DURHAM, N.C. – A new documentary on global climate change highlights the environmental expertise of four nationally known scholars and scientists with Nicholas School ties.

The film, The 11th Hour, opens on August 17 in Los Angeles and New York. It is narrated and produced by actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

Designed to draw attention to the role humans have played in climate change – and the role we still might play in developing solutions and adaptations to it – the 90-minute film features on-camera interviews with 54 of the world’s most respected scientists, thinkers and leaders, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned physicist Stephen Hawking and former CIA head James Woolsey. 

Four of the experts have close ties to the Nicholas School. They are:

  • , Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology, who is one of the world’s foremost experts on mass species extinctions and what can be done to prevent them, and the loss of tropical forests and its consequences to biodiversity;
  • Wallace J. Nichols, senior research scientist at The Ocean Conservancy and a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences, who earned a Master of Environmental Management (MEM) 91 from the school in 1992 and is a leading expert on the impacts of climate change on ocean habitats and productivity;
  • Sandra Postel, director of the Global Water Policy Project, who earned a MEM in 1980 and has been a leading authority on international freshwater issues for more than 25 years; and
  • Sylvia Earle, oceanographer and explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society, who earned a bachelors 91 from Duke in 1956, a PhD from Duke in 1966, and was awarded an honorary 91 from the university in 1993. She received a Ralston Distinguished Alumni Award from the Nicholas School in 2005, and has served on the 91 Marine Lab’s Board of Advisors.

“This was a unique opportunity to share my science, and my concerns about the environment, with an audience of literally millions of people,” Pimm says. “I really appreciate the commitment Mr. DiCaprio has made to environmental issues with his thoughtful remarks in this film.”

Despite the film’s serious content, it presents a cautiously optimistic outlook, Nichols says. “We must not forget that, even at this time of great challenge, there are solutions that we can apply to solve the crises…The film presents some important solutions that are beneficial for everyone to learn about.

“The message of the film is made very clear: The hope is us, and the moment for change is now,” he says.