Eiffel Tower Goes Green At Paris Climate Talks

The Eiffel Tower is one of the monuments of engineering feats by us humans in the modern era, and continues to stand proud and tall until this day. It has recently been a beacon of hope and resistance against terror in the aftermath of the terror bombings in France, and this time around, it has turned a shade of green in light of the climate talks that are being held in Paris, urging smartphone users to “plant a tree” wherever they are on the Paris landmark.

The Eiffel Tower was transformed into a shade of green for the opening of the Paris climate conference, which also kicked off the start of an art project that will have “virtual trees” grow on the landmark as part intentional reforestation.

United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard were at the meeting, kicking off the week-long “1 Heart 1 Tree” project, which allows smartphone users to “plant a tree” on the tower. Naziha Mestauoi, the digital artist who thought up this concept, said, “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 program.”

A downloadable smartphone app that can keep track of your heartbeat through a sensor will project said heartbeat with a tree image, your name, and a short message onto the Eiffel Tower via lighting and mapping technologies. The growth of the real-life trees can be tracked via the app, and these trees will be planted across segments of Australia, Brazil, Senegal, India, France, Peru and Ivory Coast from 2016.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Green
Tags: eiffel tower, paris