Chocolate is threatened. So what would you do if you couldn’t give chocolate for Valentine’s day? US actor and climate advocate Rainn Wilson has all the answers.
Rainn Wilson has taken to social media today (links below), alongside Climate Basecamp, with a serious question. What would you do if chocolate was no longer available to buy for your beloved on Valentine's Day? Oven mitts anyone?
But amongst the funny suggestions lies a serious message - chocolate is threatened by climate change with rising temperatures, extreme weather events, droughts and flooding that all affect areas where cocoa is cultivated and millions of smallholder farmers in West Africa and other regions depend upon this crop.
As Rainn explains, "This is more than just an environmental problem. It's a socio economic one as well."
But there is something you can do. Climate Basecamp wants to make sure chocolate is here to stay by asking favorite chocolate brands to label their products and let everybody know: chocolate is in trouble.
Rainn encourages people to take action, "Let's keep the love and chocolate alive. Go on all your social media and @mention all your favourite chocolate brands. Tell them to add a label to let people know about the chocolate crisis. To help matters we've created a handy dandy little online tool -go to climate basecamp.org for more information and help spread the word."
Professor Gail Whiteman, Co-Founder of Climate Basecamp, along with Rainn and comedy writer Chuck Tatham, added, "The science is clear, climate change will, and does, affect the things we love - including chocolate. We all need to take action - sharing our message and requesting that chocolate manufacturers start to label threatened or endangered ingredients on their packaging can make a big difference in awareness and support for low carbon action."
Actor, Rainn Wilson and comedy writer and producer Chuck Tatham, both passionate about climate action, co-founded the initiative with Professor Gail Whiteman, an expert on the global risks from climate change, to bring attention to the climate crisis, shedding light on the consequences of climate change using modern culture to create conversations.
You can find Rainn's message on our social media channels here:
Tag your favorite chocolate brand using our easy online tool at https://climatebasecamp.org/save-chocolate/.
About Climate Basecamp: Climate Basecamp is an initiative from Arctic Basecamp, with a mission to ‘speak science to culture’. They use culture as a lever for change in five areas: Food, Entertainment, Music, Sports and Fashion.
About Arctic Basecamp: Arctic Basecamp is a non-profit science communication organization that ‘speaks science to power’ focused on communicating the global climate risks from polar change.
Media Contact: Helen Clay, Communications Director, helen@arcticbasecamp.org
