As the threat of climate change becomes more well-known and talked about amongst the wider population, a range of public figures and celebrities have used their platforms to spread further awareness of the environmental crisis in order to make a real difference. One of these celebrities is Billie Eilish, an incredibly popular 17 year old singer from the United States. In this article, we are going to talk about how Billie Eilish is taking matters into her own hands as she uses her fame to do her part for the environment.
Her Tour:
A major action that Billie Eilish has made is to make her world tour “Where Do We Go” as ‘green’ as possible. In order to make this a reality, Billie has teamed up with Reverb, a non-profit company with a goal of encouraging millions of people to do more for the environment. Some examples of the ways Eilish is making her tour more environmentally friendly is her request for her fans to bring their own water bottles, her ban on plastic straws, and the generous placement of recycling bins/cans to collect as many recyclables as possible. Eilish announced her goals herself on the ‘Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon’ stating, “There are no plastic straws allowed, the fans are going to bring their own water bottles, there’s going to be recycle cans everywhere, because it’s like, if something’s recyclable, it doesn’t matter unless there’s a recycle bin,”
Meat-Free Diet& Lifestyle
The Vegan singer has also promoted and called for a movement towards an increasingly meat-free diet and lifestyle. The most popular example of this was her expression of disgust at people who use mink lashes – a statement made in response to a video of an adorable mink hiding and poking its head out of a broken tree.
Billie Eilish even went as far as to say “You b*****s getting mink lashes and mink slippers disgust me”. Although the statement was quite aggressive and extreme, it did send a strong message to people who use any animal products in their clothing, cosmetics or any other area of their lives. This behaviour of calling out people who use animal products and meat in their diets is not surprising at all; in fact it conforms to her previous statements on the meat industry. In 2019, Eilish attacked the dairy and meat industry as she claimed they were ‘torturing animals’, Eilish then went on to say how every individual makes a difference and that “one person adds up”.
Partnership WithGreenPeace and FridaysForFuture
In a video titled “Our House Is On Fire”, Eilish advocated for her 38.6 million fans to support GreenPeace and FridaysForFuture in their quest to reduce people’s carbon footprint and promote a lifestyle that protects the environment and the species that live in affected habitats. A reoccurring theme in her statements on the environment, Eilish reiterated the need to reduce plastic and to move towards a meat and dairy free lifestyle – alongside Woody Harrelson. Touching in on the politics aspect of climate change, Eilish and Harrelson both called for viewers to take personal responsibility and initiative and vote for politicians and legislators who advocate for implementing policies that focus on tackling climate change – from fossil fuel companies to the farming industries.
Final Thoughts:
This year has seen a massive awakening by the younger generation to stand up and fight for the planet that they will inherit. The perfect example of this was, 16 year old, Greta Thunberg’s rise to prominence as she grilled the UN on their in-action on climate change and the consequences that the environmental disaster wil have on millions of people and species all around the world. Similar to Greta Thunberg, Billie Eilish is an influential member of the younger generation fighting for actions towards climate change, and it is likely that she will not be the only one in the near future.
