Last week, I hosted a documentary screening event on behalf of National Geographic called “Before The Flood.” Directed by Fisher Stevens, this documentary follows Leonardo DiCaprio on a three-year journey around the world to highlight the numerous impacts made by climate change. During this journey, DiCaprio meets with a number of key influencers including Elon Musk, Pope Francis and President Barack Obama to further prove the need to understand climate science and to urgently take action.
I felt honored to host such an important event, as climate change is one of the biggest issues of our time. After the screening, I moderated a small panel discussion and listened in on what other students had to contribute. Many had traveled in different parts of the world and had seen horrific disasters and living conditions from the impacts of climate change. Other students offered hope and optimism to the issue by elaborating on the many ways to get involved at a local or global level. The discussion was eye opening and more valuable than I could have ever hoped for it to be.
I believe every student gained a greater understanding of climate change that night and I hope they all begin to take action. We can change the direction we are headed if we all make the effort to do so. The problem though, is that many feel overwhelmed by this issue and want to sweep it under the rug and save it for later. This issue is not going away. It is growing in size and strength and the longer we wait, the more difficult the road ahead will be.
I’m not saying everyone needs to become a scientist. That’s not it at all. I’m saying we need to open our eyes to the changes around us and take a little bit of time to understand what we are being faced with and what we can do to stop it. Until November 6, “Before The Flood” can be streamed for free on any National Geographic streaming platform. So grab a bucket of Halloween candy, have a seat and make a difference to the planet. Because let’s face it, Halloween can be pretty spooky, but nothing is scarier than climate change.
