Nature Is Speaking: Julia Roberts Voices ‘Mother Nature’ in Stark Reminder

Once again, this powerful and breathtaking video is making its rounds. Some of you may have already seen it while others will be watching it for the first time but whoever you are, it is well worth the next two minutes of your life.

The video below was created as part of a bigger series of videos for Conservation International (CI), an organization founded on this simple principle: Saving nature really is about saving ourselves. CI helps communities, businesses, and governments make smart decisions that aim to create a safe and sustainable planet. Because as Peter Seligmann, CI’s Chairman of the Board, says, “We can’t exist without nature being healthy.” [1]

Seligmann’s statement has never been more true, especially as we live every day in the Anthropocene – our current geological era – with levels of chemicals, pollution, and temperature all rising.

In a campaign called Nature Is Speaking, Julia Roberts voiced Mother Nature in the first film of the series. She is one of numerous star-studded Hollywood names including Joan Chen (Sky), Lee Pace (Mountain), Reese Witherspoon (Home), Liam Neeson (Ice), Harrison Ford (Ocean), Shailene Woodley (Forest), Edward Norton (Soil), Penelope Cruz (Water), Robert Redford (The Redwood), Ian Somerhalder (Coral Reef), and Lupita Nyong’o (Flower).

“We thought the idea of giving nature a voice, nature having been around billions of years longer than humans, might make it clear to all of us that the planet will evolve with or without humans,” said Lee Clow, who was in charge of the campaign’s creative direction. “It’s our choice.” 

Welcome to Anthropocene, The Age of Humans

But wait, what is the Anthropocene? Also known as the “Age of Man,” it refers to the most recent geologic time period which marks the start of significant human impact on planet Earth – climate change in particular. [4,5]

Scholars have not collectively agreed on an actual start-date for the Anthropocene. In fact, the suggestions are all over the map. Some scientists believe it began around 1780 with the Industrial Revolution or the rise of agriculture around 10,000 BC while others are arguing for the Anthropocene to start on July 16, 1945, when the United States Army detonated the first nuclear weapon. [6-9]