"This is Gulf Coast 3629, radio 8 1 1." "We gotta mobilize that area." "responding to incident." "When you look at the history of humanity..." "... it'sbasicallyarelationshipbetweenthe two most complicated systems on Earth:" "Human society and nature." "And whether people have, in fact, lived in a good balance in that regard." "When they don't, they're gone." "At the end of the day, when we all talk about saving the environment..." "... ina wayit 'smisstatedbecause the environment is going to survive." "We're the ones who may not survive." "Or we may survive in a world we don't particularly wanna live in." "Our biosphere is sick." "We have a planet that's behaving like an infected organism." "If you look at it from space, you see all these lights..." "... andit'sthelightsofplanetEarth,  it's the lights of the people..." "... butit'salsoalmostlike lookingat an organism that has an infection on it..." "... thatisformingacrustofsomekind." "Well, I don't only think that the biosphere is in trouble..." "... Iknowit is ." "I just have to look around in the environment in which I live." "What I hear in my dreams..." "... isgenerationsin thefuture screaming back to us in time..." "... saying," "Whatareyoudoing?" "Don't you see?""" "We are at this critical point in time." "We've evolved to be the leaders of our biological community." "We are misleading." "We are causing the devastation..." "... toourveryfoundationofourlife system that has given us birth." "And we are ultimately committing suicide." "So as we destroy nature, we will be destroyed in the process." "There's no escaping that conclusion." "Earth 's life-support system 's damaged." "The human species at risk." "Could this be true?" "In this film, we've reached out to independent experts on the frontlines of what could be the greatest challenge of our time:" "The collapse of our planet's ecosystems and our search for solutions to create a sustainable future." "So if we look for the cause of this planetary destruction  what would we find?" "We would find a global civilization created by the human mind." "A mind that has evolved to have the ability to reflect back on ourselves..." "... totakestockofourownexistence." "A mind able to discover quantum physics, explore outer space..." "... andpeerintoour own DNA ." "But beyond our stunning intellectual and technological advances..." "... wewouldalsosee our large-scale impact on our home, planet Earth." "Ecological disasters are rarely covered." "But when they are, they're depicted as isolated incidents by the media." "But if we connect these events  willwefindalargerstory  that needs to be told?" "A human story." "And more so than that..." "... aglobalunderstanding that takes into account who we are..." "... andthestateofourrelationship to this planet, our only home." "Life on Earth is possible..." "... onlybecauseanumberofparameters lie in certain very narrow ranges." "Some of these are clearly environmental." "Like the Earth has the right temperature and pressure to have lived with water." "Creation is the universe." "Creation is everything that we can see and probably a whole lot that we can't." "Probably more that we can't see." "But it's what's about us..." "... andit'stherelationship..." "... thisamazingweboflife  that we have here." "Well, Earth is a planet that's just far enough from the sun..." "... andhasjustenoughofthatatmosphere of a certain composition..." "... thatmoreheatstayshere  than radiates out to space." "And the sun warms the planet and that heat radiates out." "There's gases in the atmosphere that have always trapped some of that heat." "So we're not an ice ball." "Scientists have compared the different planets..." "... goingawayfromthe sun  as being like the Goldilocks effect." "There's one that's too cold, too warm and just right..." "... andwejusthappentobe there ." "Forty million centuries ago, that a cell formed..." "... andthatcellhad agene , and that gene is the password..." "... toeverysingleotherform oflife there is." "And the amazing thing about the human body..." "... isithasone hundredtrillioncells and 90 percent of them are not human cells." "They're fungi and bacteria, microorganisms." "And the thing that makes us human is not human." "So within us is basically the back-story of life on Earth..." "... righttothatfirstoriginalcell 40 million centuries ago." "And if you could, for a moment..." "... stopandfeelwhatishappening in your body..." "... therearesixseptillionthings going on at the same time." "That's a six with 24 zeros after it, okay, going on right now." "Right this instant, as you sit in your chair and then in the next instance..." "... within1 0 seconds,ahundred more things have happened..." "... thaninallthe