What were you doing 10 years ago? (Here's the part where we all start doing our own historic, personal & mental math, figuring out just exactly where we were and what we were doing, way back when. And hopefully it is NOT a scene similar to the one from the 1989 movie When Harry Met Sally when Billy Crystal [in an attempt to make conversation] asked his young girlfriend where she was when Kennedy was shot, and the pretty young thing answered, "Ted Kennedy was shot?")
So, 10 years ago = 2006.10 years ago yesterday (May 24th), An Inconvenient Truth came out. For those of us who lived through the "dangling chad" era of the Bush-Gore Election of 2000, An Inconvenient Truth brought a new light to politics and to Al Gore himself, 6 years later. Seen more as an intellectual than an a fallen future president, Al Gore and his image instantly turned (with the tables) with this movie alone. Well, at least for those of us in the environmental sphere. "Al Gore for the Win!"...regardless of presidential status.
Given all of this, history leads to hashtags this week as #ait10 is sweeping the Twitter-waves. Take Action has inspired this hashtag along with the invitation to share our story of our memories and how this pivotal film has hit us--both then and now.
“In this 10th-anniversary year of the release of the film, I am proud of the progress we have made. Solutions are now within reach. But more than ever, there is no time to waste. We must bring these solutions to every corner of the globe.”— Jeff Skoll, founder and chairman of Participant Media and executive producer of An Inconvenient Truth
Here is a good place to follow up on #ait10 and see some pretty amazing video commentary. Some of the featured speakers:- Jordan Howard, Jordan Howard, activist, Social Goods Strategist
- Ed Begley Jr., actor and environmentalist
- Bill McKibben, founder, 350.org
- David Suzuki, cofounder, David Suzuki Foundation
- Michael Brune, executive director, Sierra Club
- Tara Deporte, founder and executive director, The Human Impacts Inst.
- Lilly Belanger, program director, No Impact Project
- Davis Guggenheim, director, 'An Inconvenient Truth'
- Gregg Renfrew, founder, Beautycounter
- Nancy Pochis Banks, artist
- and more!
I love watching these commentaries and how this movie impacted each of these individuals. You see the birth of activism. It's empowering. It's what we need. People being strong, believing in "whatever" it is that they believe in. It gives passion and purpose to people. It moves you to be moved.
I am only sad that we are still arguing the existance. Dan Gutman, children's author and novelist, put it poignantly the other day on Twitter:
Seriously, people. On the spectrum, what's more important? Our existence or which bathroom we use. And let's just make sure we are washing our hands, regardless of which bathroom we use!
On this 10 year anniversary, I re-watched An Inconvenient Truth... it's probably my 3rd or 4th viewing ever--but it's certainly been awhile. Seemed like the reflective thing to do, here, 10 years later. Again, my eyes opened, and again I pondered... so what if we are wrong,, and the worst case scenario is that we improve our planet. OMG! What if we improve the planet!!?!
For those of you who haven't seen it in 10 years....or forever, you can find it at Amazon and you can rent the DVD at Netflix. I'm sure you can happen upon it elsewhere as well.
If you're like me, and you can't quite get enough, as it feels like it just propels you to become one with the Earth and your own inner activist, go forth and check out these TED Talks:
For those of you who haven't seen it in 10 years....or forever, you can find it at Amazon and you can rent the DVD at Netflix. I'm sure you can happen upon it elsewhere as well.
If you're like me, and you can't quite get enough, as it feels like it just propels you to become one with the Earth and your own inner activist, go forth and check out these TED Talks:
- Case for Optimism of Climate Change (Feb. 2016)
- What Comes After The Inconvenient Truth? (Feb. 2009)
- New Thinking On the Climate Crisis (March 2008)
- Averting the Climate Crisis (Feb. 2006)
No comments :
Post a Comment