30 Million Directed by Daniel Price and Adrien Taylor (2016) Film Review Thirty Million is a New Zealand documentary about how rising sea levels in Bangladesh are already displacing (and killing) people in low lying coastal areas. It depicts quite dramatically how coastal farmers inundated by rising tides are moving into incredibly congested cities, where […]
via How Climate Change is Killing People in Bangladesh — The Most Revolutionary Act
“I think the trick in our hand is that we [the United Nations] have enough knowledge, enough information to act. But it is the collective acting that is what is required now. But if we are not that careful then we will definitely be suicidal if not evil. Evil is the word that could definitely be attributed to the people who have the choice and have not acted, who have the power and have not used it for the greater good of themselves, the community and the planet as a whole. We must not lose this opportunity because our leaders [of the world] have not thought it through. Or their personal, narrow, myopic vision blurs their understanding of the planetary processes. Climate change is a global phenomenon, with local impacts. But action must be taken globally. We are all in it together, either we all swim or all sink. There is no plan B, there is no planet B, this is all we have.”
~Dr. Atiq Rahman, Executive Director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, excerpt from the New Zealand documentary film, “30 Million.”
Three Worlds One Vision 
Maybe we are finally starting to resist~
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Cindy, climate change is the greatest challenge we face today – a result of our unsustainable way of life. I fear that the day will come when future generations would have only the beautiful photos of our diverse flora and fauna – that you and other photographers share – as testament of what had once existed.
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Although I side with the sentiments expressed, the truth of climate change, and the danger of extinction, I’m troubled a bit by the “good vs. evil” characterization: “But if we are not that careful then we will definitely be suicidal if not evil.” We live in a world not just of self-interested action, but also great ignorance. Suicide is an intentional act. Some of those who are unaware or have been misled might yet be persuaded of the need for constructive action.
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Dr. Stein, as I understand Dr. Rahman’s comments about our failure to address climate change as “suicidal if not evil,” he’s referring to our world leaders not to citizens who may be misinformed or ignorant about our looming threat to the survival of our species. Immediately following the inauguration of our new president, the White House website has already changed the terms of our energy policies.
An America First Energy Plan
Energy is an essential part of American life and a staple of the world economy. The Trump Administration is committed to energy policies that lower costs for hardworking Americans and maximize the use of American resources, freeing us from dependence on foreign oil.
For too long, we’ve been held back by burdensome regulations on our energy industry. President Trump is committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule. Lifting these restrictions will greatly help American workers, increasing wages by more than $30 billion over the next 7 years. [Emphasis is mine.]
Learn more at http://www.whitehouse.gov/america-first-energy
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Thanks for the correction, Rosaliene. Yes, I know about the mischief. More to come, for sure. The recent ACLU Magazine showed a picture of Mr. Trump and these words only: “See you in court.”
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Reblogged this on Guyanese Online.
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Cyril, thanks for the reblog. Have a great week 🙂
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Reblogged this on Just Living 808 and commented:
“Climate change is a global phenomenon, with local impacts. But action must be taken globally. We are all in it together, either we all swim or all sink. There is no plan B, there is no planet B, this is all we have.”
~Dr. Atiq Rahman, Executive Director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, excerpt from the New Zealand documentary film, “30 Million.”
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Mike, thanks for the reblog. Much appreciated 🙂
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may this important reality
be firmly implanted
into the conscious
of those preferring
alternate facts.
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Thanks, David. We all have to wake up to reality.
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Trump’s energy policies are dangerous, and he appears oblivious to obvious strategies that could help slow down, if not stop, climate change. Unfortunately, most Americans seem clueless about basic chemistry, so they are easily manipulated by media and politicians. For example, methane and natural gas are the same molecule, CH4. It is the simplest organic molecule. Depending on your slant, this molecule is a bad guy (climate change), or a good guy (cleanest carbon-based fuel). It is fundamental to the natural life cycle, and is generated whenever anything dies and starts to decompose.
CO2 is another molecule crucial to survival of all life. It composes less than 0.2 % of the atmosphere. By comparison, nitrogen is the most abundant molecule in the air, at 78%. Oxygen is second, at 21%. The remaining 1% consists chiefly of argon. CO2 is crucial to plant life, and historical data suggests that higher CO2 levels support abundant plant life.
To focus concerns about climate change on these two molecules misses the point. It leaves chemistry-naive Americans feeling helplessly inadequate to affect the situation. A more practical approach would be to address American wastefulness, tendency to excess and over-consumption. Heavily packaged, processed, advertised, food is a contributor. Junk mail. Gas guzzling cars. The ethanol mandate.
The ethanol mandate deserves its own blog, or series of blogs, because it is so incredibly destructive. To me, it is a key issue that Americans should address sooner rather than later, despite a president who approves of it.
I would also like to emphasize the energy-efficiency and friendly properties of passenger rail, a great antidote to climate change. Trump wants to re-build infrastructure, but his bent is toward the private auto and trucking. Trains are infinitely more practical and energy-efficient for domestic transportation of people and goods. They can carry private cars over long distances, or bicycles. We need to rethink Amtrak or abolish it completely. Eminent domain the rail lines into the public sector, under the DOT (like the highways), and we’ll see a big change in federal priorities.
By the way, the Exxon and oil people don’t like the ethanol mandate. This is a good thing.
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Katharine, your practical approach to addressing climate change is very welcome. We have to change our unsustainable way of life that puts our natural world under great stress.
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The situation was already grave and monumental before the election, but now looking at the prospect of having 4 years of this new administration doing everything they can to pump more carbon into the air and polluting our waters is terrifying. We really don’t have 4 years to waste and go backward on this fight for survival. What’s alarming is this White House’s intentions of drilling shale in our federal lands. I blog about there plans here https://nomadadvocate.wordpress.com/2017/01/24/plans-to-drill-more-especially-on-federal-lands/
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Thanks for dropping by, Travis, and for your comments. The fossil fuel industrial giants are attacking our ecosystems on all fronts.
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Reblogged this on Life of Mon and commented:
“If you’re sitting in Euro, you’re not living on the fringe because 2 degrees, 5 degrees, doesn’t make any difference. But here, one degree, two degrees…it’s two extra cyclones a year, two extra tidal waves a year- it’s a question of life and death.”
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Thanks for sharing my post with your readers.
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