I’m sure everyone remembers the cartoon character Captain Planet and his five Planeteers, whose mission was to save the planet. Captain Planet would make his appearance when the five Planeteers, Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, and Heart, combined their rings, and from this formation he proclaimed, “By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!” He was a superhero that when invoked would destroy the evils-doers of over-consumption, animal extortion, and pollution. But like all superheroes, Captain Planet’s kryptonite was excess pollution, greenhouse gases, and any type of toxic waste. Despite this Captain Planet and the Planeteers always triumphed in the end, leaving us with a brief message about saving the planet and of course the following statement, “The power is yours!”
I refer to the above because I was reading in an article in Popular Science about having the show air again for children’s educational purposes. http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2009-02/captain-planet-hes-our-hero-gonna-take-pollution-down-zero-sing-it-kids?page=#comments
This got me thinking, where is Captain Planet now or is he died? Are we responsible for the death of Captain Planet with the excessive amounts of pollution and greenhouse gases produced?! I’m not sure what point I’m trying to get thru. It’s just that I remember watching Captain Planet and admiring the fact that everyone pulled their own weight. It would just be nice to have a similar system in place, were representatives from countries could come together and actually work as a team. I don’t know if this makes any sense, it sounded good in my head.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that everyone can benefit from this cartoons simple advice. "The power is ours!"
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7 comments:
Well... as a non-American, I don't have the privilege of being familiar with Captain Planet, but I'm sure these are all great memories to most of you...
Jennifer mentions that Captain Planet encouraged his spectators to pull their own weight and try to work together as a team, and wished that countries did the same today.
Most importantly, I would add that Captain Planet increased kids' awareness to the "saving the planet" issues. I was born and raised in Europe, and I feel like the Europeans are more aware of environment-friendly practices, just because this topic is regularly addressed at school, on TV, on commercials, and so on (in addition to sheer regulation). The U.S. have a great R&D potential and they will probably come up with great technologies (and other solutions) to fight global warming and meet the future energy needs, but it might also be worth trying to change behaviors and be more responsible collectively and individually. Education at the early ages is probably a good way to start raising such awareness.
Honestly, I feel like the majority of Americans will not "pull any weight" until extreme and drastic changes occur to the environment that affect Americans directly. We hear all the time about global warming and other things that are possibly affected by our way of life at the present, but nothing really ever seems to change. I bring this up mainly because of the situation I saw in the CPE computer lab a week ago. I was working late in the lab and a custodian was coming through to pick up the trash. I noticed that he took both the normal trash and the recycled trash and dumped them into one big trashcan. So it was obvious that the recycle bin was serving no purpose. It might be just me, but I just don't think anything is going to change unless HARSH laws are put into place or Americans' lives begin to be affected in ways that open their eyes as wide open as possible. Inundating kids minds with environmental issues in school will help for the future indeed, but nothing will change for now.
I agree, changing behaviors is the most difficult part, especially if no regulation imposes it on us. But what I meant is: you're not going to save the planet by turning your lights off, ok, but why waste that energy anyway? Do you really need the AC to be at 65? Can't you walk these 5 blocks instead of driving? Aside from the "saving the planet syndrome", I think we should encourage more responsible and respectful behaviors.
This comment brought back some childhood memories. I used to watch Captain Planet all the time and the show definitely got me to think about the environment. I remember the different environmental hazards that was shown on this show. I feel that I became more aware of what was happening to the environment and how I could do my part by implementing the 3 R's (Reuse, Reduce and Recycle). I would like to see this show put back on the air, but with current issues.
I was born and raised in Mexico. I perfectly remember Captain Planet. I was a little boy when I sat in front of the TV and watched it in Spanish!. I also agree with your comments. Is he dead? have we killed him? I have 2 little brothers, one of 6 and one of 10. I try to encourage them the sense of recycling and environmental sustainability. ...I wish Captain Planet could be back again!
Incredible post. I definitely watched Captain Planet growing up...
I totally remember Captain Planet. And that was aired in the time when global warming and environmental problems was least of our concerns. But now, when we need to really think of ways to make this world sustain a hell lot longer than it actually seems it would, everyone seems to have forgotten the cartoon hero. And I totally agree with the fact that it needs to go on air again. Maybe the kids would just watch it and let it go at that moment, but I feel it would have a bigger impact on a longer run. How many days have we laid awake on our beds thinking about the stuff we watched on TV and wondering and understanding after so many years what it was all about!! :).. So I think it's worth the attempt. After all, every little action gets back a reaction!!
And yeah, this post does have a feel-good factor!!
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