As I attend events promoting sustainability and our planet, I find myself rethinking what place Biome+You has in inciting change and advocacy. Tonight I realized that the majority of the apathy surrounding climate change is driven by the use of 'The Planet' as this third party that could use our help, when the reality of the situation is that we are an "infant species that is consuming resources in unprecedented proportions. We treat nature as a limitless commodity." (The 11th Hour) The planet has all the time in the world to 'fix' itself, but we don't.
I just finished watching the documentary, The 11th Hour, and found myself feeling as jolted as I did five years ago when I saw Who Killed the Electric Car, another great documentary.
This piece is a jostling record of the expletive that is our life. I want to tread lightly and give a balanced review of this work, so I will include some resources at the end of this post so you can read reviews from both skeptics and supporters.
The 11th Hour goes through great lengths to avoid the Doomsday rhetoric that inundates similar works. This is evident in their appeal to human sensibility, and its reliance on scientific study and tangible measures instead of the hazy abstractions of melting ice caps and burning forests. I take issue with the pace of the film as I had to rewind about twenty times to digest the gems of information and quotes sewn throughout this film.
Examples:
"Media, technology and services thrive when we free ourselves of fossil fuels. Energy independence allows us to divert our economies to the production of goods and services devoid from the perversions of petroleum lobbyists and agendas."
Akin to the ideals of Who Killed the Electric Car, "Open Energy Competition between dirty and clean fuels would yield more accurate reflections of public opinion then what we see today."
"Every time you buy something, you are voting...making the decision that you accept how this product has been created..."
"Things are the thieves of time...The more you have, the more you have to work and consume to maintain it."
"You can never have enough of what you don't know...consuming to fill a void in awareness."
In all, The 11th Hour is a call to action. An alarm has been sounded. We need to stop debating about whether or not our environment is changing, and make a concerted effort to change even the most granular facets of our lives to do more with less. Even if you're a skeptic about global warming, the worst that could happen from assuming sustainable practices would be an overabundance of resources.
Watch the film in bite-sized portions and take note. Changes in legislation and social norms start with your 'vote, every time you choose to put something in and around your body.
The 11th Hour Trailer
