in 1999, clouds of steam and musical tones were issued from the facade. Over the years, the sound and steam have ceased. However, the numbers kept moving. 

Allegedly, the original artists had already been thinking about reimagining the work to address the deepening climate crisis when they got a letter from the Boyd & Golan in February. Call it magic or beautiful synchronicity.

When asked about why they put the number on public display, Boyd has said: 

"This is arguably the most important number in the world ... A monument is often how society shows what's important, what it elevates, what is at center stage ... We hope this initiative will encourage everybody to join us in fighting for the future of our planet." 

The ClimateClock will be displayed on the 14th Street building, One Union Square South, through Sept. 27, the end of NYC Climate Week. However, the aim is to arrange for the clock to be permanently displayed, there or elsewhere.

On climateclock.world it's stated that the clock is meant to draw the world’s attention to the urgency for action—if we are to survive, we need a constant, public reminder of our deadline—everywhere! The team encourage everyone to join the movement and help them put a ClimateClock in every major city in the world.

BUT WHY IS IT VITAL TO MAINTAIN THE GLOBAL TEMPERATURE INCREASE BELOW 1.5°C?

This is the only way to ensure our world will suffer less negative impacts on the intensity and frequency of extreme events, resources, ecosystems, biodiversity, food security, cities, tourism, carbon removal, and global economy. IPCC Special Report on Global Warming clearly states that adaptation to change will be less difficult.

Future climate-related risks will be reduced by the upscaling and acceleration of far-reaching, multilevel and cross-sectoral climate mitigation and by both incremental and transformational adaptation.

To put it simply, maintaining the global temperature increase below 1.5°C  is in all our interest as it increases our chances of survival on this beautiful planet of ours—everything we do matters!

This project has inspired me personally, and I want to support the message. Therefore, going forward, you'll be able to see a ClimateClock whenever you enter LULU—LAND to continuously remind all of us to do better. Even the tiniest steps and small changes in our everyday lives count when it comes to creating a better future for everyone. Let's all take part in reaching this goal!

/ LOUISE

IT'S.

TIME.

TO. ACT.

WE LOVE TO CONNECT PEOPLE

climateclock.world

@climateclock.world

THE SCIENCE

The ClimateClock shows two numbers. The first, in red, is a timer, counting down how long it will take, at current rates of emissions, to burn through our “carbon budget” — the amount of CO2 that can still be released into the atmosphere while limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This is our deadline, the time we have left to take decisive action to keep warming under the 1.5°C threshold. The second number, in green, is tracking the growing % of the world’s energy currently supplied from renewable sources. This is our lifeline. Simply put, we need to get our lifeline to 100% before our deadline reaches 0.

This clock follows the methodology of the carbon clock made by the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) which uses data from the recent IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C. The report states that starting from 2018, a carbon dioxide budget of 420 Gt of CO2 gives us a 67% chance to stay under 1.5°C of warming.

“The concept of the carbon budget is based on a nearly linear relationship between the cumulative emissions and the temperature rise. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the earth would necessarily be 1.5°C warmer at the very point in time when the remaining carbon budget for staying below the 1.5°C threshold was used up. This is due to, among others, the fact that there is a time lag between the concentration of emissions in the atmosphere and the impact thereof on the temperature”.¹

MCC also notes that their calculations assume “that the annual emissions of years to come will be close to those of the year 2017, while latest numbers show that emissions are still on the rise.” If this trend continues, the time we have to act will be reduced. Furthermore, it is unlikely that earth’s climate warms at a linear rate. For example, potential climatic tipping points have been identified in Earth’s physical climate system that would cause large and possibly irreversible transitions in the state of the climate.² These uncertainties are why the IPCC report states there is a 67% chance that the carbon budget will limit warming to 1.5°C.

The IPCC Special Report on Global Warming is largely based on a research paper called “Global Carbon Budget 2018” published in 2018 by Corinne Le Quéré et al.³ This paper estimates the carbon budget in the units of GtC.⁴

RESOURCES

1. Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change. “That’s How Fast the Carbon Clock Is Ticking.” MCC Carbon Clock. https://www.mcc-berlin.net/en/research/co2-budget.html (accessed September 22, 2019).

2. Lenton, Timothy M., Hermann Held, Elmar Kriegler, Jim W. Hall, Wolfgang Lucht, Stefan Rahmstorf, and Hans Joachim Schellnhuber. "Tipping elements in the Earth's climate system." Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences 105, no. 6 (2008): 1786-1793.

3. Le Quéré, Corinne, Robbie M. Andrew, Pierre Friedlingstein, Stephen Sitch, Judith Hauck, Julia Pongratz, Penelope A. Pickers et al. "Global carbon budget 2018." Earth System Science Data (Online) 10, no. 4 (2018).

4. IPCC, 2018: Global warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty [V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, H. O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J. B. R. Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M. I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, T. Waterfield (eds.)]. In Press.

September
9
2020
Written by
the LULU—LAND Team
Puori = Pure Origin
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THIS POST CONTAINS ADVERTISEMENT FOR PRODUCTS WE TRUST!

BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
At LULU—LAND, we have a soft spot for great entrepreneurial stories and love to share them.
Honestly, when we first got to know about Puori, we were a bit skeptical; were these products really any different than all the other supplements out there? However, when we looked into how they are made and tried the products ourselves, our skepticism was put to shame.
Today, we wouldn't recommend any other dietary supplements. We admire Puori's strong commitment to environmental sustainability and how they have managed to use their ambitious standards for product quality and safety as a competitive advantage.