starsandplanets and asteroids..." "... intheknownuniverseinyourbody, and that is called life." "Homo sapiens sapiens is an incredibly young species." "We don't think of that." "But we are." "We came very late in the calendar year of the Earth." "You know, if the Earth calendar..." "... youknow,whereitstartedinJanuary1 and now we're December 31 st." "We got here 1 5 minutes before midnight on December 31 st..." "... andallof recordedhistory has blinked by in the last 60 seconds." "Perhaps the best description of what we are is, as Jared Diamond puts it:" "The third chimpanzee." "There are two kinds of chimpanzees and there's us." "But in some ways, we are extraordinarily special." "And the most obvious one is our extraordinary ability to make tools..." "... ourextraordinaryability to communicate." "To have very detailed discussions with each other." "So we are fundamentally groups of animals..." "... randomlyscattered throughout the planet..." "... slowlycoalescingin groups..." "... thataremorepowerful,larger." "And very much conditioned by two essential characters:" "One is opportunism and the other one is greed." "All the animals and vegetables are opportunistic creatures." "They do what's necessary for them to do in order to survive." "I think it was the human mind basically..." "... thatthrewus outofbalance with the rest of nature." "The tragedy is that it was the human mind..." "... thatwasthekey toourverysurvival." "Now, when you think that we evolved in Africa about 1 50,000 years ago..." "... andcomparedto otheranimalsonthe plains then, we weren't very impressive." "We weren't very many or very big, we weren't gifted with special senses." "The one thing, the key to our survival..." "... andourtakingovertheplanet was the human brain." "But because the human mind invented the concept of a future..." "... we'retheonlyanimalontheplanet ..." "... thatactuallywasabletorecognize..." "... wecouldaffectthe future by what we do today." "We look ahead, recognize where the opportunities are..." "... wherethedangerslay , and choose accordingly to survive." "That was a great survival strategy of our species." "If the human mind threw us out of balance thousands of years ago  what changed in recent history?" "In the last century, we've dramatically increased our impact on planet Earth." "One element has emerged that has made us even more destructive accelerating our disconnection and causing extensive damage to our climate and all other natural systems." "A fundamental illusion in the world is that people are separate from nature." "When the reality is that we are part of nature. ln fact, we are nature." "That's probably the most fundamental misunderstanding in the world..." "... that'scausingallthishavoc." "I think one of the reasons why it's so difficult for people to get it..." "... thatwe'reconnectedwithnature and to even understand..." "... thefundamentalsof ecoliteracy..." "... isbecauseit fliesinthefaceof the assumptions of our culture." "Our culture is built on the assumption that we are the superior life form on Earth." "That we are separate from all other life forms." "That we have been given dominion over all other life forms." "But even to think that we're separated from nature..." "... issomehowathinkingdisorder." "You can't be separated from nature." "Why we think that way is the interesting thing." "What happens in the mind that likes to think that it's separated from nature?" "Does that mean that the mind, or the human being, thinks he's now more free?" "We're totally living in disharmony with the planet." "Not just the planet." "Beyond the planet." "We're far beyond the planet now." "We're zooming around Mars and all of that exploration, which is marvelous." "But it's not really affecting our attitudes." "I think our attitudes are based on selfishness..." "... basedontheeconomicsituation we have..." "... basedonthepoliticswhichwehave." "I mean, those are the-- How many governments in the world..." "... havereallytakenthe environmental crisis for what it is?" "Very few." "Certainly not the United States." "We live in a human-created environment..." "... whereit'sveryeasytothink  we're different from other creatures." "We're smart, we create our own habitat, we don't need nature." "It's the economy that's the most important thing." "And in focusing on the economy..." "... Ithinkwe 'veforgotten these ancient truths." "These ancient wisdoms that kept us plugged into nature..." "... andunderstandingthat""Gee,ifwe do  something to offend the natural world..." "... we'llpayapriceforthat." "Wehave to treat nature much more gently. """ "That's the lesson that we've forgotten and that we're paying a price for today." "The big rupture came in the 1 800s, in the 1 9th