Leonardo DiCaprio's “Before the Flood” Documentary

Just in time for Election Day, superstar Leonardo DiCaprio is making his National Geographic climate change documentary, “Before the Flood,” available for free. (You can see the whole thing below or here.)

The next president is going to have to deal with climate change and the myriad of new regulations linked to it worldwide. For fleet owners and heavy construction equipment operators, that means grappling with new curbs on dangerous emissions while trying to save on fuel. The good news is that there is an entire generation of new technology that’s going to make this possible. 

Billed as a call to arms “to prevent catastrophic disruption of life on our planet,” the film’s website features an alarming interactive map to see how rising temperatures and sea levels will flood cities.

Directed by Fisher Stevens, “Before the Flood” is actually a series of interviews conducted by DiCaprio with world leaders, scientists, and everyday people who are on the frontlines of sea level rise and other signs of global warming. This isn’t anything new for DiCaprio.  A UN messenger of peace, he’s worked extensively on this subject and also produced and narrated the 2007 documentary “The 11th Hour.” There are reports now that he’s producing a new version of the 1990s cartoon “Captain Planet.”

Reviews have been mixed. Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times said it was too bleak to serve as a meaningful call to action: “The film wants to spur individual changes in behavior, but there’s a fair amount in it that might discourage you from even trying.” But Variety’s Andrew Barker said the film was quite effective at presenting the alarming facts about climate change. “DiCaprio is a highly effective audience surrogate, asking scientists and leaders the sorts of to-the-point questions that many viewers might well have for themselves,” Barker wrote. “He’s not afraid to sometimes appear uninformed, nor to acknowledge that his own carbon footprint is certainly larger than most.”

Here’s the good news: you can decide for yourself. You can watch the full documentary below: