Call this a rant--but hopefully with a relevant point. One of my biggest pet peaves is celebrities choosing to use their celebrity to forward causes. Simply because they have exposure to media outlets and a mass audience they think that they can speak on any topic. A recent example...
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO joined environmentalists to give Americans a pre-Hallowe'en scare on OPRAH WINFREY's chat show in the US yesterday , when he warned about the dangers of global warming.
I'm not saying that global warming is not a problem, but why do celebrities get to spout off to millions of people without carefully considering the implications of what they say. To be fair, DiCaprio was joined by Princeton professor Michael Oppenheimer, a geoscientist, so I'm not questioning the validity of the science, but I am questioning the use of an actor to further a personal cause.
DiCaprio and DR MICHAEL OPPENHEIMER, a professor at Princeton University, attempted to explain the "complicated issue" of global warming, emphasising that America, which boasts five per cent of the world's population, produces 25 per cent of the globe's carbon emissions.
While based on fact, such statements are profoundly misleading and fail to tell the entire story. Global warming IS a complicated issue. Such blatant oversimplification causes overreaction.
Let me make another statement based on sound fact:
America, which boasts 21% per cent of the world's GDP, produces 25 per cent of the globe's carbon emissions.
Doesn't sound as inequitable, does it? Do we want to penalize Americans for generating more pollution simply because they are more productive? Sure, if we can generate less pollution without harming productivity that would be outstanding. But does anyone really want the U.S. to produce only 5% of the world's pollution?
I'm probably overreacting. But it bugs me when fame is equated with knowledge--the ability to entertain is interpreted as an entitlement to take up a cause. I'm a huge fan of pop-culture. I love watching TV and movies, because they entertain me. But, if Leonardo DiCaprio can claim to be an expert on environmental policy simply because he's an entertainer, then I now declare that I can sing. Watch out Broadway...here I come.
Whew, I'm glad I got that off my chest.
