Richard Peacock

Rachel Nelson

RPTM 220

19 February 2023

Before The Flood Review

In this documentary, Leonardo Dicaprio travels to numerous countries to investigate the

many harms caused by climate change, providing awareness and exposure to the worldwide issue

throughout the film. He interviews scientists, specialists in the field, and political leaders who

give him explanations and insight into research, workarounds, and ways to implement global

agreements. Dicaprio spoke as a climate change messenger of peace for the United Nations at the

Paris Accords signing where he gave an uplifting speech to reinforce that all signing countries

fully participate in the program to achieve results against climate change. This documentary

certainly educated me on the many problems climate change has been causing and will continue

to cause if the appropriate actions are not taken. I also thought the cinematography was done

exceptionally well to help tell the story Dicaprio had in mind.

A prevalent theme I found in Sachs’ chapter on planetary boundaries with a

corresponding portrayal in the documentary was environmental harm that is caused by

greenhouse gases in the atmosphere like carbon dioxide or carbonic acid in the ocean. Since the

Industrial Revolution, the use of fossil fuels created the economy, but the problems they caused

over time cannot be ignored. Sachs suggests that we find new ways of energy production and

utilization to “enjoy the benefits of the modern economy without the threat of human-induced

climate change” (Sachs, 2015). The documentary sees Dicaprio visiting Bejing, China where he

interviewed founding director at the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs Ma Jun. Jun
monitors harmful effects of factory output with a pollution map database with the factories that

are located near residential areas where air quality becomes a major concern. It was clear from

the visuals of the documentary that the carbon dioxide levels in China are at dangerously high

levels. Protests in the country have garnered Chinese media attention towards green energy

which their government is now trying to take initiatives to being more conscious about.

Another theme Sachs discusses that is showcased in the documentary is higher

temperatures which result in rising sea levels. Sachs lists some life-altering effects of the human

reliance on fossil fuels that will become a reality, which include “mega-droughts, mega-floods,

more extreme storms, more species extinction, more crop failures, a massive sea level rise over

time, and a massive acidification of the oceans as that CO2 dissolves into the ocean and produces

carbonic acid” (Sachs, 2015). Dicaprio traveled to Baffin Island on the Canadian Artic where a

massive melting in the ice was taking place which will result in a much higher rise in sea level.

In the Canadian Artic, a scientist showed Dicaprio how a hose connected to a climate station had

measured thirty feet worth of ice that had melted within the last five years at the time it was

filmed. Later, he interviews Philip Levine, mayor of Miami Beach which is a city that dealt with

floods quite often. Levine explains how the city is contending with the rising sea levels with

advanced pump systems that had recently been installed.

I found this film insightful, and it was more impactful seeing the situation that our planet

is faced with instead of only reading about it. It was refreshing to see someone like Leonardo

Dicaprio show his concern for the planet and try to make a difference by showing what will

continue to happen if nothing is done to counter climate change. I hope to see new technologies

in the future to help alleviate the effects of climate change. My doubts lie in the political area,

where leaders should follow through with the ideas presented to them and not think of short-term
solutions. My preferential career is in amusement or waterpark operations, and I think that the

issues that climate change presents will continue in the form of unpredictable weather patterns

which could cause difficulties in park operations. These weather patterns have already been in

effect as I have noticed over the past couple years, there has not been a significant amount of

snowfall in Philadelphia in the winter months due to the temperature differences. There had been

notable amounts of snow in the years prior and it is alarming to see this change.
 Work Cited:

Sachs, Jeffrey D. The Age of Sustainable Development. Columbia University Press, 2015.