The Earth (Movie) Will Blow Your Mind

Guest post by Jake Brewer, originally posted at HuffingtonPost

Editor's note: Attention Planet Earth fans: you won't want to miss this! If you've fallen in love with the incredible and creative cinematography of the unique series and still marvel at the awe-inspiring sights and wonders of this unique planet, you're going to want to check out the new movie, Earth, due out in theaters soon. Jake Brewer caught an early look at the movie, and has this review...

"How can people be expected to care if they aren't inspired? This is a movie designed to inspire."

That's they way producer Alastair Fothergill described his highly anticipated new film Earth this week at the film's early screening in DC.

Now I am not, nor claim to be, a movie critic, but if Fothergill's, and director Mark Linfield's intent was inspiration, they completely and utterly deliver throughout their 85 minute film.

I write this as a 28 year old dude who regularly claims not to give a (insert expletive) about polar bears and wildlife.

I grew up in the rural south; I like football and NASCAR; I drink beer in unhealthy quantities, and unbeknownst to me before this week, the planet I live on is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

...and yes, I will admit: "I (heart) baby-ducks-jumping-out-of-trees for-the-first-time." I may make a bumper sticker. Or better yet, as a progressive, I may start a caucus.

Earth is a stunning masterpiece that will leave even the most ardent coal lobbyist in awe of our planet and yearning to see more -- and to preserve it.

The Earth team spent 5 years and over 2,000 hours in the field, and in so doing have brilliantly captured the incredible mystery, wonder, horror, and beauty that is our Home.

Even the trailer will give you chills [Editor's note: anything with Sigur Ros will give you chills! It works every time...]:

For those that are fans of the Discovery/BBC Planet Earth documentary series, you will see some familiar footage, though weaved into a narrative with three lead characters: a polar bear, a humpback whale, and an elephant.

Cliche characters all, it's true, but in this film you will see them in an entirely new and never-before-captured light.

Noticeably absent from the film is the blood and gore side of the circle of life typically depicted in other nature films. Rather, the directors artfully tackle life and death as though the nature film was a dramatic ballet. That is to say, there is clear indication of the ultimate outcome, but instead of noticing it, you will be transfixed by nearly-perfected bodies in motion.

As a cheetah runs down a gazelle or as a two thousand pound great white shark leaps 10 feet out of the water while clashing its jaws around a seal, one cannot help but marvel at the impossible beauty of two predators at the height of their evolutionary development ...and slowed down 40x.

Throughout, this film is simply breathtaking.

Also noticeably absent is any message of impending doom or destruction. There is clearly an underlying tone that our planet is warming and that the climate is changing, and that is having an effect on the film's stars (particularly the polar bear) -- but the filmmakers do so without political bent and in stark contrast to films like Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth and DiCaprio's 11th Hour.

Again, this film is aimed to inspire. And it does.

So whether you are 7 years old or 97 -- and yes, even if you are a twenty-something dude from Columbia, TN -- on April 22nd, do yourself and the planet a favor, and let Earth inspire the hell out of you too.

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Igniting a Clean Energy Economy and Winning the Frame Game: Tackling Costs Head-on

Cross-posted from the Breakthrough Blog...

As the Senate opens up debate on the Climate Security Act today, one thing is clear: proponents of climate solutions face a simple, compelling and potentially powerful populist message from the opposition. It goes a little like this…

Capping greenhouse gas emissions will hurt Americans, American families, the American economy, America, etc.

As supporters of the Climate Security Act call on Congress to “Act Now!” to tackle climate change, the corporatist, fossil fuel-lovin’ right-wing of the Republican party has a ready response: doing something will do far more harm than good. Regulating emissions will raise energy prices at a time of economic uncertainty, hurt American families (especially the poor), and export jobs overseas. In short, it will cripple the American economy.

In response, proponents of climate action hold up cost containment provisions in the bill (which only concede the economy-threatening potential of the climate bill!), make half-hearted appeals to break our dependence on “foreign oil” (as if that was the bill’s primary motivation) and use the still vague language and imagery of “green jobs” to point at the economic development potential of a clean energy revolution. However, as David Roberts of Grist points out, “the positive case for climate action has no powerful elevator speech.” And it certainly doesn’t have one powerful enough to counter the opposition’s appeal to economic fears centered on the issue of costs.

As Roberts writes, advocates of climate solutions need a powerful counter-message. WE need a message as simple and effective as the opposition’s, one that tackles the cost issue head-on.

Roberts offers this message as our elevator pitch: “cutting emissions will rescue American families.”

Right now our economy is lashed to a sinking ship, the USS Fossil. The price of fossil fuels is rising (yes, that includes coal). For reasons that are structural and unlikely to change, gasoline, heating oil, and coal electricity are going to get more and more expensive for the foreseeable future. Worse, prices are going to be volatile and unpredictable.

Unless we want to go down with the ship, we need to start building an ark. By freeing us from fossil fuels, climate legislation is designed to avoid a future of high and volatile prices. …That's the simple message: fossil fuels and their patrons are a threat to American families. … It's the fossil lobby vs. American families. A future of rising prices and sordid geopolitical entanglements vs. a future of stable energy sources, vibrant domestic industries, and healthy American people. ... Fear vs. courage.

