Feature story - February 7, 2008
Everyone knows that Cricket and Cinema are possibly the two greatest uniting factors in India. When we heard that a cricket match was going to be played by movie stars in Chennai, we knew that it was the perfect place to talk about climate change.
Greenpeace activists find interesting ways to make cricket fans aware of climate change.
On Republic Day, 40 Greenpeace volunteers from the Chepauk
Cricket stadium in Chennai called on thousands to act against
climate change. At regular intervals all Greenpeace volunteers
would stand up, in unison, to display lettered placards with
messages like "Climate Change is World Emergency" and "Climate
Change has no Boundaries."
The celebrities on the ground were not the only ones turning
heads. We had a little celebrity of our own! This volunteer
braving the heat in a furry penguin costume was quite a hit with
the spectators. It went around the stand and reminded people that
"it's not nice to melt the ice."
Soon the organizers spotted us. The commentators decided to
join the drive. They started talking about the threats of global
warming and the little things citizens can do to fight it. The
message was being flashed on National Television. Perhaps that was
the moment when we managed to unite, if not millions, at least
thousands of Indians to give climate change a thought. And I am
sure a few of them will act.
Our next banner message was to remind people about the urgency
of the threat. "Climate Change - 98 months to act" read the huge
banner that was held up and passed around. By this time spectators
had started responding to us. The banner floated around in the
stand and finally found its way onto the playing field.
The cheer-leading squad with their colorful way of drawing
attention directed the spectators to shout for the cause. They
then held up the banner, almost with a sense of pride, while
strutting around the field making sure people GOT the message.
At the end of the day, there was a sort of euphoria in the
stadium. While the cricket and the cricketers had stimulated us to
a great extent, there was also a sense of determination to fight
the biggest threat to our planet. Just hope that the feeling
lingers on.
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