Leonardo Di Caprio has won the Oscar for Best Actor in the move The Revenant.
The actor is a passionate environmentalist and used his acceptance speech to highlight the dangers of climate change, saying that 2015 was the hottest year on record. You can watch his speech shared by the UN Climate Change’s Twitter account here
He asked all those watching - on average 36 million viewers worldwide - to support those leaders who stand up to big polluters and instead, support indigenous people and the millions living in poverty.
Leonardo Di Caprio stands against the politics of greed because the selfishness of big polluters is threatening the rest of the world’s well-being and future.
The United Nations is taking action on world climate change, warning that the world’s temperature is climbing faster than the two degrees per year agreed upon by the international community.
If the world’s temperature continues rising due to the greenhouse effect, climate change will affect everyone. There are already more extreme weather changes; the UK is warmer; droughts are constantly threatening African nations; and flash floods happen all through Europe due to changes in the micro-climate.
The greenhouse effect occurs when fossil fuels like oil and natural gas are burned by large industries, cars and power generators. They send polluting emissions into the atmosphere. These rise into the ozone layer and eat away at it, letting in radiation from the sun and damaging our skin while increasing the temperature around the Earth.
When the temperature around the Earth rises by more than two degrees per year, the snow in the Antartic melts, and the water moves into the world’s seas and oceans. This increases the sea levels and causes more climate changes in each country, such as more intense rain and flooding in monsoon areas in Asia.
Health, Social damages
Skin cancer is increasing, especially in hot countries like Australia.
Countries like Cyprus are seeing less water in their dams, leading to more health threats due to droughts.
Desertification in the Middle East is increasing the dust storms which come as far as our island and are rising in frequency. The dust clouds cause asthma and breathing problems, affecting children and the vulnerable groups like the elderly and those with existing health problems.
The dust storms also decrease productivity, most outdoor workers are told to stay indoors when they hit the island.
Bottom line? Climate change is real and it can be slowed if everyone takes responsibility.
The Electricity Authority of Cyprus needs to buy cleaner fuel than Mazut crude oil, which is considered to be the most polluting fuel in the world. Cyprus pays millions in fines due to excess emissions because of the fuel used to generate electricity.
Consumers need to buy cars which reduce emissions and increase their purchases of hybrids and electrical cars where possible.
There’s a lot we can do as individuals, because if we don’t take this personally, nobody else will - including those we put in positions of government power.
Below are visual projections of how the iconic city of New York will look after a four-degree increase in the global temperature, triggering higher sea levels.
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