On Saturday morning, nestled amongst the stalls of the Greenmarket at NYC's Union Square, 21,000 pounds of ice could be found slowly melting. Set up by artist Chin Chih Yang, the bulk of the ice--thirty-six rectangular blocks weighing about 16,000 pounds--was stacked into a cube from which the whine of an embedded alarm occasionally sounded. Surrounding the chest-high cube were a several ice benches, offering passers-by a place to plop down, cool off, and, hopefully, reflect upon global warming.

The day couldn't have been better for an interactive art installation about climate change. Although the temperature--in the low eighties--wasn't record-breaking, the heat radiating off Union Square's cement expanse was enough to penetrate the soles of one's shoes.

By 3:45 p.m., the central ice cube was beginning to display a number of holes in what originally were solid walls of iceberg blue. Increasingly, the "aahs" of those settling onto the icy benches were accompanied by the sound of ice shards shattering on the concrete. One girl and her boyfriend capitalized on the weakening ice by breaking off from the side of a bench chunks of ice that they then rubbed onto their foreheads, necks, and arms, and dropped down the backs of their shirts. Nearby, a Chihuahua lapped at some of the melt that had begun to pool on the ground.

Predictably, most people engaged with Chin Chih Yang's self-described "ice emergency" via their cameras, although the ice also occasioned some conversations. "So, I guess this is about global warming?" one man asked no one in particular. "Has he ever thought about the water he's wasting?" commented another woman.

At the same time, local communists, attracted by the gathering crowd, spouted off about the need for a green revolution, while those from a nearby prayer station used the benches as cooling places from which to spread the gospel and another group held up signs offering "free hugs." Meanwhile, unimpeded by the revolution, prayers, and hugs on offer--a coincidental sampling of possible responses to actual polar ice melt--the ice cube and benches continued to drip onto the pavement.

Go here to learn more about Chin Chih Yang's work and Burning ICE.

Also, see Inhabitat.