First, the good. Without resorting to cloying scare tactics, the doc does a decent job of outlining the science behind how our world is changing and the dangers it represents. The doc also has access to a number of interesting early projects backed by research data that could make a real impact on our drawdown requirements for carbon and methane sequestration. Paul Hawken is a particularly great interview subject given his efforts behind Project Drawdown.
But then the not-so-good. It completely worships at the "new technology will save the day" altar. For anyone who has worked with the best climate models available to us, you learn really quickly how unrealistic that is. Nuclear power took 20 years to roll out the infrastructure at scale for example, and the world will cook in the interim.
Technology is a part of the strategy, but it isn't enough. The doc does lend credence to the "silver buckshot" vs "silver bullet" thinking, but it puts all its eggs in the new tech basket. This also absolves humans of their responsibilities to necessarily change our comsumption-driven ways of thinking and living. It's as if we are told we can continue eating cheeseburgers and living a sedentary lifestyle because our doctor can come up with a new magical diet pill and we won't need to change a thing.
New technologies also always introduce as many new problems as the ones they attempt to solve. There is no attempt to qualify or quantify that. Let's seed the oceans with iron filings and create bubbles to carbonate the ocean! It's the magic diet pill with no side effects.
The strength of a documentary is in how it tells a complete story, not just a weighted account. As such, this doc ran more like cheerleading piece for how new geoengineering technologies will save us with no harmful side-effects -- which is ignorant at best and dangerous at worst. All we need to do is call our senator.
But then the not-so-good. It completely worships at the "new technology will save the day" altar. For anyone who has worked with the best climate models available to us, you learn really quickly how unrealistic that is. Nuclear power took 20 years to roll out the infrastructure at scale for example, and the world will cook in the interim.
Technology is a part of the strategy, but it isn't enough. The doc does lend credence to the "silver buckshot" vs "silver bullet" thinking, but it puts all its eggs in the new tech basket. This also absolves humans of their responsibilities to necessarily change our comsumption-driven ways of thinking and living. It's as if we are told we can continue eating cheeseburgers and living a sedentary lifestyle because our doctor can come up with a new magical diet pill and we won't need to change a thing.
New technologies also always introduce as many new problems as the ones they attempt to solve. There is no attempt to qualify or quantify that. Let's seed the oceans with iron filings and create bubbles to carbonate the ocean! It's the magic diet pill with no side effects.
The strength of a documentary is in how it tells a complete story, not just a weighted account. As such, this doc ran more like cheerleading piece for how new geoengineering technologies will save us with no harmful side-effects -- which is ignorant at best and dangerous at worst. All we need to do is call our senator.