Kenji Williams performing Bella Gaia
Today is Earth Day – a day when more than 1 billion people in 192 countries from London to Sao Paolo, Seoul to Babylon City, New Delhi to New York, Rome to Cairo are participating and taking action to help depict this year’s theme: The Face of Climate Change.
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Earth Day Network, which coordinates Earth Day each year, is collecting images of people, animals and places affected by climate change and global warming, as well as images and stories from people doing their part in the fight against climate change. An interactive digital display of the images is being shown at thousands of events around the world.
“This interactive mosaic is depicting the very real impact that climate change is having on people’s lives and uniting Earth Day events around the world into one call for climate action,” said Franklin Russell, director of Earth Day at Earth Day Network. “The stories we’ve collected so far have been inspiring.”
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What are you doing for Earth Day? Tell your story and upload a photo here.
Bella Gaia, a 70-minute collaborative film between NASA and award-winning director and classically trained violinist Kenji Williams, combines music, art and science to convey the delicate interconnected balance of our planet, and hopefully, encourage people to save the Earth from the effects of pollution, climate change and the rising human population. Watch Williams talk about his work with NASA to present earth science in a new way:
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Williams first got involved with NASA after he presented earth science visualizations to a score of music he composed. “The scientists were blown away seeing their own work and research in a completely different context,” Williams explained. “They really understood my pitch … that you really have to present science in an engaging way that captures our right brain and left brain.”
Then, Bella Gaia, which means “Beautiful Earth,” was born. The multimedia journey of our world expresses the beauty of planet Earth as seen through the eyes of astronauts by successfully simulating space flight. Watch Williams further explain the mission behind Bella Gaia:
