Sun, Jun 18, 2006
"An Inconvenient Truth" Followups
#
Lots of cool followups to report on the
excellent
global warming movie, An Inconvenient
Truth. (KPM)
First, EricPan wrote the other day about his web site,
Share The Truth, a marketplace for giving
away free tickets to see the movie. I love Eric's enthusiasm, and
I love the fact that he did something about it, so I'm
sponsoring three free tickets with the following caveats: (KPN)
- Whoever claims the ticket must not live in the BayArea. (KPO)
- That person must bring at least one person who would not have
otherwise seen the movie. (KPP)
- That person must blog his or her impressions of the movie or post
them to the Share The Truth forum. (KPQ)
If you want to take me up on the offer, respond directly on the
forum. (KPR)
In a similar vein, I dragged the HyperScope project team along with
other folks in our
extended
community to see the movie. We had (and
continue
to have) lots of great discussion afterwards. I encourage all of you
to take similar field trips. (KPS)
Finally, in my review, I
wrote: (KPT)
We need more transparency in society, and we need tools that give us
that transparency. For example, when I
purchase food
from the supermarket, I'd like to know the comparative "carbon costs"
of those different items. As my friend StephanieSchaaf has often
pointed out, when you buy locally grown produce, even if it's
nonorganic, you're helping the environment, because less energy is
consumed in transporting the food. Everyone needs to know these
things, and then they can decide for themselves whether or not to do
anything about it. T (KPU)
BorisMann
(via KellanElliottMcCrea) reports that there's a grocery delivery
service in Vancouver that includes distance travelled on its bill.
It's called Small Potatoes Urban Delivery. Cool
stuff. (KPV)
/movies |
Posted at 11:39am
Mon, Jun 05, 2006
An Inconvenient Truth
#
I saw "An Inconvenient Truth" last
night. Go see it. It's well done, and it's not entirely upsetting.
More importantly, bring someone who wasn't already planning on
seeing it. (KL2)
My biggest takeaway from the movie: I had previously thought that
there was scientific disagreement over whether or not global warming
was real. AlGore shows that this is not the case. They took a 10
percent sample of articles published in peer-reviewed scientific
journals (almost 1,000 articles), and every single one of them
acknowledged global warming as real phenomenon. They then took a
similar sampling of articles in the popular media, and over 50 percent
of them suggested that there were some scientific detractors.
Propaganda stinks, but it sure is effective. (For more on this, check
out MichaelShermer's
Skeptic column in the June 2006 issue of ScientificAmerican,
spotted by the movie's blog.) (KL3)
This further reinforces my view on the most important challenges we
need to address en route to solving the world's biggest problems:
transparency and dialog. (KL4)
I'm a big believer in markets, but markets rely on "perfect
information" to work correctly. When we live in a world that is so
easily swayed by propaganda that the popular press reports that global
warming is scientifically controversial and the majority of Americans
believed that SaddamHussein was behind 9/11, then we don't have
perfect information. I have no gripe with people whose beliefs are
different from mine. I have a problem who base their opinions on
misinformation. (KL5)
We need more transparency in society, and we need tools that give us
that transparency. For example, when I
purchase food
from the supermarket, I'd like to know the comparative "carbon costs"
of those different items. As my friend StephanieSchaaf has often
pointed out, when you buy locally grown produce, even if it's
nonorganic, you're helping the environment, because less energy is
consumed in transporting the food. Everyone needs to know these
things, and then they can decide for themselves whether or not to do
anything about it. (KL6)
One of the ways to create a marketplace of better information is by
increasing and diversifying dialog.
Talk
is
not
cheap. We need more conversations with the people who already
surround us, and we need more conversations with those who are
different from us. (KL7)
Several of the friends I was with bemoaned the fact that those of us
watching the movie were the wrong target audience. I disagree. I
don't think the environmental community has maximized its group
potential, and movies like this can help catalyze further progress. (KL8)
JoelMakower at WorldChanging
recently wrote
about how Houston ranked last in last year's SustainLane rankings for
sustainable cities. The problem? Makower writes: (KL9)
Houston's problem, it seems, had as much to do with its lack of
self-knowledge and coordination of efforts as with its actual
performance. And that put it in good company -- not just with other
cities, but with thousands of companies that have good, green stories
to tell, if only they knew about them. Sometimes, it's the simple
matter of finding the stories -- along with good storytellers -- that
can begin a positive spiral of inspiration and innovation -- leading,
of course, to even more good stories. (KLA)
Put another way: If only Houston knew what Houston knew. Now,
increasingly, it does. (KLB)
More thoughts: (KLC)
- Gore tells a moving story about how his father was a tobacco farmer
(in addition to being a senator). His father had seen the evidence
that tobacco was linked to cancer, but continued to grow it. What
finally made him stop? When Gore's sister -- a smoker -- died of
lung cancer. (KLD)
- I enjoyed the presentation and the side bits, but I would have liked
to have seen much more of the latter. (KLE)
- The movie ends on a note of hope. Gore says that we have what we
need to solve the problem. He also says that we've solved complex
world-wide problems before, and cites the hole in the ozone layer as
one of them. I'd like to see other examples of this. I'm also a
bit concerned about managing expectations. WickedProblems are
wicked because solutions generate more problems. The environmental
problems we face today aren't just caused by global warming, but
also by environmental instability. Reducing carbon dioxide levels
in the atmosphere is another form of instability, and there will be
consequences. (KLF)
- I was disappointed that things like buying local foods and
CarbonCredits? weren't mentioned. For more on CarbonCredits?, see
JamaisCascio's entry at WorldChanging and also BradTempleton's
thoughts (via
Ping). (KLG)
- After the movie, I went to the web site's
Carbon
Calculator to figure out my role in this crisis. It was
disheartening, to say the least. My problem? I drive 20,000 miles
a year. I've improved a bit since
moving to
SanFrancisco, as I take public transporatation more often, and I
carpool when I can. I also drive a Honda Civic with great mileage.
Nevertheless, I've got to figure out more ways to drive less. (KLH)
/movies |
Posted at 10:53am
Wed, Nov 12, 2003
A Village Across the World
#
My friend Ying Qian recently completed a documentary,
A Village Across the
World, with her film partner, Jie Li. From the synopsis: (AO)
A Village Across the World follows a group of international English-teaching volunteers into the cultural and emotional landscape of a Chinese village. Tucked away in the mountains, the Huangtian Village at first seemed a poor, forgotten outpost unaffected by dynamic changes happening elsewhere in China. Yet the splash of the volunteers' entry uncovered rich historical memories and changing power structures that directed the life of the village. As the "foreigners" became increasingly involved in the villagers' lives, both sides reflected on the fruits and dilemmas of intercultural contact and economic development. (AP)
The film is 48 minutes long, in English and Chinese with English
subtitles. (AQ)
I saw an early cut of the film, and think it's outstanding. Ying and
Jie are looking for
support to
help cover film festival entrance fees and finance a followup
documentary. Go to the
movie's web site and help support two talented filmmakers burgeoning
careers. (AR)
/movies |
Posted at 4:13pm
