JERSEY CITY, N.J.—You won’t miss the message if you’re driving the Pulaski Skyway, the Jersey Turnpike or flying in or out of Newark Airport at night: a collection of eight-foot-high, glaring-red neon letters beaming into the darkness: “IT IS GREEN THINKS NATURE EVEN IN THE DARK.”

A little confusing? Yes, but that’s the point of the public art piece, titled indestructible language, which is perched atop the five former American Can Co. warehouses in Jersey City, N.J. The artwork is the inaugural project for the Precipice Alliance, a new arts organization aimed at increasing public awareness of global warming.

“It’s provocative and slightly mysterious, and that’s intentional,” said Donna Wingate, who co-founded the alliance with the artist Joel Sternfeld in June. Wingate collaborated with New York-based conceptual artist Mary Ellen Carroll for the first project.

Wingate, whose background is in art publishing, said she and Sternfeld started the Precipice Alliance after Sternfeld attended a United Nations conference on climate change in Montreal.

“It really dawned on him that it was such a critical issue, that we’re facing an important environmental crisis,” she said. “Both of our backgrounds are in art, so we decided this is an arena in which we could make a difference.”

Wingate said the group already has gained sponsorship from several businesses, including design firm 2x4. A roster of artists, including Alexis Rockman and Gabriel Orozco, also have shown interest in creating pieces.

But don’t expect public art projects alone. Wingate said there will be an educational component linked to each one. For indestructible language, the Precipice Alliance is producing a short film that presents the facts about climate change and conservation, as well as information about the mission and making of the artwork, which uses energy-efficient materials. 

Students from selected high schools will be able to see the film at the Jersey City Museum, and a one-time screening will be open to the public, although the date hasn't been announced.

Wingate added that the Precipice Alliance also is embarking on an aggressive public relations campaign that includes print, radio and television.

“The artwork is never the message,” she said. “It’s not simple or didactic; it’s exhibited as a work of art. The education is a call to action.”

And creating environmental art isn’t just a way to keep up with trends, Wingate added. It’s a responsibility.

“It’s really important for all cultural arenas—fashion and music, too—to come together for this cause; it’s not [visual] art alone,” she said. “These are the areas of media that will effect mass change.”