We went to see a special screening of The 11th Hour last week, with a Q&A with one of the producers and people interviewed in the movie. The movie is about 90 minutes long, and is mostly in a ‘talking heads’ format featuring environmentalists and scientists concerned with life on Earth, our connection to, and impact on everything else associated with our home.
Parts of it do come off a bit preachy or alarmist, but overall the movie contains quite a bit of interesting information. It is relatively light on data (see An Inconvenient Truth for that), but delves more into the philosophical aspects of environmentalism. Many of the interviewees emphasize that we are not above_ nature, or given dominion over the world; we are a part of nature; we are tied to every other living thing. They talk about the need to ween ourselves off fossil fuels and live in more sustainable way; we have the technology to do so today. Of course there are some accusatory/inflammatory topics and statements – especially as they pertain to politicians and corporations.
Another interesting aspect they go into is the American consumer economy (I’ve posted on this before) – and an interesting factoid – “for every 1 truckload of goods that have lasting value, there are 32 truckloads of waste.”
I recommend you check out the movie. It is very interesting and informative. The best part is that it doesn’t end on a ‘doom and gloom’ note. We can do something about this; we need to take action.