century..." "... withthesteamengine,thefossil-fuel age, the industrial revolution." "This was a great rupture from earlier forms and rhythms of life..." "... whichweregenerallyregenerative." "After the industrial revolution, nature was converted to a resource..." "... andthatresourcewas seenas, essentially, eternally abundant." "This led to the idea and the conception behind progress..." "... whichis,limitlessgrowth, limitless expansion." "For all of human history..." "... thevastmajorityofhumanhistory..." "... humanslivedon currentsunlight." "Sun fell on the fields, the fields grew plants." "The plants made cellulose, plant matter." "Animals ate the cellulose, we ate the plants." "We ate the animals, we wore clothing made out of them." "We were living off of current sunlight." "It was our food supply, our clothing, we heated with wood..." "... itwasourheatsupply,ourlightsupply." "It was all current sunlight." "The sunlight that fell on Earth in a year was the maximum amount we could use." "It was the maximum amount of energy that we could use." "And from the earliest evidence of human civilization..." "... 1 50,000,moreorless ,yearsago..." "... upuntilafew thousandyearsago, pretty much, that's how we lived." "And our population never surpassed a billion people." "And then we began discovering that there were pockets of ancient sunlight..." "... andfindingcoalhere and a little bit of oil there." "And slowly between that and the agricultural revolution..." "... slowly,ourpopulationcreptupuntil we hit our first one billion people." "And so-- lt didn't take 1 00,000 years to go from one billion to two." "Our second billion only took us 1 30 years." "We hit two billion people in 1 930." "Our third billion took only 30 years, 1 960." "Amazing." "When Kennedy was inaugurated, there were half as many people as today." "The reason that we've been able to have this exponential growth of population..." "... isbecausewe 'recreatingfood..." "... andclothingandeverythingelse , transportation." "We're doing it all with this ancient sunlight..." "... thatwasstoredintheEarth  3 and 400 million years ago." "And if we had to go back to living off current sunlight, lacking technology..." "... theplanetcouldn'tsustainmore than  a half a billion to a billion people." "So we live in the most unusual period in the history of the planet..." "... intermsof aspeciesgettingaccess to energy-rich carbon." "What we have done is become good alchemists." "The ability to take fossil carbon..." "... andturnit intohumanbiomass." "And we have used the supermarket..." "... thetransportationsystem, to make that happen." "So the cornerstones of this system that we have..." "... areallrestingupon..." "... nonrenewable,energy-richcarbon we call fossil fuels." "The real problem is there are too many of us using too many resources too fast." "Now, oil has enabled us to do that." "We use oil to increase the rate at which we extract all other resources..." "... everythingfromtopsoiltofreshwater , from aluminum to zinc." "Oil is really the basis..." "... withwhichwe sustaincomplexity and with which we solve our problems." "In a sense, all of our lives are subsidized." "We are subsidized by oil." "Because we're subsidized by oil..." "... whenweshopfor anythingatastore,  we don't pay the full price." "We don't pay the full cost of what it took to produce that." "We borrow about $800 billion a year from the world..." "... tofinancetheexcessofour consumption over what we produce." "And about a third of that, about $250 billion a year, is for oil imports." "So we borrow from the world, we issue lou's, treasury bills, whatever..." "... tothetuneofaboutabilliondollars  a day, every working day, anyway..." "... tofinanceouroil imports." "Oil does a lot of harm." "Economists would call them ""externalities"" ..." "... becausethey'reexternal to the price you pay at the pump." "For example, the asthma rates among children..." "... whicharegrowing in many parts of the US." "The acid rain problem that's caused by burning coal." "If you look at some of the global warming contributions..." "... fromburningfossilfuels." "And at least part of the cost of keeping our troops in the Middle East..." "... tosafeguardoilassets." "Maybe not all of that cost, but at least some..." "... isclearlyasubsidythat goes tooil." "When you started feeding off of the fossil-fuel cycle..." "... webeganlivingwithadeath-based cycle." "That death cycle..." "... ofdependency on extraction of those resources..." "... setinmotionasequenceofevents ..." "... thathasledustoourmodern crisis  of global disturbance..." "... knownasclimatechange, or global warming, if you will." "We don't know the future." "We know the past through Greek mythology." "The