Audacious naysayers continue to revoke the existence of our environmental emergency, perhaps because they can’t really “see” a blatant state of crisis. The masses still have a hard time distinguishing between greenwashed marketing, patchouli-scented sensationalism and cold, hard facts. So, how to pound the message into our heads? It seems the answer is to, well, pound the message into our heads.

New Yorkers have a new showstopper to gawk at near Penn Station. A gigantic 70-feet-tall digital billboard commands immediate attention from passersby who learn upon first glance that atmospheric greenhouse gases are rising by 800 tonnes each second. Deutsche Bank’s Asset Management division and MIT researchers teamed up to erect this pioneered effort of a scientifically sound carbon emissions counter that began its real-time escalation at an existing 3.64 trillion tonnes of greenhouse gases.

There’s no denying this kind of thing is meant to be a shocking, purposeful attempt to make us lift our heads and think a little. Renowned psychologist and Harvard University professor Dan Gilbert explains our reluctance to respond to non-imminent, looming threats like global warming in this 2007 Pop!Cast. Because our brains are well-designed to protect us using fight-or-flight reflexes, they can’t efficiently process something like global warming, which does not have a face, has little emotional influence, isn’t centered in the now, and changes so gradually. Gilbert describes climate change as a “personal, slow and quiet enemy”, and when it’s put this way, the most over-the-top messaging suddenly seems to be nowhere near enough.

The in-your-face public messaging trend has gained momentum since a couple years ago, which has since produced creative, attention-grabbing campaigns from groups like the World Wildlife Fund and Denver Water. From benches to billboards to buses, Sukle Advertising + Design uses white space to urge the “Use Only What You Need” campaign on behalf of Denver Water. Similarly a popular WWF billboard uses natural light and shadow to illustrate the extreme rapidity of rising ocean levels. In regard to sparking curiosity about resource conservation and climate change, these attempts succeed in making it difficult to peel our eyeballs away.

As environmental awareness becomes more important to influencers, we will surely continue to see a growth in visually grandiose expression. Maybe this seemingly excessive messaging style is the first incarnation of many increasingly ostentatious moves to make us finally pay attention.