An impenetrable steel ‘Black Box’ will be built in Tasmania to record every step humanity takes toward catastrophe. The box, roughly the size of a city bus and made of 3-inch-thick steel, will be surrounded by concrete panels and covered by a roof of tough glass with solar panels underneath.

Purpose of the Black Box

The box will record hundreds of climate data points and pieces of contextual information, including temperatures, sea level rise, political speeches, and climate reports. It is essentially an indestructible, self-powered data-recording device, according to Rob Beamish, founder and creative director of the environmental communications agency Rouser Lab.

The box is intended as a call to action, snapping people’s attention toward the escalating climate crisis. It aims to provoke fear, which Beamish calls ‘a massive motivator for climate action,’ but also hope. ‘The plane’s still in the air … there is still hope to really avoid the very worst of climate change,’ he said.

Construction and Completion

The box’s completion would mark the end of a long process. It was first announced in 2021, at the time of the COP26 UN climate talks in Glasgow, immediately generating buzz and even featuring in Stephen Colbert’s opening monologue on ‘The Late Show.’ Construction has yet to start, although its components are currently being assembled, with the hope of being up and running by December.

Local authorities in Tasmania appear to welcome the project. Shane Pitt, the mayor of the West Coast region, said the island was chosen because it’s ‘one of the most geologically and politically stable regions in the world.’ He believes the box may have the added benefit of drawing more tourists to this remote area of the island, home to around 4,600 people.

Original reporting: KOAT Albuquerque — read the source article.