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Yesterday was #AttenboroughFilm A Life on our Planet cinema sesh' day. It turns out David Attenborough and I have a lot in common: we both love orangutans and we both feel very down about the unfolding environmental crises. But...
... we also fundamentally disagree on what's to be done about said crises. The film suggests demographic transition (low birth rates esp) is the #1 way to address climate change and biodiversity loss.
This is an unhelpful and dangerous link to make. The film presents the nicest face of the demography argument: 'let's reduce poverty and educate girls'. However, the other faces of said argument are very ugly indeed as @PKashwan summarised recently https://theconversation.com/american-environmentalisms-racist-roots-have-shaped-global-thinking-about-conservation-143783?utm_medium=amptwitter&utm_source=twitter
How many of us there are on the planet is oh so secondary compared to how some of us live. Only a week ago Oxfam reported that the richest 10% of the world pop produced over half of the of the CO2 emissions between 1990 and 2015. https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/carbon-emissions-richest-1-percent-more-double-emissions-poorest-half-humanity
This has made me think about the stories we tell and share about our role in the climate + biodiversity crises. Obviously #AttenboroughFilm is good storytelling with beautiful visuals. But it's definitely not the place to look for sound explanations or innovative ideas.
I'll be recommending #DemainLeFilm to anyone who will listen instead. It articulates why we're in trouble and what some people are already doing to change things in a much clearer and inspiring way. Anything else that should go on people's to-watch list?https://www.demain-lefilm.com/en
