While we don't intend on sending anyone scurrying out to Santa Monica with tape measures or rulers or sextants or astrolabes or any other measurement-based device, we will say this: The Pacific Wheel, the LED-lovely Ferris wheel at Santa Monica Pier, is very, very ocean-adjacent.
And that "the world's only solar-powered Ferris wheel" glows each night, courtesy of 174,000 powerful LED lights, makes the giant wheel something of an illuminated beacon, a message from those on land to those out in the Pacific, if those residents of the ocean happen to be looking in our terrestrial direction.
And if the whales and sharks and gulls happen to catch sight of Santa Monica Pier on the evening of Saturday, April 22, they'll see this: A Ferris wheel that's become a beacon for all earthlings, by taking on a green hue in honor of Earth Day.
Green won't be the sole color or sight on the side of the see-it-from-afar attraction; a "...variety of patterns, designs and icons for Earth Day" will also pay homage to the planet the Ferris wheel is located upon, and everyone seeing the Ferris wheel, too. (Spoiler alert: It's all the same planet.)
The April 22 show will last from sunset-ish — so, about a minute or so past 7:30 — to midnight. If you're not in the neck of the pier, or even Santa Monica, you can watch online. You'll find the Pacific Wheel's dedicated camera under the Pacific Park's "View Our Live Cams" section.
It's a camera that's been catching a lot of lively nods to the occasion in the last year, ever since the Pacific Wheel underwent a major refurbishment in the spring of 2016, bringing updated tech whizbangery and new lights and pattern-making abilities to the famous ride.
We already mentioned that this is "the world's only solar-powered Ferris wheel," yes? We did? Well, for Earth Day, we'll be glad to mention that twice.
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So will an ocean denizen, say a whale or a seal, see the glittery green Ferris wheel on Earth Day, from their watery home?
Maybe, maybe not, but we non-ocean revelers will recognize that the land-meets-water beacon o' green as a positive message for all who call our planet home. So, yes: That's all of us.
