Rainn Wilson changes name to 'Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson' to protest climate crisis

Climate change has been a huge issue around the world, and world leaders have been contemplating how to deal with it for what seems like forever. Meanwhile, actor Rainn Wilson has decided not to stay silent about it and is calling attention to the crisis in an unorthodox manner. The 56-year-old changed his name to Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson and is now encouraging others to do the same to highlight the need for immediate action to fight climate change. Wilson made the announcement through a Twitter video on Wednesday ahead of the United Nations climate change conference COP27 in Egypt this week, as reported by Variety.

Wilson reportedly changed his name using a website called Arctic Risk Name Generator which encourages people to become an "Arctic name changer" in what it describes as "a real game changer" move. He is also the board member of Arctic Basecamp, a climate science group that focuses on the dangers and global risks of Arctic weather change. The actor has since changed his display name on Instagram to reflect the name change but tweeted that he was unable to change it on his Twitter handle due to shifting rules regarding verified accounts. 

"With the help of my scientist friends at Arctic Basecamp, I've changed my name to Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson," Wilson said in a statement. "This is not a joke, I'm as serious as the melting Arctic, which amplifies global risks including extreme weather events around the globe.”

"I'm hoping this name change brings attention to this growing... er, melting issue. We need world leaders at COP27 to take notice and take action. The Arctic is melting at millions of liters per second, yet this problem can't seem to make a name for itself, so it's up to us to make a name for it," Wilson added.

"Go to ArcticRiskName.org and create a name that will bring attention to this problem. Then – and this is the important part – change your social media profile or display name to match your new ArcticRisk name," he said. "And if enough of us do this, then maybe COP27 will be where our world leaders sit up and notice Arctic risks and introduce a solution."

This is not the first time that Wilson has been involved in environmental activism. The actor previously released a YouTube series called An Idiot's Guide To Climate Change which featured interviews with climate activist Greta Thunberg, and other prominent climatologists, according to Forbes. 

In an interview with Forbes in 2020, Wilson spoke about how his Office character Dwight might respond to the climate crisis: "I think Dwight, with a connection to his character 'Recyclops' and his knowledge as a farmer, would come around to becoming some kind of climate-change activist. At least, that's what I would hope for him as a character."