Hollywood celebs travel to Arctic to raise global-warming awareness
Matt Petersen of Global Green spends his time pondering this weighty question: “[I]n an age and culture that’s celebrity-obsessed, how do you in a smart and savvy way use the celebrity to shine the light on the science, on the facts, and on the solution?” When it comes to global warming, the answer is obvious, isn’t it? Simply fly Hollywood hotties Salma Hayek and Jake Gyllenhaal to the edge of the Arctic Circle, where they — with help from some 500 Inuit villagers — spell out the words “Arctic Warning” on an open patch of snow-covered ice. Take aerial photos. Then stand back and wait for ecological turnaround! Ah, we kid. Hayek and Gyllenhaal were good-humored about the whole thing, and Hayek herself stated what must have been on everyone’s mind: “There’s something wrong with the idea that celebrities have to get involved for people to be interested.” Yes, but Salma, we arrange activist stunts in the culture we have, not the culture we might want or wish to have.
