Lately, documentaries on the Earth’s environmental issues seem to be as popular as puffy shouldered dresses at my Grade 8 Grad. And just like at my grad, Leonardo DiCaprio is as popular as ever. But this time I really like him too, not just the girls. DiCaprio has made his own Environmental Documentary due out at the Cannes Film Festival next month called 11th Hour.
The actor co-produced and narrated the feature-length film which examines the state of the global environment and discusses solutions to combat the earth’s problems.
The documentary will highlight how fragile our planet is following a recent spate of natural disasters and the human contribution to global warming.
DiCaprio said: “Global warming is not only the number one environmental challenge we face today, but one of the most important issues facing all of humanity. We all have to do our part to raise awareness about global warming and the problems we as a people face in promoting a sustainable environmental future for our planet.”
I don’t have a problem with celebrities having opinions. Not at all. Opinions are like bellybuttons – everyone has one. But I do have a lot of respect for someone who has an opinion putting for the effort to create a documentary to express them.
But the popularity of these recent documentaries created by politicians and celebrities alike are the RIGHT way to have your opinion heard. Have it backed up by qualified professionals and illustrated on film by professionals.
P.S.
It’s not just fear. There’s a lot of prestige and money at stake. When someone promotes the global warming alarmist narative, they get promoted as someone who’s sacrificing their time and using their fame to save us from ourselves. They get on the cover of magazines like Vanity Fair.
RE: “Even if “your side” is right, is there any harm in NOT POLLUTING? Or educating people to NOT POLLUTE?”
Redney:
I don’t disagree that we should take better care of the environment, and whenever possible reduce the amount of waste we put into the air, the water, and bury in the ground. I don’t like breating dirty air, and I’m trying to do my part. I’ve applied for a position closer to where I live so I can ride a bicycle to work instead of driving.
But I’m afraid that the media obsession with global warming is distracting us from REAL invironmental problems. I’ve already mentioned one example…the fact that the size of our population is exceeding America’s carrying capacity. And to the extent that someone wants to be an environmental crusader, there are plenty of real issues.
Not far from where I live there’s a place called the Salton Sea, a salty inland lake that is one of the few remaining places in the West for many migratory birds to stop at during their journeys. This lake is dying (becomming saltier) because it isn’t getting enough water. When it becomes to salty to support the fish living in it, we will probably see some bird species go extinct. But this story is not making it into the news and it’s not going to be a cause celb at any film festival.
This is just one of the many REAL environmental issues that is being ignored, while everyone panics about something that has happned to the Earth thousands or times before, and will happen thousands of times after we’re gone (warming).
In terms of peopl whether or not people are afraid to come out against the alarmist narative, the fact is that there are various dogmas that become entrenched in various communities, and people who buck those dogmas can get punished, even if they’re right.
I have a little experience as an science teacher, and can tell you that when I first became a teacher, phonics was a bad word. In many districts, only elementary teachers who had tenure would use phonics, because those without tenure risked getting fired. I’m not making that up.
The global warming alarmist narative has become such a dogma in many places, even if the majority of climatologists and meteorologists are saying, “wait a minute, the data doesn’t exactly say that.”
I be
So Ted, you amount the lack of opposition to fear?
Even if “your side” is right, is there any harm in NOT POLLUTING? Or educating people to NOT POLLUTE?
Lots of celebrities speak out against religion and politics and dont take any of your above suggestions into consideration. I still see no reason why these people who speak out against a plethora of controversial topics, yet THIS one is taboo?
I dont buy that for a second.
Rodney:
Here are some reasons why there are no celebrities making movies that contridict global warming alarmism:
1. Real Science is Boring?
I think the answer to that lies in the fact that these Celebrities are in the business of DRAMA, and most dramas involve overcoming some crisis.
The idea that humans are destroying the planet and that the planet can only be saved by a small, valient group willing to “speak truth to power” makes for some great drama.
Explaining that the planet dramatically warms about every 1400 years (give or take a few centuries), and that during human history it has been frequently warmer than it is today has no drama. Nobody wants to produce or narate the equivelent of a 9th grade science lecture.
2. Don’t Sh** where you Eat.
Global Warming has become a quasi-religion and the alarmists have adopted a fundamentalist attitude. Explaining that there is nothing abnormal about current warming trends to an alarmist is like explaining why gays SHOULD be allowed to marry (my opinion) to a Jerry Falwell.
Since Hollywood and most of the media have bought into the alarmist narative, Making such a documentary could be very harmful to the career of an actor or director. Why would someone ruin their career to make a documentary or advance a position that will not be distributed.