Puori was founded in 2009 by the two Danish entrepreneurs, Oliver Amdrup and Julius Heslet, who had a strong desire to supplement their own active lifestyles. The problem; finding products that they could actually trust to be safe and of high quality.

The mission was clear from the beginning: to be the best at offering pure, clean, and superior products that make a difference to people's health and wellbeing.

The first product they launched was a high-quality, potent omega-3 fish oil - a gap in the market which no existing product was able to fill. Since then, the product portfolio has grown to address the main nutritional deficiencies in the developed world in the most uncompromising way possible.

The ambitious adventure has grown into a global company with many dedicated employees, partners, and loyal customers. The two young men attribute their success to the fact that there has always been a great deal of boldness and innovation in Puori. Put in their own words:

"Without the boldness and our innovative mindset, we would never have set out on this amazing journey. It now means that we cultivate a culture within the company to foster open innovation and change. Those who dare to think aloud and differently are rewarded."

Another factor for their success is transparency and third-party testing. Initially, Puori used IFOS testing of their fish oil supplement, which expanded into full transparency testing across the entire product portfolio that guarantees the safety and quality of all their products. Every single batch is tested!

Puori's initial surge in growth has been through the success of CrossFit® - the exercise methodology that spread throughout the 2000s and since evolved into a profound competitive sport.

The CrossFit culture is still an essential part of Puori's heritage. However, everyone has their own unique exercise strategies, and they try to address the needs of all physically active individuals. They consider health an ever-evolving journey centered around making quality decisions within the four cornerstones of a good life: a healthy diet, physical activity, recovery, and balance.

Puori don't sell quick fixes; they help people understand their origin and show them how to achieve their natural potential. They strongly believe in a preventative lifestyle and a holistic approach to health. When the modern diet falls short of providing the nutrients we need, Puori provide the purest natural supplements for a healthier future.

We are fortunate to be able to offer Puori supplements in our shop and got the chance to ask one of the founders, Oliver Amdrup, a couple of questions:


WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE YOU STARTED PUORI?

OA: I was an entrepreneur in the health and wellness space. I went from being a personal trainer to the owner of a CrossFit gym to create a corporate training app and work as Regional Director for CrossFit HQ in Europe.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START PUORI IN THE FIRST PLACE? WHERE DID THE IDEA COME FROM? DID YOU HAVE AN EUREKA-LIKE MOMENT?

OA: Julius and I both had trouble finding the perfect fish oil = free from environmental toxins based on lab reports, caught sustainable, high amount of Omega-3, and always fresh. After researching for a long time, without finding exactly what we wanted, we decided to embark on a journey ourselves.

WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MAIN CHALLENGES GETTING TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?

OA: I think when you ask most entrepreneurs, they will tell you that it is a journey of challenges, not a single event. It all boils down to your passion for the vision and values, as well as your dedication to never surrender.


HOW DO YOU COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER ON THIS JOURNEY?

OA: We have always shared the same vision and values but very different capabilities. Julius is more of a Specialist, and I’m more of Generalist. Thus we have tried to use each other strengths and weaknesses along the way.


CORONA VIRUS: NO ONE CAN GET AROUND THE FACT THAT THERE IS A WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC RAGING - HOW HAS THE CURRENT SITUATION AFFECTED PUORI? AND HOW HAVE YOU DEALT WITH IT?

OA: The US market is one of our main markets. Therefore, we obviously see uncertainty at the moment, which has affected our future growth investments. On the other hand, we also see tendencies that people are focusing more on preventative health, which is the key to our brand – many of our products are developed with this in mind.


WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?

OA: We are launching a major new brand-line extension which targets the needs of a growing consumer population, combining our clean and 3rd party tested product and development competencies, with specialist and experts within a new segment of consumers. Stay tuned post Summer 2020.


WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION FOR THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF PUORI? WHAT OR WHOM INSPIRES YOU?

OA: It always starts with a need or an opportunity to improve something. We find inspiration from many directions, not just within the health and wellness space but also within consumer movements and other industries.


WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE FOR PUORI? THE NEAR AND DISTANT FUTURE? WHAT ARE YOUR AMBITIONS AND GOALS?

OA: We want to play a significant role in changing the supplement industry towards more transparency around environmental toxins and products' quality. One day, our transparency project, created in collaboration with The Clean Label Project, will become the industry standard for consumer goods to ensure safety and quality in all areas of food consumption.


WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE KNOWN BEFORE YOU STARTED PUORI?

OA: Keep your focus on your key differentiator and continue to develop your brand around it, so everything you do supports your uniqueness and makes more unique and you stand out to your target audience.


FINALLY, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHER ENTREPRENEURS OR PEOPLE WHO DREAM ABOUT STARTING THEIR OWN BUSINESS?

OA: Set a clear direction of where you want to go, but don’t expect your path will be what you expected. Stay true to your values, your strategies will change, but values should not. And finally, never-give-up and never stop learning.


GET TO KNOW MORE ABOUT PUORI
CHECK OUT THE PUORI PRODUCTS IN OUR SHOP

WE LOVE TO CONNECT PEOPLE

COMPANY Puori

FOUNDERS Oliver Amdrup & Julius Heslet

WEBSITE puori.com

INSTAGRAM @puorilife

LINKEDIN Puori

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