Guy Reid has produced one of the best documentaries yet on what are the challenges facing homo sapiens in terms of its future relationship with planet earth - as one of the speakers says, "we are of this planet, we do not live on it."
To me, it seemed to raise the following key points:
1) Mankind cannot continue the current model of post-industrial age economic growth without this ending in our species' ultimate destruction.
2) Some kind of new model needs to be devised that will enable us to maintain a more symbiotic relationship with the environment. Some very interesting references were made to the way nearly all indigenous societies view their role as protecting and working with nature rather than separating themselves from it.
3) A huge part of the problem is the increasing urbanization that has taken place and the rise of "mega cities", where most inhabitants basically 'couldn't give a crap' about the environment, given that they have very little contact with it (one speaker said some grass growing in a pavement crack might be all they see in a week). In my opinion, governments around the world need to work on a radical new approach to implementing a new model of urban planning where inhabitants are not concentrated into such huge conglomerates.
4) Many of the commentators were asking for a change in social relations - a sort of brotherhood of man, where there are no boundaries and borders. One speaker talked about the fact that, under the current system, we seek to separate ourselves, building ever bigger houses to get away from each other. Another said that if you view planet earth from a fixed point above it, you do not see the barriers created by man but rather one homogeneous biosphere.
To be frank, I don't think this is ever going to happen unless there is some apocalyptic event that breaks down normal national barriers and interests. It is in our innate nature to focus on our own selfish interests and this mindset is almost impossible to change.
My only problem with the film was it very successfully highlighted the current disconnection between homo sapiens and nurturing the planet, but did not devote enough footage on how to achieve a new model that enables our species to thrive without the associated economic growth and abundant materialism we currently enjoy - and that many in society seek. Experts like Professor James Lovelock and Charles Eisenstein (one of the film's interviewees) have some interesting suggestions to make on this.
