Reflection Paper on Global Warming
Rising sea levels that threaten coastal cities and islands, killer storms that cause billions in damage, massive crop failures that threaten hunger and drive up global food prices, extinction of species and the destruction of coral reefs; these are just a few of the harsh consequences of runaway global warming. These threats are painted starkly in the movie, Before the Flood, as well as in Bill McKibben 's articles "Global Warming 's Terrifying New Math" and "How Close to Catastrophe". Both a warning that we may be too close to the precipice to reverse our course and a call to action to keep trying, these films brought me out of my comfort zone and forced me to confront the realities of our current …show more content…
It 's not like I didn’t know that climate change existed. On the contrary, I had heard quite a bit about it. Unfortunately, like many of my fellow Americans, I just didn’t have the time to care. We 're all just too busy to pay attention to something unless we can receive immediate gratification from it. Who has the time to read articles about terrifying math and catastrophe when we 're all struggling just to make it through the day with enough time left to watch The Walking Dead before shambling to bed to collapse in preparation for tomorrow? For that matter, what does DiCaprio even know about climate change anyway? He 's not a scientist, though he does play one on screen. Well, he plays a Messenger of Peace, but he does so quite convincingly. Why should I pay attention to this, when I need to post another picture of my dog on Facebook? Isn’t it the government 's job to fix this in any case? In the meantime, the average person is more than happy to be occupied with pleasant, if meaningless, …show more content…
How do we engage the average citizen? McKibben has a powerful voice, but despite the fact that he writes for Rolling Stone, I don’t know him from Adam. Leonardo DiCaprio, on the other hand, now he 's someone. Earlier I raised the question of why I should listen to him. Now I will answer it. Star power. This is the guy who saved Kate Winslet in Titanic and gets mauled by a grizzly bear in The Revenant and lives to tell about it. People know him and respect him. Certain individuals will be swayed by his opinion simply due to his status. Is that shallow? Maybe, but clearly the producers of the film understood that and sought to capitalize on it. I have no problem with that. Personally, I started out mocking him in Before the Flood. While I like his work, at the end of the day he 's just an actor. Why should I take his opinion seriously? But somewhere along the way, his commitment to the cause, his three year journey, and the power of the devastation that he was showing overcame my initial skepticism. The film opened my eyes, and if it worked for me then perhaps it will persuade others. I 'll be darned if Leonardo isn’t onto
Rising sea levels that threaten coastal cities and islands, killer storms that cause billions in damage, massive crop failures that threaten hunger and drive up global food prices, extinction of species and the destruction of coral reefs; these are just a few of the harsh consequences of runaway global warming. These threats are painted starkly in the movie, Before the Flood, as well as in Bill McKibben 's articles "Global Warming 's Terrifying New Math" and "How Close to Catastrophe". Both a warning that we may be too close to the precipice to reverse our course and a call to action to keep trying, these films brought me out of my comfort zone and forced me to confront the realities of our current …show more content…
It 's not like I didn’t know that climate change existed. On the contrary, I had heard quite a bit about it. Unfortunately, like many of my fellow Americans, I just didn’t have the time to care. We 're all just too busy to pay attention to something unless we can receive immediate gratification from it. Who has the time to read articles about terrifying math and catastrophe when we 're all struggling just to make it through the day with enough time left to watch The Walking Dead before shambling to bed to collapse in preparation for tomorrow? For that matter, what does DiCaprio even know about climate change anyway? He 's not a scientist, though he does play one on screen. Well, he plays a Messenger of Peace, but he does so quite convincingly. Why should I pay attention to this, when I need to post another picture of my dog on Facebook? Isn’t it the government 's job to fix this in any case? In the meantime, the average person is more than happy to be occupied with pleasant, if meaningless, …show more content…
How do we engage the average citizen? McKibben has a powerful voice, but despite the fact that he writes for Rolling Stone, I don’t know him from Adam. Leonardo DiCaprio, on the other hand, now he 's someone. Earlier I raised the question of why I should listen to him. Now I will answer it. Star power. This is the guy who saved Kate Winslet in Titanic and gets mauled by a grizzly bear in The Revenant and lives to tell about it. People know him and respect him. Certain individuals will be swayed by his opinion simply due to his status. Is that shallow? Maybe, but clearly the producers of the film understood that and sought to capitalize on it. I have no problem with that. Personally, I started out mocking him in Before the Flood. While I like his work, at the end of the day he 's just an actor. Why should I take his opinion seriously? But somewhere along the way, his commitment to the cause, his three year journey, and the power of the devastation that he was showing overcame my initial skepticism. The film opened my eyes, and if it worked for me then perhaps it will persuade others. I 'll be darned if Leonardo isn’t onto