Lessons from the Lorax
Last weekend I took my seven year old daughter to see the new movie The Lorax. I have been reading her this story (I have a 1971 first edition copy) for years, so I was really excited to see that a movie was being made based on the book. Forty years ago Dr. Seuss, had it figured out, he knew what future generations would be facing, that technological progress would have consequences, and he was smart enough to start warning people about the dangers that this progress posed to the earth’s natural beauty and sustainability.
It’s too bad more people weren’t listening.
The book was criticized for being too gloomy for children, and some people panned it for being too negative toward businesses. It never really got the recognition it deserved, until Illumination entertainment and Universal Pictures decided to make a movie about it that is.
Now people are flocking to the theatres with their children and I have to say, I’m feeling a bit giddy about it. I have spent the last four years working with WWF, explaining to people about why they need to do their part in the role of conservation, but that message has often fallen on deaf ears. So if a children’s movie can reach people that I never could then I am over the moon! In fact, one of my skeptical friends came to the movie with us with his son, and he turned to me after it was over and said “that was a really good movie with a really good message”. Woo hoo!!! Dr. Seuss – you rock!
I think we can all learn a lesson from the Lorax – we need to respect nature and our natural resources, and fight to protect them, not destroy them, because once they are gone – that might be it, there might not be any magic seeds left to rejuvenate them. So don’t leave your lights on, don’t pollute our waters with garbage, and don’t destroy the land and marine habitats of the species that depend on them. We need to ensure that the Brown Bar-ba-loots don’t become extinct, and that they have lots of green space to run around in and clean air to breath, that the Humming Fish have clean water to swim in and their stock number stay strong. And we need to not chop down that last Truffula Tree.
The release of this movie is pretty timely, given that Earth Hour is fast approaching on March 31st. Earth Hour is a symbolic opportunity that WWF has created for people to show that they care about the effects of climate change and that they are willing to stand up and take actions to help prevent it from getting worse.
The Lorax spoke for the trees – I want you to speak for them too, and the oceans, and the rivers, and the animals that depend on them. So, I repeat Dr. Seuss’s quote: “UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
