Before the Flood
October 31, 2016 12:46 PM Subscribe
The documentary 'Before the Flood' is free to stream on National Geographic's Youtube channel until November 6. It follows Leonardo DiCaprio as he interviews individuals from every facet of society in both developing and developed nations who provide unique, impassioned and pragmatic views on what must be done today and in the future to prevent catastrophic disruption of life on our planet from climate change.
the poor are bearing more of the brunt than the wealthy
the pope called on catholics to embrace climate change as a life issue
we are not heeding milestones, however arbitrary
in 40 years, when my grandchildren ask me why it happened, i will say, the lies were so effective that it took the hope out of me, like a balloon
posted by radicalawyer at 1:28 PM on October 31, 2016 [5 favorites]
the pope called on catholics to embrace climate change as a life issue
we are not heeding milestones, however arbitrary
in 40 years, when my grandchildren ask me why it happened, i will say, the lies were so effective that it took the hope out of me, like a balloon
posted by radicalawyer at 1:28 PM on October 31, 2016 [5 favorites]
This looks really good, but things like this seem like they're just preaching to the choir. The people open to the film's message probably already accept it. People opposed to the idea of climate change (or doing anything about it) will dismiss it as just another liberal Hollywood type spreading liberal propaganda.
posted by Sangermaine at 1:53 PM on October 31, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by Sangermaine at 1:53 PM on October 31, 2016 [8 favorites]
Leonardo DiCaprio is awesome for doing this, but it does seem like just more preaching to the choir--or possibly even having the opposite effect? See the recent Guardian article about the Pope's Encyclical having the opposite of its intended effect: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/24/pope-franciss-edict-on-climate-change-has-fallen-on-deaf-ears-study-finds
And I can't remember where I read this, but I do recall someone saying that Al Gore was the wrong person at the wrong time to spread the word about climate change--even arguing that "An Inconvenient Truth" set the movement back by having his highly polarizing name attached to it.
God, I wish something would get through to people.
posted by whistle pig at 2:12 PM on October 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
And I can't remember where I read this, but I do recall someone saying that Al Gore was the wrong person at the wrong time to spread the word about climate change--even arguing that "An Inconvenient Truth" set the movement back by having his highly polarizing name attached to it.
God, I wish something would get through to people.
posted by whistle pig at 2:12 PM on October 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
I loved how much he squirmed when he was called out by Sunita Narain.
posted by anti social order at 2:24 PM on October 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by anti social order at 2:24 PM on October 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
One must have a lot of faith in humanity to remain optimistic about the impending shitstorm we are striding into.
posted by dazed_one at 4:45 PM on October 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by dazed_one at 4:45 PM on October 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
At least crews got paid on this doc, unlike his previous one, The 11th Hour.
posted by Ideefixe at 5:15 PM on October 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 5:15 PM on October 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
Perfect timing, I was just thinking I needed a good horror movie to watch tonight.
posted by mannequito at 5:34 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by mannequito at 5:34 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
I've found pointing to the Exxon lawsuit in New York helps sow some doubt in the die hard deniers minds. The energy companies are totally in it for the money, so easy deflections are harder. Connecting it to the old lawsuit against the tobacco companies really cuts through the dissonance as well.
I still have yet to find a good counter to the claim we have no proof that humanity caused it.
I'm pretty sure we will survive the correction coming. We're too much like cockroaches. I doubt I'll live long enough to see the general shape of the correction, but the question I'd ask a seer would be: how many billions will we lose?
posted by Strange_Robinson at 8:29 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
I still have yet to find a good counter to the claim we have no proof that humanity caused it.
I'm pretty sure we will survive the correction coming. We're too much like cockroaches. I doubt I'll live long enough to see the general shape of the correction, but the question I'd ask a seer would be: how many billions will we lose?
posted by Strange_Robinson at 8:29 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Strange_Robinson: "how many billions will we lose?"Human lives or dollars? It's the latter figure that will determine our course of action.
posted by brokkr at 2:39 AM on November 1, 2016
I've tried writing a response to this several times but it's just depressing. Honestly we need a single global authority to issue a directive saying - you can't have what you want, this is what is sustainable at this time and anything more is not going to be impossible. You're going to have to give up a lot of what you have, almost all of what you want and you're going to have to share with and look after people you don't know and probably wouldn't like.
