What We Get Wrong About Climate Change
Amongst all the major themes of the day, possibly one of the most prominent is Climate Change. It is also one of the most misunderstood concept of them all! A number of people argue that climate change isn’t real because winter is still a season. People cannot connect to the melting ice caps because it isn’t happening right in front of our eyes. Some merely quote evolution as the reason we need not act. People believe that the Earth has changed many times and it will continue to do so, this is just the evolutionary process. There are more myths in circulation than facts about Climate Change and all that is doing is slowing down our reaction time.
At Ripple Effect Artists, not only do we produce theatre that affects change but we are actively engaged in learning. Today, we want to share some things we got wrong about Climate change, How we educated ourselves and What we did about it!
What we Got Wrong About Climate Change
Well, a number of things! We did not appreciate that the Earth’s temperature has risen by 1.2 degree Celsius since the late 19th Century. We were under the impression that it was over 5 degrees! The exact number is a relief to a certain extent but it is still a cause for alarm as it is manifesting itself as drought in certain parts and floods in others. We were under the impression that renewable energy is extremely expensive and requires a lot of investment and were as surprised as you will be to learn that, it is one of the cheapest options available today.
How We Educated Ourselves About Climate Change?
The best thing to do is to start small and start simple. In that regard my favorite source is NASA Climate Kids. You can find the simplest and easy to understand explanations on that website. What is better is, that you can educate yourself enough to speak to children about it as well as learn simple ways in which to explain it to other people. Once you have the basics of the climate change concepts, you should check out this page of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC was set up by the United Nations to investigate the science behind Climate Change. For a geological perspective check out the website of The Geological Society where they set out the facts and risks of Climate Change. A further interesting source to explore is the website of the The UK Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences where the two countries often issue a joint statement on matters pertaining to Climate Change.
What We Did About Climate Change
In the last year when we were all shut in due to Covid and live performance were indefinitely postponed, we decided to tackle this very theme. We made a movie called Here Comes Freida which is set in a world devastated by Climate Change. When we conceptualized the movie and finalized the scrip we weren’t aware of the cultural phenomenon it would become. Freida has over a 100k views on DUST and it shows no signs of stopping! We even had a private screening at a Big Tech firm where we discussed the impact of climate change with an enraptured audience and took a big leap in furthering our mission. Here Comes Freida has been to 12 film festivals globally this year and we could not be prouder that our message of a climate impacted dystopian world has gone so far.
In conclusion, no one knows everything and we are all learning as we go along but it does help to stay in touch and reflect so we can be a part of the solution.
