Whoopi Goldberg has teamed up with Extinction Rebellion and Passion Pictures to create a short environmental film called The Gigantic Change.
The film launched today, Friday, June 5, across Extinction Rebellion’s various social media platforms, to mark World Environment Day.
Goldberg, a one-time Unicef Goodwill Ambassador, was approached due to “her iconic voice”, which brings a sense of gravitas to the story.
Set in 2050 (the date is significant as 2050 is when many countries have committed to reach net zero carbon), the three-minute animated film starts on a sombre tone. In a dark, sparsely decorated room, an elderly woman voiced by Goldberg offers to read a story to a young girl. “Can it be a happy story,” the young girl asks.
Alas, no.
Goldberg reaches for a book and begins recounting the tale of Earth’s demise. “There once was a planet on the verge of destruction / The people were killing with greed and construction / The people built factories, polluting the air / Leaving animals homeless, with only death and despair / The rivers were poisoned, the fish couldn’t breath…
“The planet was dying and nobody cared.”
On our current path, by 2050 up to 1 billion people will be displaced, and almost half of all species on Earth will be extinct
Seemingly overwhelmed, the elderly woman shuts the book and asks her young companion to take over with story time. With all the innocence of youth, the girl recounts a more positive tale – where people “stop doing all those horrible things they did before”, and instead plant trees and plants, ride bikes to school, ensure that animal species flourish in new jungles and forests across the planet, and work together to eliminate plastics from the seas.
“That was a lovely story,” Goldberg says. “Did people try those things?” asks the little girl.
“Let’s hope so,” is the response.
“On our current path, by 2050 up to 1 billion people will be displaced, and almost half of all species on Earth will be extinct,” reads a note at the end of the film.
“This doesn’t have to be our future.”
For more information, visit thegiganticchange.com
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: Automatic
Power: 530bhp
Torque: 750Nm
Price: Dh535,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k
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Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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