Whilst watching the movie "the
eleventh hour", I felt rather dumbfounded yet pleasantly enlightened at
the same time. One of the greatest aspects that left an impression on me was
how our disregard for our home planet's condition led to the current extremes
we are experiencing now with regards to the erratic weather patterns we are not
accustomed to and the increased intensity of some natural disasters; all seem
to be interrelated with our staggering rate of pollution . Also, I felt grief
when faced with the expected fate of our beloved mother Earth because with our
way of life as it is now it is predicted that the Earth was to become like it's
sister planet, Venus, which is incapable of supporting life due to its harsh and
barren environment, as implied by Stephen Hawking. It is evident that greed for
economic superiority and ignorance of nature's priceless sustenance will lead
us to our own ruin.
As for the issues elaborated in
the movie, I was pretty much aware of all of them, but there were some tiny
details and facts that was quite new and interesting to me. In a side-by-side
comparison, it was estimated that it would cost us $35 trillion/yr to do what
nature is doing for us and that all the annual economies of the world would
only sum up to an estimated $18 trillion at some point in time; this just goes
to show how much we take for granted our environment with our continued
pollution and immoderate ravaging of natural resources. It also never occurred
to me that trees can hold 57000 gallons of water which puts in to perspective
its ability to stop floods. The various applications of science and technology
to aid in the solution like carbon neutral cities and self sustaining buildings
certainly show promise.
If given the chance to venture
further in to one of the topics in the
film, I would most certainly want to know more about the technologies and their
applications that could aid in rebuilding our society into a more congenial
entity for our environment; as a mechanical engineering student, all of this is
intriguing and relevant to me in some way. In order to do this, I need to learn
more about environmental issues under close scrutiny. As things stand now, I
know enough to proceed and learn more about these issues because I live in a
golden age where information is easily available with the internet at my
disposal. It's also a given that learning these issues isn't something
esoteric; everyone has the capacity to take-in and learn facts after all.
There is no environmental issue
regarding locally produced food per se, but rather it's about its application
to the totality of the population which is in need of it to sustain life; patronizing
locally produced foods takes less of a toll on resources and the environment as
compared to imported foods which is dependent on transports that increase
greenhouse gases. The real issue at hand is the consumption of the food because
the staggering pace of the increase in population demands an increase in food
production, but with this and the need of the country to import food for its
economy, a deficit is created. It's handling well for now, but soon our lands
and seas will struggle due to our over consumption of our multitudinous
population.
I sincerely believe that everyone
should oblige and see this film for the greater good of everyone's future because
without us, nature would strive and flourish, but we, humans, on the other hand
are dependent on nature so it's only
common sense for us to do our part to co-exist with nature in a more
sustainable way through enlightening ourselves with films such as this and
other form of media. The movie is comprehensive enough to leave an impression
on everyone, but despite that there will always be some people who will chose
to wallow in their ignorance and obnoxiousness; as to who these people might
be, it's impossible to stratify who they can be in general because every person
is unique and you can't quantify their tendencies.
I already mentioned that one the
most striking issues for me while watching the film was the possibility of the
Earth ending-up as a dead planet like
Venus, but I would like to emphasize it again.
This already served as an ominous foreboding for me and is rather sad to
think that, though we are alive now, we are slowly killing ourselves through
our abuse of the very planet that has cradled and nourish our lives for so long.
If we are wiped-off the face of the Earth right now it can still heal itself;
this just goes to show that in all the achievements and development of our race
we are still insignificant when faced with the raw power of nature. So let it
be said that we should do our part to become part of the solution no matter how
small it may be.
After watching this film, I
appreciated the environment much more; so-much-so that it compelled me to
actively take part in conserving because even if a single act can seem
insignificant, the totality of the people taking part in it would still add-up.
I will reduce my carbon footprint by thoroughly thinking-out my actions in
every aspect of my life. I will try to lessen my consumption of water and
refrain from leaving any electrical appliances on when not in use. I will
maintain what I learned and apply them in what little I can, and by also
teaching others about our environment.
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