Yes, there is still hope! About a year ago, the Natural History Museum of Utah reached out to me to contribute sounds to their newest permanent exhibit, ‘A Climate of Hope,’ which launched earlier this month. The premise is that in this age of human-caused climate change, “it’s not too late to create a future in which humans and nature thrive — every bit of warming we prevent will help.” The exhibit includes the beautiful immersive environment shown below and it features all kinds of information about how people are coping with and responding to one of our greatest ecological — and societal — problems. My job was to add sounds to several of the exhibit stations and the project was full of interesting challenges. People know what the natural world sounds like, but how does one convey the sounds of climate adaptation? Ultimately, the exhibit included interpretations of both natural and engineered environments, from a pond and an alpine forest (pictured) to cooling centers and reflective roofs. As serious as climate change is, I hope people will still enjoy this exhibit and come away feeling inspired to take action. Positive change often begins with hope. We can significantly reduce our carbon footprints and demand that our governments do the same.
