Climate change and global warming are real

MELJINE, 26 July 2019 – In the context of the media literacy campaign “Let’s Choose What We Watch”, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Antonije Pušić, a.k.a. Rambo Amadeus, hosted UNICEF volunteer young reporters and Danilo Mrdak, a professor at the University of Montenegro, on his solar sailboat to remind the public that climate change and global warming are not fake news. He also called on citizens to take action and provide the new generations with a better future.

According to the findings of the nationally representative survey conducted by the Ipsos agency this month, one in five citizens of Montenegro believes that climate change and global warming are fake news.

Climate change is a reality, but it is also true that people are encouraging and worsening the consequences of this process by acting in an irresponsible manner, which significantly undermines our children’s futures.

Danila Mrdak, a professor at the Faculty of Science and Mathematics in Podgorica

Sometimes it seems as if we are trying to cut down as many forests as possible, to destroy as many rivers and lakes as possible, to put concrete on as many surfaces as possible, to produce as much waste as possible… And we appear to be so persistent with all this, that sometimes I wonder who came up with all this technology that surrounds us. If we continue in this way, there is a justified fear that we will go beyond the point of no return, and then all the smartphones and the Internet and all the achievements of our civilization will be useless. It takes only a bit of good will and solidarity to avoid this. After all, we are not the first advanced civilization on this planet, and I am afraid that by acting like this we may experience the fate of extinct worlds.

Danila Mrdak, a professor at the Faculty of Science and Mathematics in Podgorica

Every citizen can contribute to the preservation of the planet, and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Antonije Pušić is already doing this with his solar sailboat.

I have built this solar sailboat to lead by example when it comes to reducing the effects of global warming on planet Earth. I know that I cannot make much difference as an individual, but I hope that we can all give our small contribution to this effort. The least we can do is plant a tree or two, three, five – as many as we can. Wherever you find a nice place, you should plant a tree, for trees are generous and will give a reward…

Antonije Pušić, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

Children and young people worldwide are very concerned about climate change. A recent UNICEF survey, including 5,000 children and young people in over 60 countries of the world, has shown that climate change is perceived as being one of the critical challenges by 80 percent of children and young people today. More and more of them are taking environmental action every day, and the UNICEF volunteer young reporters of the media literacy campaign are among them today.

The extent to which media literacy is significant for society and the future of our planet can be seen from the data on climate change. Global warming is threatening the whole planet, and we are all contributing to it every day, while one in five people denies that it is actually happening in Montenegro, believing it to be fake news and not taking responsibility or any action to solve this problem.

Andrija Zeković, a UNICEF volunteer – young reporter

In order to recognize fake news, it is necessary to be media literate, say UNICEF volunteer young reporters of the media literacy campaign “Let’s Choose What We Watch”.

In order to recognize fake news, we need to check the source of information and how reliable it is, and what other reliable sources have to say regarding the topic. It is of particular importance to seek the opinions of experts. If we engage in such an analysis, we will come to the conclusion that climate change and global warming are accurate news, i.e. facts. Moreover, we will get ideas about the action that we can take to contribute to the preservation of our planet.

Lana Jovanović, UNICEF volunteer – young reporter

At the end of the sailing trip with Rambo Amadeus, the young reporters invited their peers, as well as representatives of local and national authorities, to take action.

On behalf of the UNICEF volunteer young reporters, I invite all our peers to plant at least one tree this year, our parents to drive less, thus reducing pollution of the environment, and to walk more and use bikes. I also appeal to the municipalities to allow the recycling of waste in our country as soon as possible.

Andrija Zeković, Andrija Zeković, a UNICEF volunteer – young reporter

Media literacy campaign “Let’s Choose What We Watch” was launched by the Agency for Electronic Media and UNICEF Montenegro in February 2018, and so far every second citizen of Montenegro has heard about it.