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| Easthampton resident Vinny Valetutti’s constructed a 30-foot-tall “Sea Level Rise Ruler” to raise awareness about the dangers of rising sea levels due to climate change and ice caps melting. (Courtesy Olivia Greeley) |
The construction spans a whopping 30 feet and currently sits on a wooden platform attached to the Western Massachusetts man’s car.
With his structure, the former engineer is seeking to raise awareness about the dangers of rising sea levels due to climate change and ice caps melting.
“I simply hope to make people aware of the reality of sea level rise, as it is a unique part of the global warming discussion,” Valetutti said in a statement. “People tend to not focus on sea level rise because, at first glance, the daily effect is insignificant, but ice melt has a cumulative effect.”
Valetutti, a retired professional engineer who is passionate about energy conservation, stays up to date on the science of climate change. He was inspired in 2019 by Greta Thunberg, a 17-year-old Swedish girl who become internationally recognized for her environmental activism.
Using his background in engineering, Valetutti constructed a traveling flagpole that can hold a 30-foot-tall banner that replicates a ruler, with exact measurements in feet, according to the Easthampton resident.
“I marked the 11- and 22-foot levels in red, because those indicate where our sea level would rise if only 5% or 10% of Antarctica and Greenland were to melt,” he said. “When people stand next to the flagpole and see how high that really is, it shows how legitimate and scary the reality of rising sea levels is.”
The ruler has been sitting in Northampton, but Valetutti is hoping to drive his moveable education tool across the east coast, according to his statement.
“I wanted to take a stance on the side of climate change that is not always talked about - rising sea levels due to global warming,” the statement said.
Valetutti stressed how rapidly sea levels could rise and how little the problem is discussed.
“Sea level rise is real. It is scary, and there is no way to time it,” he said. “Mother Nature can work fast.”
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| Easthampton resident Vinny Valetutti’s constructed a 30-foot-tall “Sea Level Rise Ruler” to raise awareness about the dangers of rising sea levels due to climate change and ice caps melting. (Courtesy Olivia Greeley) |
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