After being closed for three days this month after the wave of terror attacks on Paris and being lit in the French national colours, blue, white and red when it reopened, the Eiffel Tower turned green!
“Everyone will be able to plant a virtual tree on the Eiffel Tower, which will grow to the beat of their heart, and then every virtual tree will be really planted in a reforestation programme,” said Naziha Mestauoi, the digital artists behind the project that turned the Eiffel Tower green on Sunday the 29th of November for the opening of the Paris Climate Conference.
The launch of the week-long 1 Heart 1 Tree project (which allows smartphone users to ‘plant a tree’ on the tower) was attended by both the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon and Oscar Winning French Actress, Marion Cotillard.
The 1 Heart 1 Tree project launched as 150 world leaders gathered in Paris for a fortnight of talks starting today that are intended settle the first international pact to limit emission of the same greenhouse gasses blamed for climate change.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Participants who want to take part in growing a ‘virtual tree’ do so by using a smartphone application that records their heartbeat via a sensor and then projects this along with the image of a tree, their name, and a short message onto the landmark, using lighting and mapping technologies.
This is all in aid of reforestation, and so it does not stop there. The real-life trees’ growth will be able to be tracked by each of the participants. The trees will be planted in areas on Australia, Brazil, Senegal, India, France, Peru, and the Ivory Coast from 2016, and each trees costs between three and 10 euros, depending on the species.
ACTING IN THE ‘TANGIBLE SENSE’
Mestauoi the artist behind it all says that, “the idea is to connect the virtual and the real, technology and nature, and to give everyone the opportunity to act in a tangible sense,” and isn’t that what we’re all looking for? Something that gives us the opportunity to act in the tangible sense, beyond the hashtags and screens? Something that makes us feel that we are not just virtual fists?
Probably the most popular passage of scripture talking about trees in the Bible (and there are many) is when Jesus got onto one to be crucified and cursed on behalf of us (Galatians 3:13, Deuteronomy 21:23).
The ultimate act of activism;
The ultimate ACT!
Just like that French artist is trying to get people to act along with their social activism, you can act in response to the greatest ACT of love done by one man. To do this you have to accept Jesus as Lord over your life and accept a life of walking in relationship with him – it is the greatest ACT you’ll ever have the opportunity of committing in your whole life!
If you want to learn more about how and why you should do this, why don’t you click on the black bar right underneath this article!