3. Everyone Loves a Savior
You can’t be a savior if there isn’t someting to save people from, preferably one that is simple enough for people to grasp and believe in. In order to be a hero, there needs to be a crisis that you are “bravely” sacrificing your time to battle. Human made global warming is a great crisis because its simple and easy to understand.
Don’t get me wrong, I think there are envoronmental crisis facing America and the world. Population is the main one. In my lifetime America’s population har jumped from 200 Million to 300 Million. We HAVE exceeded the long term carrying capacity of our country. The evidence for this can be seen in the damage to aquifers (because we’ve removed tooo much water) and the rate ate which we are turning farmland into housing tracts.
But to combat the made up crisis, you have to be against SUVs…very heroic. To fight the real crisis, you have to say no more people…not very heroic.
Why are there no celebrities making documentaries making documents arguing against these scientific concepts you are so convinced are not accurate?
As a candidate for an MS degree in Geosciences, I’m a bit put off by all the celebrities and polititians jumping on the global warming issue without a complete understanding of science behind it.
While some of the global warming alarmists (and documentary makers) claim the science is settled, those of us trudging through it on a day-in-day-out basis are faced with data that is hardly so one sided.
Is the Earth warming? Definitely! Are humans responsible, my meteorology and climatology professors seem to think that, to the degree humans are responsible, it is less than one percent of any change that has taken place. Mostly, they see the current warming as part of a cycle of warming or cooling that the planet is constantly undergoing.
Unfortunately, none of the scientists who study and and work in the issue are given the type of forum to discuss their findings, while celebreties get multiple forums to express their opinions to the world.
Hey 1138, no one here is saying there is no proof or even saying if DiCaprio is right or wrong about this.
The post was about how DiCaprio made a documentary, not whether it is right or wrong.
By the way if one were to see the earth from space, you can actually the the effects of the amount of pollution we put in the air. Nasa personal looking down from the Shuttle or from the space station say it is one of the saddest sights to see from space.
I wish people would stop saying there is no definitive proof. Due to ice samples taken in the the Antarctic, we can see that there has been a steady increase in tempurtures dating back from the beginning of the industrial revolution. 99.00 of scientists agree that the world is warming artificially and the only detractors are the car and oil industries and the usual nuts like Crighton and George Bush and his lowly staff of right wing scientists who spend millions on erasing valuable environmental data. If you doubt the affects humanity has on the environment, come to New York and swim in the Hudson or better yet have a can of Tuna every day for the rest of your life, or live next to one of our electrical plants in long Island. Better yet move your car into your house and let it run with the windows closed for a couple of hours.If Mankind which has the soiled the environment since the beginning of our evolution, from the animals to our rivers to even ourselves…well how can one not believe we have contributed to Global tempurture change?
Rodney-
Sorry I forgot to mention he financed the picture (a.k.a. co-producer).
Mike, “The actor co-produced and narrated the feature-length film”
He did more than just narrate. This is his project.
I’m pretty sure Leonardo did nothing but narrate this documentary. As for global warming, yes it is real and its happening, but I am still not convinced that it is caused by man and cow alike and not naturally induced as part of a cycle of changing climate that has been happening for billions and billions of years. Their is no definitive truth to either side so until then I’ll take a nap on these documentaries and this issue.
Fritzilla, I detect a lot of sarcasm in your comment.
I can see how a politician can benefit from this. Al Gore has been dragging An Inconvenient Truth all over the US for a while now. And the guy who used to be the butt of the joke is now someone who could win the presidency in a heartbeat.
But I see no agenda for DiCaprio making a documentary. Its simply a message he wants to share. And he used his own money to do it. I say good on him. This is much more respectable than going on Oprah and pretending you are a psychologist or expert on modern medicine when all you are is an actor.
I too think it’s a great idea for rich celebrities (along with rich politicians) to put out scientific documentaries. They are the most likely to know what they are talking about and have no agenda at all.
It’s not that I have a problem with these documentaries, on the contrary, I think the environment is an issue that needs attention but this has been done! The money and effort spent beating the message to death a little further could be spent on something else like maybe upgrading old structures to be more environmentally sound, doing more research, providing grants for people that want to but can’t afford to buy environmentally friendly cars, building alternative fuel gas stations and the list goes on and on and on.
Good for DiCaprio that he’s stepping up to the plate and the truth is, he was one of the first to jump into the eco-friendly wagon when he purchased a Prius before anyone knew what the hell they were all about.
With all that said, I still don’t think another documentary is the best way to do something about the problem.