Roberts is right. We desperately need a powerful counter-message, an inspiring rationale for climate action that tackles the issue of energy costs head-on. Until we get one, we’ll lose the frame game to Do Nothing Delayers and Drill and Kill Republicans.

He’s almost right in the message too. Almost, I say, because rather than try to put capping carbon, or even “cutting emissions” at the center of our message, we should go straight to the solutions. We should have a simple and powerful message that puts igniting a clean energy revolution at its heart.

Cutting emissions is part of the message, but it’s just a part. It’s critical, but it doesn’t have to be at the center of our frame. In fact, as long as we put emissions reductions at the center, any message that addresses costs and economic concerns will be secondary, an outgrowth or add-on, a corollary (if powerful) co-benefit.

Igniting a new clean energy economy freed from our addiction to fossil fuels and recharged by investments in energy efficient technologies and renewable energy is a much better counter to the opposition’s focus on costs and economic risks than a continued focus on emissions reductions. The emissions reductions are a corollary (if powerful) co-benefit here, not the center of the frame. (This shift goes beyond just messaging too, of course, and affects the content of the policy proposals in subtle but critical ways as well…)

In short, right-wingers and fossil fuel barons say climate action will cripple the American economy. Our response so far has been, “maybe, but it’ll be worth it.”

Instead we need to say:

No! YOU would have us cripple the American economy, keeping it shackled by an ever more costly and increasingly devastating addiction to fossil fuels.

WE will ignite a clean energy revolution that frees America from expensive and volatile energy costs, shatters our dependence on fossil fuels, and builds a more prosperous and sustainable future.

For example, when James Inhofe says, “Any [climate] action has to provide real protections for the American economy and jobs, and we must protect the American families,” (as he did today in the New York Times) we can say:

Igniting a clean energy economy and breaking our dependence on fossil fuels IS how we provide real protections for the American economy and jobs. It IS how we protect American families.

The Drill and Kill energy “solutions” proposed by Republicans like James Inhofe and Newt Gingrich, in contrast, condemns Americans and America to a cycle of ever increasing fossil fuel costs and the deepening consequences of our addiction to oil, coal and natural gas. That is the great threat to the American economy.

The REAL solution to soaring energy costs is to ignite a clean energy economy powerful enough to end our addiction to fossil fuels, re-ignite America’s economy, solve the climate crisis and build a more sustainable, just, and prosperous future.

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Beyond 80% by '50 to a Climate Positive Vision - a New Philosophy and Goal for the Climate Movement

By Morgan Goodwin, Jesse Jenkins and Juliana Williams

Two recent studies "suggest that both industrialized and developing nations must wean themselves off fossil fuels by as early as mid-century in order to prevent warming that could change precipitation patterns and dry up sources of water worldwide... The world must bring carbon emissions down to near zero to keep temperatures from rising further."

We in the climate movement should take note of these headlines. Apparently based on a cautious interpretation of the climate science, we've been calling for relatively incremental goals like 2% reductions in emissions per year, targeting 80% reductions by 2050 - one of the "mantras" of our movement since Step it Up. We've been busy (successfully) making that 80x50 goal politically feasible.

Now the mainstream media is telling us - climate activists who are supposed to be pushing the cutting edge - that our goals aren't good enough.

"People aren't reducing emissions at all, let alone debating whether 88 percent or 99 percent is sufficient," said Gavin A. Schmidt, of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. "It's like you're starting off on a road trip from New York to California, and before you even start, you're arguing about where you're going to park at the end."

If we get wrapped up in the targets we get caught up in the mess of what's politically feasible and scientifically relevant. We as the members of the movement need to come at this from a different angle. No more statistical targets. We need a vision.

We as a country, we as a people and a society have overcome amazing challenges when we've been inspired by a vision. Inspired by JFK's call to do the seemingly impossible, we put a man on the moon and built an aerospace industry that launched an economic boom. Inspired by MLK's Dream and passion, we fought to desegregate our hearts and our society.

We now stand at the brink of a challenge that dwarfs those that have come before - climate change - and we are beginning to articulate a compelling vision that matches the scale of that challenge, of that opportunity. We are ready to start building and talking about something inspiring and tantalizing, something truly revolutionary. This sort of vision can be held by everyone in the movement, moving us from fear and despair at the scale of the challenge to hope and optimism at the equally grand scale of opportunity that challenge presents. That sort of vision must be powerful enough to inspire individuals and society to action.

What is our vision?

Since the Power Shift summit, young leaders across the country have been developing an idea that feels both powerful and simple:

We can be Climate Positive.

Climate Positive has dual meanings. It is a philosophy or mind-set, a way of engaging with the world and the challenge of climate change. And it is also a goal, the target towards which we as a movement and a society are striving.

Climate Positive is a mind-set that engages eagerly in the opportunities inherent in solving the climate crisis by building a sustainable, just, and prosperous, post-carbon society. It is a philosophy fueled by the vision of the possible, actively striving to make a better future a reality by engaging everyone in the solutions.