I'm a vegetarian anarchist, I have as small a carbon footprint as is possible, I'm pro-union, anti-authoritarian and every other hippy thing imaginable but the only solution outside of wishful thinking is ordering people not to be cunts. They won't do it on their own.
Neither capitalism nor nationalism can solve the problem and we as a species are so tribal, so fractured that working together is just not going to happen. Within the next 50 years I fully expect to read about Royal Navy ships machine-gunning Middle Eastern refugees by the boatload because fuck them we aren't sharing.
We need an OCP to get us to work together we've not got an Adrian Veidt to trick us so outside of the magical trifecta (fusion, AI or a visit from a Culture GSV) I'm thinking we're pretty much fucked.
posted by longbaugh at 3:27 AM on November 1, 2016 [8 favorites]
I'm a vegetarian anarchist, I have as small a carbon footprint as is possible, I'm pro-union, anti-authoritarian and every other hippy thing imaginable but the only solution outside of wishful thinking is ordering people not to be cunts. They won't do it on their own.
Neither capitalism nor nationalism can solve the problem and we as a species are so tribal, so fractured that working together is just not going to happen. Within the next 50 years I fully expect to read about Royal Navy ships machine-gunning Middle Eastern refugees by the boatload because fuck them we aren't sharing.
We need an OCP to get us to work together we've not got an Adrian Veidt to trick us so outside of the magical trifecta (fusion, AI or a visit from a Culture GSV) I'm thinking we're pretty much fucked.
posted by longbaugh at 3:27 AM on November 1, 2016 [8 favorites]
longbaugh: although to be fair, global warming could be one of those failed SC interventions.
– Conservative modelling suggested that they'd pull together once we made the correlations apparent. Well, egg on our metaphorical faces…
posted by monocultured at 4:47 AM on November 1, 2016
– Conservative modelling suggested that they'd pull together once we made the correlations apparent. Well, egg on our metaphorical faces…
posted by monocultured at 4:47 AM on November 1, 2016
No Culture Mind would assume we're not stupidly self-destructive. They knew that back in '77 ;)
posted by longbaugh at 5:27 AM on November 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by longbaugh at 5:27 AM on November 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
I still have yet to find a good counter to the claim we have no proof that humanity caused it.
What have you tried? I usually start by pointing out that we have small scale experiments showing that carbon dioxide traps heat, so we know something about the physical mechanism. (You could even point them to a relevant episode of Mythbusters!) Then I point to a graph of temperature as a function of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, like this one. Then I point out that we know the recent, rapid rise of CO2 in the atmosphere is due to human activity.
The graph on its own might not be very good evidence that CO2 concentration is causing temperature. But in conjunction with what we know about the physical mechanism and what we know about the production of CO2, it is very good evidence that humans are affecting the climate. (The alternative, which can be easily ruled out, is that the temperature is naturally increasing and that CO2 concentration has been rising in virtue of natural forces, rather than in virtue of human activity. This alternative is doubly wrong, since it ignores what we know about human activity producing CO2 and it gets facts wrong about, for example, the intensity of solar radiation reaching Earth's surface.)
I find that laying things out like this is persuasive to people who are honestly unsure about what to think.
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 7:46 AM on November 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
What have you tried? I usually start by pointing out that we have small scale experiments showing that carbon dioxide traps heat, so we know something about the physical mechanism. (You could even point them to a relevant episode of Mythbusters!) Then I point to a graph of temperature as a function of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, like this one. Then I point out that we know the recent, rapid rise of CO2 in the atmosphere is due to human activity.
The graph on its own might not be very good evidence that CO2 concentration is causing temperature. But in conjunction with what we know about the physical mechanism and what we know about the production of CO2, it is very good evidence that humans are affecting the climate. (The alternative, which can be easily ruled out, is that the temperature is naturally increasing and that CO2 concentration has been rising in virtue of natural forces, rather than in virtue of human activity. This alternative is doubly wrong, since it ignores what we know about human activity producing CO2 and it gets facts wrong about, for example, the intensity of solar radiation reaching Earth's surface.)
I find that laying things out like this is persuasive to people who are honestly unsure about what to think.
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 7:46 AM on November 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
Strange_Robinson: Sustainable energy – without the hot air has some chapters which could aid you. A very pedagogical book.
posted by monocultured at 8:09 AM on November 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by monocultured at 8:09 AM on November 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
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