How do you get people’s attention focused on the parched Colorado River? Enlisting a famous actor and a hilarious comedian is a great place to start.
In the just-released sidesplitting PSA, Redford and Ferrell urge the public to help restore the once glorious delta. With all his usual gravitas, Redford encourages people to join his Raise the River campaign, which is an effort to reconnect the river back to the Gulf of Mexico and restore the delta’s ecosystem. Ferrell, meanwhile, has a whole different approach to solving the problem: Moving some of the ocean with his team of “scientists.”
“We got Old Sundance riding around, trying to raise the Colorado River and restore it’s flow. And I say ‘Do we really need more river?'” says “William” Ferrell against some terrible CGI imagery. “I mean hell, we’ve got plenty of ocean. Let’s move it.” The funnyman, with the help of pro surfer Kelly Slater, then asks you to send money to his mock MoveTheOcean.org campaign.
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But in all seriousness, the formerly mighty Colorado River is drying up due to agriculture, urbanization and climate change. And even worse, this year’s horrific drought is sapping up the little bit of flowing water that’s left. More activism and awareness is needed, so why not try being funny for this important cause? According to MediaBistro, there will be more of these videos with the aim to raise $10 million dollars for river’s restoration.
“We saw this idea of a fictitious debate between Mr. Redford and Mr. Ferrell as a novel way to generate greater awareness of the very serious issues facing the Colorado River,” said Jill Tidman, executive director of the Redford Center. “Bringing a sense of humor to the effort opens the door for a much greater audience and offers everyone a chance to be part of winning this campaign—and this is one we are going to win.”