“If we do not act together we will surely perish”
Speak for Terra Firma
Humans have lived on this Earth for thousands of years with life dating back millions of years to the Earth’s inception. Over time and overpopulation of our humble home, Earth is slowly being drained of the natural resources it has left. On top of that problem, humankind is polluting the surface and creating waste that is harmful to the balance of the delicate ecosystem. Awareness has always been an issue with many people trying to get the rest of the world to notice with no avail. A decent number of politicians shy away from the idea that global warming and environmental problems are even real, which makes the battle to prevent it harder. One man though, has made it his mission to bring attention to the problem at hand and use his worldwide fame as a vehicle to achieve that goal.
Leonardo DiCaprio is an Academy Award winning actor who has starred in a plethora of Hollywood movies, and with his success he brings awareness. DiCaprio goes beyond the superficial speeches upon receiving awards to touch upon important climate change and why we need to stop looking away from the obvious signs. Ever since Leonardo was a little kid he stated that “environmental issues have sparked my interest.” He wants to bring attention to the important topics and wants everyone to realize that if we work together then change can be possible.
In 1998 at the White House DiCaprio met with strong environmentalist, Al Gore, who is widely known for his position in promoting climate change. DiCaprio stated that Gore had drew a picture of the Earth and started talking about how people can get involved with environmental issues and thus this sparked DiCaprio to set up his own foundation and expand his part in climate activism. He instituted The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) in 1998. Over the years his foundation has funded over 200 projects, 132 organizations supported, and vast awareness in 50 countries. His foundation goals are to restore the unbalanced ecosystems, protecting the world’s last wild areas, and making sure the state of Earth is stable. DiCaprio later became a part of various organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, Global Green USA, and the International Fund of Animal Welfare.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s transformational journey began while filming The Revenant, a film set in the frigid wilderness. While filming in Canada and South America, the scenery gave him a different perspective about nature and climate change. The crew filmed in “record breaking temperatures” connected to climate change and the weather conditions kept changing. They needed to film where snow was but it kept melting so fast they had to travel to the southern tip of Argentina to complete filming. Through these transformative moments, it acted as a call to action for DiCaprio and marked the true point of decision.
February 26, 2016 marked a huge day for DiCaprio as he had finally been awarded an Oscar for best actor in his film The Revenant. Through the years he had been nominated but never won an Oscar until that day, and it became the talk of the night. As he accepted the award and gave his speech, the main point was that he addressed the importance of climate change. In the spotlight with millions across America watching he stated “Climate change is real. It is happening right now, it is the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.” His speech resonated into everyone’s ears that night and it would soon leave the audience with a lingering thought on how our Earth is changing and what part we play.
Whilst filming in the vast expanses of nature, DiCaprio took a look at the beauty and realized that the problem only grows and has no intention of stopping unless we, the people standing on this Earth change our ways. Witnessing nature so undisturbed by humans acted as a catalyst to truly open DiCaprio’s eyes and it encouraged him to step up to the plate.
Upon his newfound knowledge, DiCaprio took it upon himself to enable others by speaking up against stronger odds. His goal was to ensure that the politicians and decision makers of the world would hear the plea of our Earth and turn their gaze to the ever present dilemma. Within the hero’s journey, there is struggle and obstacles that are to be dealt with. Nothing comes easy for the hero, so they are forced to overcome and become a stronger person because of it. This is the stage of transformation and leads to atonement.
In this case, DiCaprio achieves atonement through the documentary Before the Flood presented by National Geographic. This film aims to touch the minds of viewers all across the world and show them the crisis at hand. Although the changes are not blatantly obvious, there is no reason to ignore the truth. DiCaprio spends much of the documentary speaking to scientists, experts, and world leaders about the problems and possible solutions, and this is his victory. His gift enables us to move and create a call to action so that we may embark on our own journeys. Through his three year long expedition, DiCaprio captures the various aspects of the globe where change was approaching.
“You are the last, best hope of Earth. We ask you to protect it. Or we, and all living things we cherish, are history.” -addressed to United Nations in 2016
Many people would have not even thought that DiCaprio would play such a prominent role in global climate change. Even though he is one of the most illustrious actors in Hollywood, his position as the United Nations Messenger of Peace, designated in 2014 distinguished himself as a person. Having this position presented by the United Nations is a title given to “distinguished individuals carefully selected from the fields of art, music, literature, and sports who have agreed to help focus on the worldwide attention on the work of the United Nations.”
(Leonardo’s speech at the Climate Summit 2014)
“I am not a scientist, but I don’t need to be. Because the world’s scientific community has spoken, and they have given us our prognosis, if we do not act together, we will surely perish. Now is our moment for action.” — DiCaprio spoken at Climate Summit 2014
Leonardo spoke this quote above and he wants people to realize that this is a living growing matter and that we humans are all connected, so we should all help in making our living Earth sustainable.
People might wonder if DiCaprio would get such criticism for his role in climate change and the answer would be yes. Criticisms ranged from the actor receiving negative comments on how there should be a smaller carbon footprint on the world, but people bash him for leaving such a large carbon footprint himself. Some people even state that Leonardo should step down from his position as UN Messenger of Peace as well. But through all the negative feedback, DiCaprio does what he believes is right. And that is to spread awareness that our home, Earth, is a special place and we should come together as one to make our world more green.
“As we progress into the 21st century, anyone who considers themselves realists will have to make the environment a top priority. The truth is our planet’s alarm is now going off, and it’s time to finally wake up and take action. Thank you.” -DiCaprio (statement made as Earth Day Chairman 2000)
