'Orange Is The New Black' star Yael Stone returning to Australia to fight 'climate war' in wake of bushfires
Australian actress Yael Stone, of the 'Orange Is the New Black' fame, has announced that she will give up her United States green card and return to Australia in an attempt to cut carbon emissions from flying between the two countries.
Stone, who has a home in both the US and Australia, said that she could not justify her actions any longer in the wake of Australia's bushfire crisis, and said that it is not "environmentally ethical to build a life across two continents." The actress made the statement in a video uploaded on her social media.
"The carbon emissions alone from that flying, it's unethical, it's not right," she said. "So I will be going through the process of giving up my green card and saying goodbye to life in America." She also announced that she will be joining the fight to combat climate change in her home country.
"I'm going to be here in Australia, doing the work I can to make a difference here, because the time is now. Like I said, this is war and we've only got ten years, so let's make these sacrifices, let's make these changes," she added. "This is just the beginning for me."
Stone, who plays Lorna Morello in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, had drawn attention in a recent Instagram post to the Australian bushfires that have ravaged the country in recent months. She had even slammed Prime Minister Scott Morrison for perceived inaction on the issue, saying: "We don't have leaders, we have cowards."
Despite the extent of the bushfire, the Australian government continues to maintain that there is no direct link between climate change and fires the country is witnessing. Despite Australia witnessing a three-year-drought and unprecedented bushfires, Morrison and his emissions reduction minister, Angus Taylor, has said that the country does not need to aggressively cut carbon emissions in an effort to limit global warming.