A year before Greta Thunberg was born, a Nat Geo photographer could not convince scientists to even say the word climate change

• 17 years ago, no scientist spoke about climate change, says Paul Nicklen.
  
• Nicklen is an award winning Canadian photographer who spent the last twenty years photographing the beauty of nature.
  
• In 2017, he shared the video of a starving polar bear searching for food on an iceless land.

In 2002, a year before environmental activist Greta Thunberg was born, Paul Nicklen, a nature photographer requested scientists to go on record about the rapid deterioration of the environment. They refused as they were scared of losing credibility, though they were aware of the bitter truth.

Now, a 16 year old girl is asking the question he should have asked those scientists. Swedish environment activist Greta Thunberg took the lead on climate change by calling out world leaders for failing young people such as her. Her thundering “How dare you?” has echoed all over the world.


Nicklen is an award winning Canadian photographer who spent the last twenty years photographing the planet and climate change. He specialises in underwater photography, which won him the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year award.

In 2017, he shared the video of a starving polar bear searching for food on an iceless land. The video on Youtube caused an uproar. It also captured the attention of Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who wrote, “The polar photography of Paul Nicklen is a climate change warning.”

Nicklen has formed a conservation society called SealLegacy, and also goes on tours speaking of the need to act against climate change.

“After a while, (climate change) becomes news and we glaze over it. I want to put faces to it. I want people to understand that if we lose ice, we lose an entire ecosystem,” Nicklen said in his speech on TedTalks. ^{Courtesy: National Geography}
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Greta Thunberg and 15 other kids have filed a legal complaint against 5 countries, joining a growing group of young people bringing the climate fight to court