I was
first introduced to the painting ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’ by Hieronymus
Bosch in the documentary ‘Before the Flood’, Leonardo DiCaprio and Fisher
Stevens. The painting consists of three panels, each portraying a different
stage of human interaction with Earth. The first panel is Adam and Eve,
surrounded by lush greenery and plentiful creatures. The second shows
overpopulation and poor use of resources. As a viewer, it feels uncomfortable
to look at due to the seemingly chaotic setting. The third and final panel is a
burnt landscape overrun by fire and smog. It looks like Satan’s home.
Although
this piece of art is just that, there is a reality behind it that is increasingly
threatening to our world daily. This issue is commonly known as Global Warming
or Climate Change. It is a man-made problem that many people refuse to believe
in, despite the scientific evidence surrounding it. Climate change is the cause
of carbon emissions (from fossil fuels in America mainly) being released into
the atmosphere, thus resulting in a rise in air temperature as these gasses
cannot be discharged into space. The outcome of this is masses of ice melting,
sizeable flooding and drastic weather conditions. Hurricane Katrina tore
through Florida in 2005, killing many people and causing billions of dollars in
damage. (‘An Inconvenient Truth’, 0.25.46.) This is just one example of the extreme
natural disasters occurring over the entire planet today. “The ten hottest
years on record have all occurred in the last fourteen years.” (‘An
Inconvenient Truth’, 0.28.54.) Due to human use of fossil fuels consistently increasing,
we are putting ourselves and our planet in a position that we may not be able
to reverse in years to come. “In 2040, you will be able to sail over the North
Pole” (‘Before the Flood’, 0.15.02.) The astounding part about this issue is
that politicians refuse to admit climate change is legit, because they are
large recipients of fossil fuel money. Any American bill that would deal with
this problem cannot be passed because congress is made up of 131 individuals
who earn money through companies that contribute heavily to the core issue. (‘Before
the Flood, 0.27.21.’)
Basically,
the American government won’t acknowledge or positively impact global warming
because they don’t feel as though they have to right now. However, the
government always rally behind the majority of what the people want. Everyone
can make simple changes to daily life that will make a phenomenal impact to
improve the wellbeing of our planet, cutting back on beef consumption for
example. The beef industry is a fairly large contributor to carbon emissions
and this is because raising cattle at the rate people eat it is one of the most
inefficient uses of resources on the planet. Cattle produce a powerful
greenhouse gas called methane (CH4) through their waste which, when released at
the current scale, is having a substantial negative result on our environment. Every
molecule of methane is equivalent to twenty-three molecules of carbon dioxide
(CO2), so although there is more CO2 in the atmosphere, CH4 is more toxic. Not
only are the gas emissions from cattle stock a problem, but a vast amount of
the Amazon rainforest has been cut down in order to grow cattle feed. “In the U.S.
47% of land is used for food production. 70% of that is just to grow feed for
cattle … fruit, vegetables, nuts, is a percent (1%).” (‘Before the Flood’,
0.51.40.) This shows that we must cut back on beef consumption because not only
would we reduce the amount of methane being released into the air, we could use
all that land to feed more people. It does not seem debatable. Of course we
would choose whatever feeds more individuals, right? Well, because so many
people (mainly in America) eat beef, companies are making huge profits from us,
therefore they can afford to continue this unethical cycle.
Another
way we can fight climate change is by cutting back on our consumption of palm
oil. This ingredient is often found in packaged foods and cosmetics because it
is the cheapest vegetable oil in the world to grow and harvest. Many people unknowingly
purchase palm oil in products and never take notice of where it comes from,
when in fact the simple production of palm oil is destroying environments in Sumatra,
Indonesia. The South East rainforest is being intentionally set alight to provide
land for palm oil plantations. In 2015 a single forest fire would produce more
carbon than all of the U.S. economy daily. (‘Before the Flood’, 0.48.49.) Not
only does this release an astonishing amount of CO2 into the air, it destroys
the habitats of many wild animals. It is the only place on Earth where tiger,
elephant, orangutan, and rhinoceros can be found together in the wild. If this immense
destruction continues, we will loose these animals and their homes. “The
expansion of palm oil industry in Indonesia has taken over about 80% of our
forests.” (‘Before the Flood’, 0.48.26.)
“While 98
percent of scientists are in firm agreement that human activity is the clear
cause, well-funded groups persist in calling this a debate.” (Mirzoeff, 218.) It
is absurd how this worldwide issue is constantly being avoided, yet the facts
are clear. Thankfully there are people out there like DiCaprio and Bosch who
have used their status to bring attention to climate change and the problems we
face, not just for this generation but the future generations to come. Banksy, a
famous street artist, is also known for bringing global concerns to light
through his artwork (an example featured below). It is unfortunate that people
overlook global warming, when all we need to do in hope of bettering our planet
can be as simple a few dietary changes. We, as a species, are currently living
in that second panel of ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’. We are taking the way
we shape our world for granted, and continuously abusing and overpopulating our
surroundings. The human race needs to wake up and think about whether Earth should
be returned to the state it was once in, or if we continue toward the path of
the third and final panel. But ultimately, it is up to us.
Works
Cited:
An Inconvenient Truth. Directed by Davis Guggenheim,
performance by Al Gore, Paramount Classics, 2006.
Before the Flood. Leonardo DiCaprio,
Fisher Stevens, performance by Leonardo DiCaprio, National Geographic, 2016.
Mirzeoff,
Nicholas. How to See the World.
Pelican Books, 2015.
