Wednesday, August 22, 2007

The 11th Hour

Went to an advanced screening of "The 11th Hour".

The film is a documentary about climate change and how humans are (largely) responsible for causing it.

Here are the main points:
  • The Earth is very sick
  • Ecosystem is out of balance
    • Climate change caused by:
      • Humans
        • Rapid population increase
        • Rapid increase in greenhouse gas emission
        • Excess consumption
        • Waste
        • Reliance on fossil fuels
  • We have the technology today to greatly reduce carbon emissions
  • Primary problem today is government/big oil/lack of public awareness
  • Time is running out, we need to do something

My thoughts:
  • The film is very U.S.-centric. It's true that the US is the biggest consuming nation and is very behind in its environmental practices, although this is very much an international problem. China is a huge concern - growth is out of control (and they have surpassed the U.S. in carbon emissions).
  • The film presents this bleak situation but then doesn't argue strongly enough for a call to action.
  • The movie presents so much information and is somewhat difficult to follow. I preferred "An Inconvenient Truth".
My recommendation:
Be aware of the situation. Educate yourself. Do something.

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