This week in Washington D.C., a Jumbotron will take people on a 20-minute visual tour of the Arctic’s fragile ecosystem, the Amazon’s unique biome and human-caused threats, and Antarctica, the most untouched environment on Earth. The images will cycle for 12 hours a day, for the week of Earth Day 2021. Positioned on the Washington grounds in DC, facing the White House, this call to action was co-created by Sebastian Copeland, Amazon Aid Foundation, Amazon Watch and Artists for Amazonia. Its purpose is to inform civil society, lawmakers, and political advisers on the eve of the Earth Day summit hosted by President Biden, and to send a clear message that global anthropogenic activities are dooming these keystone environments.
Along with Vital Organs, there will also be a piece on Steven Donzinger, the environmental lawyer who was targeted by the oil and gas industry for his defense of indigenous communities, and the institutional cabal that ensured his sentencing. Finally, there is a trailer for the incredible film River of Gold, which will be released in May 2021, that documents the destruction of the Amazon in the hands of illicit and illegal gold mining.
Earth’s Vital Organs calls for policymakers to:
- Suspend oil and gas foraging and exploitation in the Arctic and beyond
- Enforce a robust US diplomatic approach to protect the Amazon Rainforest and its defenders
- Strengthen U.S. policy and enforcement actions to prevent the importation of illegally sourced commodities from the Amazon.
- Create more Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Antarctica and elsewhere
- Commit to speed up the transition from a carbon economy to renewable alternatives
The project invites viewers to go to the Amazon Climate Platform and the SEDNA Foundation to learn more.
"Helping people fall in love with their world is a catalyst to wanting to save it. Beauty is the link that unites us with nature. It gives the heart the arguments to commit the mind to a program of action,” notes renowned photographer and environmentalist Sebastian Copeland, who supplied his polar images for the Earth's Vital Organs. “We must set ambitious goals to be carbon neutral within thirty years. That target is within reach. Failure here will not break us: it will define us. We have the ingenuity and creativity to build the tools that will realign us with our life giving planet. "
Sarah duPont, Founder of Amazon Aid Foundation and Co-Director of River of Gold comments, “The Amazon is at a tipping point and we hope that this project helps drive awareness and encourage vital action. We are honored to be a part of this evocative piece which includes scenes from our documentary film River of Gold. Our greatest aspiration is to direct everyone’s eyes to nature’s magnificence, its human-made destruction, and our responsibility to act boldly. We must act now with respect and determination to protect both our planet and ourselves.“
The presentation is one of a number of important events and initiatives happening during Earth Week including noted artists and celebrities who have signed on to support indigenous leaders from the Amazon who have reached out to U.S. and Brazilian organizations, elected officials, and artists to help them protect the rainforest at this critical time. Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Rosario Dawson, Jane Fonda, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Uzo Aduba, and Joaquin Phoenix are among those who have signed on to this call to action.
The presentation was made possible by:
- Anonymous
- Alice Bamford
- Sarah duPont/Amazon Aid Foundation
- Amazon Watch
- Lawrence B. And Elyse Benenson
- Deirdre Wallace & Jared Carney
- The Goergen Foundation
- Sedna Foundation
- Tsangs Group
- Megan and Aber Whitcomb
Video Produced by:
- Wise Planet Media
- Teana David/Kit Thomas
- Mary Chase/Adam Verhasselt
