Cyril Joy E.

Luyao ENVILAW K32

11437057

Climate change is happening and its happening fast. Sea levels are rising, ice is
melting, and dangerous weather forms are becoming frequent. Its no coincidence that
there are news reports of horrible flooding and tornadoes. So yes, climate change is
happening and its terrifying. It is actually discussed in the documentary entitled Before
the Flood, which is directed by Oscar-winning Fisher Stevens and produced by
Leonardo DiCaprio. It was stated in the film that DiCaprio was appointed U.N.
Messenger of Peace and then, through voiceover, he wonders if hes the right man for the
job given his lack of science background and pessimistic worldview. Consequently,
DiCaprio spent three years traveling to meet with political leaders, climate and
environmental leaders in order to understand and document the changes and challenges of
climate change. The experts that DiCaprio interviewed did not hesitate on telling the
viewers that the worst is yet to come to our environment. Well, not unless humanity
makes a drastic change in the it produces and consume energy. We can see in the film
how other countries like China and India handles climate change, and we are also getting
an accurate overview of the effects of climate change on communities that could very
well serve as a warning to other countries. India also opened up to the viewers and
showed how they battle with pollution even though their population does not have access
to power.

But Before the Flood doesnt only show how terrible everything is and focus on
discussing the effects of climate change. It also managed to give out solutions, both short-
term and long term. Legalizing Gay Marriage was used as an example. It was pointed out
in the film that public opinion tends to sway political opinion. Obama was against gay
marriage when it wasnt popular but when majority of the country knew about it, it was
approved. With that, the future is truly in the hands of the people. The film presents a
case where climate change is to be solved by politics and technology. Its basically all
about agreements, tax regimes, renewable energy, and conserving food and battery
storage. It was stated at one point in the film that theres no reason we cant solve this
problem in time. Elon Musk would have us believe that technology can do it all, and his
vision and commitment are certainly remarkable. Truth be told, this is actually a
challenge that can only be solved by the rich and the powerful.

The film reminds us that the science is clear on climate change. Climate change is
real, and its scary. Our first line of defense is an informed public. Also, climate change
demands us to take risks, to reimagine sacrifice as opportunity. But if we avoid the
sacrifice bit, we dont really solve the issue and by doing that, we put the environment
that we are in, at risk.

Meanwhile,thedocumentaryofHowieSeverinoentitledClimateJusticeshowedhow
theSaoBrotherstraveledfromItalytoFranceinordertospreadthemessageabout
climatechangeanditseffectstotheenvironmentandthepeople.Theyusedtheirtalentin
paintinginlettingthesocietyknowthatclimatechangehasnotonlyreducedournatural
resourcesithasalsoaffectedthelivesofthepeoplebecauseofthefrequentweather
changes. Agit,thefriendoftheSaoBrotherswhowaskilledbyYolanda,becamean
international symbol of the victims of extreme weather caused by climate change.
However,itwasntonlyAgitwhodiedbecauseofthedrasticchangesofourweather
thousandsofpeoplehavealreadydiedbecauseofthisphenomenon.Thisdocumentary
showedhowpeopleliketheSaoBrothersasksforjusticeandseekactionfromthe
government. President Duterte has recently signed the Paris Agreement on Climate
Change that calls for the reduction of carbon emissions. Philippines is one of the
countrieswhoaregreatlysufferingfromclimatechange.Weshouldworkhandinhand
withtheworldindealingwiththisthreatthatourplanetisfacing.WithourPresident
signingtheagreement,thiswillservesasthestartofourfightagainstclimatechange.
Ourgovernmentshouldnowstarttomanagethenaturalresources andtransformour
communities.