Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models Miss the Boat on Climate Change

by Tara Lohan · 2010-02-04 15:50:00 UTC
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MaldivesTo get more people to read about global warming we may have to make the issue a little bit sexier. And what better way to do that than by having beautiful Sports Illustrated bikini-clad models make a few choice remarks about rising sea levels while they're doing their photo shoot in the Maldives -- a country that sits a precarious 4 feet above sea level on average and is a catastrophe in the making.

Too much to ask for? Apparently.

Dr. Joseph Romm of Climate Progress rails against the super models after seeing a promo video for SI's new swimsuit edition. To be fair, the issue doesn't hit the stands until Feb. 9, so perhaps the magazine will reflect a different approach than the promotional material does.

Romm calls the video an objectification of the Maldives and says the magazine is using this threatened country as "a back drop whose beauty can be exploited and discarded by the privileged super-rich whose blissfully ignorant comments are so unintentionally ironic that you'd almost think you were watching a video from The Onion."

A perfect example may be from Christine Teigen who said, "Everything is just beautiful. Everything is taking its time here. And it's gorgeous." I have to admit it's hard to hear the "taking its time here" and not cringe, knowing that the Maldives president is one of the world's most active leaders in the fight against climate change. The country definitely has its beauty, but what it doesn't have is time.

And rumor has it (thanks Entertainment Tonight!) that Leonardo DiCaprio's girlfriend Bar Refaeli is featured in the shoot. I can't speak for Refaeli, but I'm pretty sure DiCaprio has heard about global warming, what with that whole big documentary he did on it.

But then Brian Merchant at Treehugger asks: Is this such a grave offense? Should SI be responsible for telling the whole story?

What do you think? I think at this juncture in time, we're all responsible to do as much as we can. And even if you don't begrudge them for their oversight (or for doing a swimsuit edition in the first place), there's no question that this is an incredible opportunity for public education that has been lost. But who knows, maybe the actual issue will be a surprise. Let's not judge a magazine by its cover ... yet.

Photo credit: Chi King via flickr

Tara Lohan is a senior editor at AlterNet.org where she heads up the environment, water, and food sections. Her work has appeared on the websites of The Nation, Mother Jones, the Huffington Post and in Yes! Magazine.
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