Stars unite for nature is speaking

Category: International Tags: Celebrities, Nature is Speaking, Stars

We are all familiar with Leonardo DiCaprio’s campaign for saving the environment. He was the poster boy for the Prius and is now a UN Messenger of Peace. His celebrity provides a platform that climate change scientists could only wish for.

Now, a collection of high-profile stars: Julia Roberts, Penelope Cruz, Harrison Ford, Kevin Spacey, Edward Norton and Robert Redford, have leant their voices to a new campaign called Nature Is Speaking.

Coordinated by heavy-hitting NGO Conservation International, the series of poignant short films – shot from the perspective of the elements – are designed to be conversation starters on the message that people are not separate from nature.

In fact we need nature to survive and thrive, not the other way around. It boils down to a simple message: Without natural resources, humans won’t survive.

As The Soil, Edward Norton says “You treat me like dirt.” And it’s true. We do. The soil is a prime example of a natural resource that we have pillaged throughout generations to support ourselves, grow our food, build our homes upon and drain the trace elements from to produce commodities that get us rich.

Harrison Ford, as The Ocean, says, “they poison me then they expect me to feed them – well it doesn’t work that way.”

Now I am not one to be star-struck. In fact I detest the amount of attention given to celebrities’ lives – this energy I feel would be much better spent to raise awareness with people about issues that will impact their lives and that of the people around them.

But despite this, I know that I can’t stop the paparazzi media machine, so if you can’t beat them, why not join them?

If we can harness the influence that celebrities have to change peoples’ behaviour for the better then, you simply have to do what works most efficiently.

Not only have Conservation International pulled in the big name celebrities, but HP has pledged to donate $1 (up to $1 million) for every time someone uses #NatureIsSpeaking on social media platforms.

Lets hope this plethora of stars can, at the very least, spark an interest in the natural resources that we exploit, ruin and often take for granted. Hopefully it will convince a farmer to plant a riparian strip, Coca-Cola to use glass bottles instead of plastic, a supermarket to ban the sale of products that contain palm oil or a new parent to use cloth nappies.

However small each action may seem, on a global scale it makes a true difference. Never before has it been easier for us to spread messages about good behaviour. That’s right, the things we can do to improve the environment we share.

Why not try it yourself? Next time you go onto social media, instead of combing the gossip columns or perusing the internet for something negative to say, try posting about something you have done that has made a positive difference for yourself or other people.

If you must follow celebrities fashion and behaviour, then perhaps take a leaf from the books of those listed above.

Kevin Spacey is The Rainforest