Jake, Salma Chill Out on Earth Day

Fri., Apr. 22, 2005 10:20 PM PDT by Charlie Amter

He tried to save the Earth in The Day After Tomorrow. Now Jake Gyllenhaal is doing his part off screen.

The actor, joined by fellow thesp Salma Hayek, left the sunny climes of Los Angeles for the frozen tundra of Canada's Nunavut province to dance a spring jig with 1,000 native Inuits as part of an Earth Day event Friday to show the potential dangers of global warming.

"Global warming is an abstract concept to most people; we know it's happening, but we can't really visualize its effect," Gyllenhaal said in a press release issued jointly by Global Green USA and the National Resources Defense Council.

The gathering of Inuits, Gyllenhaal and Hayek was set up to draw attention to the way the shrinking of the polar ice caps has affected the life of northern Canada's indigenous people.

"Unfortunately, the Inuit people put a human face on global warming, they are literally melting away. They are the canary in the coal mine," a bundled-up Gyllenhaal told reporters.

The backdrop for the Hollywood stars' PR stunt was hardly ideal: Temperatures topped out at a balmy 17 degrees in the tiny outpost of Iqaluit, with partly cloudy conditions eventually giving way to blowing snow by evening.

The group spelled out the words "Arctic Warning" in English and "listen" in Inuktitut.

"I came to learn from the ice and the Inuit," said Hayek. "We have a lot to learn from them if we follow their wonderful wisdom," Hayek told reporters in a conference call. "Just listen to the land."

Aside from Hayek and Gyllenhaal's eco- and camera-friendly presence, there were some actual scientists on hand, too.

"The Inuit people realize the challenges global warming present to their ay of life should be a warning to the rest of us in more temperate climates," said Dr. Dan Lashof, science director for NRDC's climate center.

Some estimates claim half the summer sea ice in the Arctic will melt by the end of this century, as the region warms another 7 to 13 degrees.

"Each of us has a stake in combating global warming, and the Inuit have reminded us that the clock is ticking," said Matt Petersen, president of Global Green. "While our federal government in the U.S. fails to act, we must follow the lead of places, such as California and Canada, that are actively reducing their global warming emissions."

If nothing is done, added Hayek, "We are committing, in our civilization, suicide and self-destruction."