Leonardo DiCaprio’s remarks at a Press Conference for Global Green USA, the US affiliate of Green Cross International
August 13, 2002
I’m here today not as an actor or as an entertainer. I’m here as a concerned citizen, and it’s not usually in my nature to do something this radical. But the truth is, this is an extremely important time for us. And, I’ve always been concerned with the environment, extremely concerned. Now more than ever, people like me and other people, like Esai, and others, need to speak out about what’s really going on. My purpose here is quite simply to urge President Bush to attend the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development.
[Mr.] President Bush, we’re asking you for your support to be the President that looks toward the future. We have seen increasing evidence of climate change, and every major scientific study says temperatures are rising. 76 nations have ratified the Kyoto Protocol including all of Europe and Japan. But the U.S, sadly, has not, despite the fact that we’re the biggest economy and the largest polluter.
President Bush, please go prepared to join the vast majority of nations in constructing a concrete plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Let’s reduce our dependency on oil; foreign and domestic.let’s develop global politics that accelerate the transition to clean fuel cells and sustainable energy from renewable sources.
So please, we call upon you to represent all Americans by joining some 100 heads of state at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg in three weeks. Here is your opportunity to do the right thing for future generations.
I believe we need a new sense of shared destiny, a sense that we are all in this together. And with your help, Mr. President, we can all make a difference.
How can you take action?
Please call, fax or email President Bush encouraging him to attend the Earth Summit in Johannesburg. You can also contact your congressional representative asking them to urge President Bush to attend.
Contact President Bush and The White House:
president@whitehouse.gov
Comments line:202-456-1111
Fax:202-456-2461
House of Representatives:202-225-3121
www.house.govTo locate your Representative.
Senate: 202-224-3121
www.senate.govTo locate your Senator
Please email this letter to president@whitehouse.gov
or fax to the White House at 202-456-2461.
August 12, 2002
Dear Mr. President:
As you know, the heads of state from Germany, UK, France, Canada, South Africa, Russia, and over 100 other nations are gathering in Johannesburg for the World Summit on Sustainable Development at the end of this month.
We join Green Cross International President Mikhail Gorbachev in urging you to attend this summit to protect the needs of future generations. Your attendance will demonstrate to the world that while the U.S. presently consumes 25% of the world’s energy supplies, we are committed to reversing that trend, and finding solutions to achieve a sustainable future.
We therefore ask that you arrive in Johannesburg with an action plan with binding commitments to:
1. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by lowering our nation’s use of fossil fuels and increasing our renewable energy sources.
2. Establish a convention on access to fresh water that ensures this principle as a basic human right (for the 1.5 billion that currently go without adequate, clean water supplies) and prevents conflict over shared water basins.
3. Ensure that the issue of ethics and sustainable development are embraced by including mention of the Earth Charter in the final political declaration.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
An Email I received from From leonardodicaprio.com
Dear Friends,
Please join Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Tobey Maguire, Global Green
USA, the Earth Day Network, and thousands of other Americans in urging
President Bush to attend the Johannesburg Earth Summit and take action on
climate change, clean water, and ethics & sustainable development.
Green Cross International President Gorbachev has also written to President
Bush — and dozens of other heads of state — asking him to attend the most
important environmental meeting of our time. In 3 weeks, over 100 national
leaders (including Britain, Germany, France, Canada, Mexico) will arrive in
Johannesburg, joining 60,000 activists, local leaders, and representatives
from around the globe for the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
We need you to raise your voice and let President Bush know how important it
is that the US be represented in Johannesburg. In 1992, the former
President Bush decided to attend the Rio Earth Summit at the last minute and
signed the agreement that gave rise to the Kyoto Protocol to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
You will find a letter at www.leonardodicaprio.com. Follow the Alert in the pop-up window
and email or fax this letter to President Bush. You can make a difference.
For more information on this campaign or 10 easy things you can do to stem
climate change, visit www.globalgreen.org or www.leonardodicaprio.com.
Thank you.
