Every once in a while, we get a video that is so powerful you can’t help but watch it again and again. And in the case of this prime example, we’re not alone – as it’s been viewed over 7 million times. It carries with it such an important message, set to beautiful piano music, with a backdrop of such stunning and fragile surroundings.
Made by the wonderful Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi in conjunction with environmental activists Greenpeace – this video is a haunting testament to the time we live in.
It’s no secret that the polar ice caps of our planet have been significantly reducing for a number of years, with the world’s seas expected to rise between 11 and 38 inches (28 to 98 centimeters) by the year 2100. That’s more than enough to flood major coastal cities around the world – particularly those in low relief areas – including the North East seaboard of the US. The rising greenhouse gases associated with global warming are to blame, and yet for some unfathomable reason, certain powers that be still don’t believe it is happening – with one in particular backing out of the Paris climate change agreement.
But as this beautifully shot but tragic video shows, our world as we know it is changing in real-time. Ludovico Einaudi plays his gorgeous composition “Elegy for the Arctic” on a grand piano while floating through the ice floes. And in the background, as his fingers expertly dance on the keys making our hairs stand on end, the ice melts and crashes into the sea. It is one of the most mesmerizing videos you will ever watch.
As the ice cascades down around him, Ludovico is visibly moved, shedding tears towards the end of the composition. It’s as if the glaciers were playing along with him as they tumble into the sea, all beautifully captured on drone cameras with some breath-taking cinematography.
Ludovico and his grand piano float through the frozen arctic on a specially made craft – and the effect is stunning. We hope the piece has done its job in highlighting the dire situation we find ourselves in as a species, slowly wiping ourselves out through our own greed.
While we’re never likely to permanently damage the earth (it’s been reinventing itself for billions of years), we still need to slow the effects of climate change significantly. Watch this hauntingly beautiful video below. This is our future, and we only have one planet Earth.
