The journey
Leonardo next visits Sumatra, the last place on Earth that still has elephants, rhinos, orangutans and tigers living together in the wild. Like the oceans, the world’s remaining rainforests act as a sponge for carbon emissions. Reefs, as we know them, may disappear due to the pressure we are putting on the systems. The oceans absorb most of our carbon emissions and the extra heat created by climate change. One billion people depend on the fisheries from coral reefs for their diet and livelihoods, and these coastal systems have been plunged into turmoil due to the massive amounts of carbon emissions absorbed by the oceans. In a submarine expedition Leonardo and Marine Biologist Jeremy Jackson talk about the severity of the dying coral reefs. Despite contributing the least to the causes of climate change, the people of the island nations are already the first to suffer the brunt of its effects. Here they see first hand the plight of the small island nations, which face an uncertain future due to rising sea levels and declining coastal ecosystems. The team’s journey takes them to the South Pacific where Leonardo meets with Anote Tong, the President of Kiribati, and H.E.
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Many believe the cheapest way to do that is by using more coal, even though it will make climate change in the region worse. One of India’s biggest priorities is development and bringing people out of energy poverty. 300 million people are without power or light in India, close to the entire population of the United States. Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment discusses the country’s struggle with massive power shortages and rolling blackouts. Leonardo visits India, the world’s third largest emitter of carbon emissions. China hopes to be an example of the rest of the world by prioritizing wind and solar over coal for their growing population. Environmental issues have become the biggest reason for mass demonstrations in China. Millions of people downstream from this pollution cannot go outside without facemasks to protect their lungs. Ma Jun calls China the factory of the world, with thousands of factories that pump pollution into the air. Leonardo visits China and speaks with Ma Jun, Founding Director of the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs. Despite needing real solutions, climate change is a politically charged topic in Florida, with a governor who believes climate change is a “hoax” and tried to make the use of the term illegal. This expensive project is an attempt to buy Florida another 50 years, at most.
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Leonardo visits Miami Beach, Florida, where Mayor Phillip Levine talks about the current $400 million infrastructure project meant to keep the rising waters at bay. Sunny Day Flooding Florida, USAĬoastal areas are most susceptible to being washed away from rising sea levels. If it stops working it will disrupt weather patterns and make floods and droughts more catastrophic.
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The Arctic is like the “air conditioner” for the Northern Hemisphere.
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Climatologist Jason Box describes how more than 30 feet of solid ice has melted in just the past two decades, contributing to extreme sea level rise. Leonardo travels to the forbidding terrain north of the Arctic Circle, first to Canada’s Baffin Island and then to Kangerlussuag, Greenland, where rapid ice melts provide startling evidence of how quickly the climate is changing. Here Leonardo discusses with Marc Mageau, SVP of Oil Sands Operations, the risky and extreme means of production now being used to sustain our global addiction to fossil fuels. The second destination is the Great Canadian Oil Sands in northeastern Alberta, Canada, where Suncor Energy produces 350,000 gallons of synthetic crude oil through a process that emits greenhouse gases and wreaks havoc on local ecosystems. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon discuss climate change and the extreme weather patterns already being experienced all over the world. Leonardo has just accepted the United Nations title of Messenger of Peace for the Climate and he addresses one of the largest assemblies of world leaders in history. The film opens in New York City on the occasion of the 2014 Climate Leaders Summit. Below are a few of the places they visited, what they saw, and what the experts there say about current impacts and what we can do to avoid catastrophic climate change on a global level. In Before the Flood, Leonardo DiCaprio and his team travel across the globe to witness first hand the devastating effects of climate change and what can be done to stop them.