The 11th Hour is a documentary film about the state of the natural environment. It primarily speaks of the present situation of our planet, the inevitable outcome of our actions if we continue our ways, and possible solutions to, at least, lessen the effects of global warming to us human beings. These topics were presented in an orderly manner through the views of various politicians, scientists, and environmental activists.
Problems such as Global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction, and depletion of the ocean's habitats are all addressed. As I watch the film, I became aware of the present state of our environment and the future problems that we will be facing if we keep on our culture of consumerism. It has been pointed out in the film that the world has this balance between human beings and nature. This balance has kept our planet stable for a few thousands of years. But as human beings learned to build machines, in addition to the increase in population, we started to consume more of our natural resources to the point where we are already utilizing more than what our planet could provide. We altered the balance. This led us to the main problem, the way human beings think. Our mentality of being superior among all creation is our biggest mistake. Because of this mentality, we thought that we could just get off with our irresponsible exhaustion of natural resources. What we did not know was that if we continue our irresponsible actions, we are the ones who would suffer.
One specific topic that struck me during the film is about fossil fuels. It was in this film that I learned that the main cause of global warming is because fossil fuel is man's main source of energy, and burning fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide which would aid in the increased rate of warming in the earth's atmosphere.
The last part of the film provided us with possible ideas for a sustainable future. But I think that the most viable solution is the use of renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro-energy instead of fossil fuels. This would therefore help decrease the rate of global warming.
After watching the film, I felt sad because I could not imagine what kind of earth the future generations would have if we continue our culture of consumerism without taking into consideration sustainability. I also felt challenged as to how could I contribute in creating a sustainable future. As a student, I know that simple actions like recycling and less reliance to wasteful technology are possible contributions.
