We are deeply affected by it, yet we fail to notice its imminence: global warming. The state of the Earth is worsening every single day, but we only notice the effects of our environmental disregard through anecdotes on the media or through abstract data covered on detached scientific reports. People, thus, dismiss the issue with the wave of a hand because it does not affect them directly. But climate change is real, it is here, and it is a threat to all of us. The Natural Resources Defense Council organized a Climate March on September 21st, 2014- two days before a world leader UN Climate Summit- as a response to this threat. Their advertisement instills a sense of urgency in all who rest eyes upon it, asserting that change must occur now in order to save the Earth.
The NRDC’s advertisement turns New York into an eerie flood plain, reminiscent of the setting of Noah’s ark and of many other apocalypse stories that have been popularized as movies or books. It is likely that the audience of this advertisement, while waiting for their subway or while walking down the sidewalk, related their current life in New York to what it could become: an apocalyptic wasteland ravaged by the sea. According to a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the oceans will rise between 10 and 30 inches by 2100. But the NRDC offers an alternative, namely, to march for stopping global warming “now” instead of “[swimming] later.”
Not only is the setting a rhetorical appeal to action, but the woman in the advertisement is, too. She sports a business suit and a professional bun that pin her as a stereotypical New York businesswoman who may have once overlooked an advertisement for climate change activism while hurrying down the street to her next meeting. The NRDC places her smack in the middle of the turbulent waters, conveying the message that her inaction ultimately rendered her efforts at a more successful life futile. The organization encourages its audience to put the Earth first today so that we may get to bask in our hard-earned success tomorrow.
The futility of the woman’s solitary efforts motivates me the most to unite and make a change. She holds up a lonely sign that begs to “stop climate change,” though the water rising up to her waist shows that it is, clearly, too late. However, it is not too late for all of us who are staring at the advertisement, flabbergasted. Right now is an appropriate time to take action. And the efforts don’t have to be- nay, should not be solitary. The urgent message conveyed by the NRDC is that the only way that we can change everything is if we get everyone, right now.
It is very interesting how you find hope in the futility of the woman’s efforts, as I found the photo as an example of climate change defeatism. You did a good job of explaining your impulse to call for change, however, it does make me wonder what your solution to change would be. While I appreciate that you do not call for vain efforts, such as the relinquishing of plastic straws, I wonder how extreme you feel we must go to help this situation. Overall, I truly appreciate the optimism you find in this often hopeless-seeming situation.