Such plans, which typically adopt a goal for the reduction of greenhouse gasses, have been adopted by cities of every size, including Austin. San Antonio’s Sustainability Plan, one of three prongs of the SA Tomorrow comprehensive plan recently approved by City Council, does not include a Climate Action Plan. And some of the most proactive steps are being taken by cities, not by the federal goverment, she added. … The number one thing we can do is to start a conversation.”īut that conversation needs to evolve into action. “Hope does not come from the science,” Hayhoe said. So did the panelists in San Antonio on Friday night. What is “new,” is that climate change is happening even faster than scientists originally anticipated, Hayhoe said.Īlong with the “gloom and doom” conclusion of Before the Flood however, comes a modifier of hope. After pointing to the unsustainable, dangerous, even unethical, rate of our exploitation of natural resources, Obama, the Pope, and even the NASA scientist with likely-terminal cancer see the ability of humanity to turn the tide. The film notes that scientists have been studying climate change, then called global warming, for decades. It does, however, give an update on data with breathtaking visuals captured from around the world: vibrant coral reefs are reduced to slimy, grey boneyards fires forcing orangutans to flee or burn 300 million people in India without electricity methane emissions (cow farts) that make a good case for becoming a vegetarian or at the very least reducing your beef consumption.īut it’s been scary for a while. Remember when Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth came out a decade ago? That was scary, too, and there are few new concepts presented by DiCaprio and Stevens that hasn’t already been exposed. That’s why offering “practical, viable, and inspirational” solutions is critical, Hayhoe said. He liked the film, but noted that “doom and gloom doesn’t poll well with the public.” One of the biggest challenges climate change documentaries and scientists face is that the problem seems unsurmountable to most people, Melnick said. “( Before the Flood does a good job of explaining that) you don’t have to be a certain type of person to care about climate change,” said Hayhoe, who runs the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock and is an evangelical Christian and author. Parents, environmentalists, health advocates, economists, liberals, and, yes, conservatives – the problems climate change presents are interconnected across human life and activity, she said, but so are the solutions. The screening was hosted by local organizers with Environmental Defense Fund and Moms Clean Air Force and featured a localized panel that echoed one that took place earlier this month during the president’s South By South Lawn arts and ideas festival at the White House. Those issues aside, Before the Flood might be one of the scariest movies you’ll watch in 2016, that is, if you believe the vast majority of climate scientists. It’s safe to say that most of the San Antonians that packed the theater at Alamo Drafthouse Park North Friday night during a private screening of the film, are not climate change deniers. His acceptance of this position, and coming film, comes with questions of DiCaprio’s own far larger-than-average carbon footprint and a rainforest charity has recently called for him to step down because of alleged financial ties to investors involved in a Malaysian embezzlement scandal. But his involvement doesn’t come out of left field: he was named as an United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2014 for his dedication to environmental activism. DiCaprio brings yet another household name and fame to the conversation – it’s an awareness tactic. ![]() Having DiCaprio produce and star in the film may seem like a publicity stunt, pulling on society’s infatuation with celebrity and drama. This part of the film reminded me of the late comedian George Carlin’s take on the matter: “The planet isn’t going anywhere. Sure, there will be some bugs and sea slime, as one scientist pointed out, but almost everything else will suffer.
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