Video Reflection 1

The 11th Hour - Video Reflection

Originally Posted on March 11, 2012 (http://richtrajvideoreflections.blogspot.com.au/)

Video Reflection – The 11^th Hour

The 11^th Hour provides an excellent insight to the deterioration of the planet, along with providing a positive outlook about humanities ability to turn things around, even though there is little time to do so. The film is a outcry for someone to take charge and make a decision towards positive change. The solution to the world’s problems (in this case) is the implementation of clean energy solutions.

The 11^th Hour depicts the human race as ‘monsters’ or creatures threatening the world, highlighting the ways in which we are wreaking havoc on the planet Earth. The documentary illustrates that humans are injecting poisons into the atmosphere, causing children to choke, leading to an asthma epidemic. It also highlights the issue of chemical waste dumping into the ocean, and the fact that it kills 90 per cent of the larger fish that inhabit it. The hacking down of entire forests that are vital to the Earth’s sustainability is addresses, along with the burning of fossil fuels, which create emissions disrupting the atmospheric balance which regulates the Earth’s temperature, and allows us to live. The documentary also addresses the issue of drinking water contamination, the melting of polar ice caps and the extinction of certain species of plants and animals worldwide.

            A few other things I learnt from the documentary, is that industrial civilisation has caused irreparable damage to the Earth, political and corporate leaders have, and are continuously ignoring overwhelming scientific evidence, illustrating that the Earth is in detriment. Also, too many people are using way too many resources, and they are using them way too fast, meaning that the Earth cannot keep up, and cannot reproduce the resources needed fast enough. In turn, the rate of decline has been fast-tracked, and human extinction is inevitable.

            An interesting fact I discovered was that the Earth’s increases in temperature might become self-sustaining, due to the possibility of warming seas/oceans releasing Carbon Dioxide (C0₂) from the ocean floor.

Other industrial designers need to watch this documentary in order to realise what is going on in the world today, and what things are affecting the Earth’s health and prosperity. They need to watch this film and come up with solutions to create a “greener” Earth, before it is too late. A leader is needed to take charge and guide humanity toward a greener future and new energy solutions must be devised to do so.

Take Home Messages:

The documentary provides realistic solutions and therefore hope for humans that are motivated to take action in order to save the Earth and human existence. The only challenge is getting people motivated to take action, providing motivation to humanity is the hardest aspect of the fight to sustain the survival of our planet.

            As more people contribute to the concept of saving the planet, more and more people will be motivated to join.

            Listen to expert advice – it is these ‘experts’ jobs to study the Earth and discover what things are detrimental to its sustainability and to come up with options, theories and technologies to combat the Earth’s deterioration.