Climate Positive also means that net global greenhouse gas emissions are below the level at which they are absorbed by natural cycles. In this sense, it is the ultimate target of our movement. Putting aside percentages or numerics, Climate Positive is about restoring our atmosphere to a state of balance, and ending for good the climate crisis we are faced with today. Our scientific understanding of what is necessary to achieve this goal will be refined over time (and probably become more urgent), just as the climate science has over the last few years. The scientific understanding will change, but the Climate Positive goal will not.

Most of all, Climate Positive is a vision of what is possible, of the future that we are striving to create. The vision is not complete - we are all building it every day. But already, you can see it taking hold within the swelling ranks of the climate movement.

These days we are moving beyond simply talking about emissions reductions. We are moving beyond talking merely about what we simply wish to avoid - melting ice caps, dying polar bears, a world of climatic chaos. We are beyond talking about simple, small steps, like changing light bulbs and eating local. These things are all still critical. Emissions reductions are of course essential, individual actions and lifestyle changes are a way to start (get your house in order first, right?), and the nightmarish vision of the world we can expect if we fail to act fuels our urgency.

But we are also starting to see it differently. We are uniting behind fresh visions that are inspirational rather than limiting. We are moving beyond the paradigm of simply cutting carbon emissions to articulating bold plans for a new energy future that will reignite America's economy, generate a new kind of sustainable development, confront poverty and inequity both here and abroad, and build healthy communities that are not only materially comfortable but socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable and secure.

This approach, a Climate Positive mindset, and a Climate Positive target - a Climate Positive Vision - engages everyone in creating local and global solutions, unleashes human ingenuity, potential and compassion to end the climate crisis and build a brighter future. Those of us in the climate movement can not come up with all the solutions to meet this challenge; not even everyone currently engaged in politics, science or advocacy can come up with all the solutions. We will need everyone, everywhere working on every level.

Faced with this daunting challenge, we ask ourselves, what are global warming solutions?

A Climate Positive Vision recognizes that WE - human beings everywhere - are global warming solutions. We are a force for change, a force that can step outside the old energy paradigm to build the future and present that we know is possible. Ordinary people, acting in every community, hold the ideas and inspiration for change, and we can believe in those people as we believe in ourselves.

Daniel Quinn observes, "During your lifetime, the people of our culture are going to figure out how to live sustainably on this planet--or they're not. Either way, it's certainly going to be extraordinary. If they figure out how to live sustainably here, then humanity will be able to see something it can't see right now: a future that extends into the indefinite future. If they don't figure this out, then I'm afraid the human race is going to take its place among the species that we're driving into extinction here every day--as many as 200--every day."

We have the opportunity to build an extraordinary way of living. Let's make it Climate Positive.

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Beyond Al Gore and Inconvenient Truths: A New Generation, A New Vision, a New Dream

Al Gore, the erstwhile trumpeter of inconvenient truths and dire warnings of climate catastrophe has fallen under attack by the climate deniers and flat earth-ers of the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

CEI is taking Gore, perhaps the most visible figurehead of the climate movement, to task for living in "a posh Nashville mansion" that allegedly uses 20 times the energy of a normal American home while making money as he calls for action to halt the climate crisis.

Adhering to the age old maxim, "If you can't kill the message, kill the messenger," they cry "Hypocrite!" trying to besmirch Al Gore's cause as they besmirch his reputation.

Some of my friends and fellow bloggers have been bustling to rise to Al Gore's defense. I on the other hand, have not.

So what if Al Gore isn't a perfect model of a modern major climate hero? That's only a problem so long as we insist on making him our figurehead. His alleged hypocracy is only a problem if we insist on making climate solutions all about personal sacrifice. Heck, the bulletproof veracity of the dire predictions of climate science is only critical if we insist on making our movement solely about avoiding the nightmarish future Gore describes in "An Inconvenient Truth."

So defend Al Gore if you want, but I'm going to waste little time on it. Al Gore is not the leader of my movement. He's not my inspiration, or my hero. His message is not the message that inspires me to act.

Do we think he's going to be our MLK with a message of inconvenient truths and dire warnings? Is that what will inspire America and the world to act?

The leaders of my movement are the hundreds and hundreds of citizens and activists, many (most) of them young, working day in and day out to make a difference, trusting implicitly that others out there are doing the same. These climate champions aren't former "next presidents of the United States," or millionaire politicians. They are everyday people rising to do great things, motivated not by fear (by a sense of urgency, yes) but rather by a vision of the better world we're striving to create, a sustainable, just, and prosperous future.

Don't get me wrong, Al Gore has done a great service, tirelessly raising the profile of climate science and highlighting the warnings of the nightmare future we stand to inherit if we fail to act to end the climate crisis. But now it is time for a new generation of leaders, and a new vision of a brigther future, a vision where we talk not about "inconvenient truths," but about the very convenient fact that we stand at a moment of unique opportunity, at a catalyzing chance to create a better world.

A crisis is not yet a disaster. Gore himself says something akin to that, although that message is often lost in the rest of his rhetoric. A crisis is a choice, a choice between futures, and we still have time left to choose.

Will we choose the nightmare or the dream? And which will inspire us to action? I say it's time to dream.

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