kind of revenge of the gods or the revenge of nature." "We're seeing that now already, after 200 years of the industrial revolution." "We didn't know what we were creating, the damage that was being created." "We're sensing that." "So as we go forward with technology even more powerful than before..." "... wehavemagnified..." "... thepresenceof thehumanrace  inside the ecology." "Therefore we can do more damage..." "... withourtechnologicalprowess than we could before." "We have to be even more cautious." "While we weren 't looking  we've created one of the biggest problems facing all of humanity:" "Climate change." "How does it look  when we don 't pay attention to the massive amounts of CO 2  wedumpintothe air and water?" "How does it look when our actions..." "... shiftthenaturalchemicalbalance of our atmosphere..." "... intoa stateseveraldegreeswarmer?" "A state that hasn't existed for millennia." "We have witnessed, in recent years..." "... thehighestaveragetemperatures in recorded history." "A couple of degrees difference in today's temperatures may not sound like much..." "... butitonlytookafew degrees to shift us out of the last ice age." "And a few degrees may be all that separates us from catastrophic change." "Heading into another weekend..." "... theweatherandthe climateare making news in more than one region." "A terrible drought has already" "We do not know how much our climate could or will change in the future." "severe flooding has killed at least 72 people..." "... inCentralandEasternEurope and Western Russia." "The heaviest recorded rainfall in Indian history..." "... hasunleashedtheworstflooding in memory." "We do not know how fast change will occur..." "... orevenhowsomeofouractions could impact it." "In Chicago, the heat is a plague." "This morning, they were collecting bodies." "firefighters in Southern California are battling a newly-formed super wildfire." "The heat is on." "Even Arizona is having a heat wave." "Tennessee was battered by killer tornados" "New Orleans is no longer safe to live in." "It is that simple, and that stark." "Hell and high water, one and the same again today, in a city overwhelmed..." "... undersiege,in thegripofunmitigated, unprecedented catastrophe." "Nowhere is that more apparent than New Orleans..." "... nowa cityof displacedpeople, refugees." "twenty feet of water from Lake Pontchartrain." "Add to that violence, deprivation, desperation, the threat of disease" "Could it be that man-made global warming..." "... isthegreatesthoaxever perpetrated on the American people?" "One of the most serious consequences of our actions is global warming..." "... broughtaboutby risinglevelsofcarbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels." "The danger is that the temperature increase..." "... mightbecomeself-sustaining, if it has not done so already." "Drought and deforestation are reducing the amount..." "... ofcarbondioxide recycled into the atmosphere." "And the warming of the seas may trigger the release..." "... oflargequantitiesofCO2 trapped on the ocean floor." "In addition, the melting of the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets..." "... willreducetheamountofsolar energy reflected back into space..." "... andsoincreasethe temperaturefurther." "We don't know where the global warming would stop, but the worst-case scenario..." "... isthatEarthwouldbecome like its sister planet, Venus..." "... witha temperatureof 250centigrade and raining sulfuric acid." "The human race could not survive in those conditions." "Earth has a natural greenhouse effect." "We're 60 degrees Fahrenheit warmer..." "... thankstothegoodguys ,watervapor , carbon dioxide and methane..." "... whatwecallgreenhousegases, trapping heat." "That's the good part of the story." "The problem is that humans are competing with nature." "When we use tail pipes and smokestacks to put our waste into the atmosphere..." "... asifit 'ssomekindofunpricedsewer..." "... we'readdingto thegreenhouse gases that's natural, unnatural stuff." "Mostly carbon dioxide, methane, chemicals that nobody's seen before..." "... chlorofluorocarbons, which also affect ozone." "And when they build up, they trap extra heat." "That's not controversial, that's well-understood." "We know we've increased carbon dioxide by about 30, 35 percent..." "... methane,1 50percent..." "... addedgasesthatneverexistedbefore." "And the Earth is warmer." "All of that goes together and makes global warming..." "... notonlyareality, but a concern for the future..." "... becausewe'recontinuingdoingwhat  we're doing at an accelerating rate." "The record shows that greenhouse gases..." "... mainlyCO2,didnot  go above 280 parts per million..." "... overthelast650,000years." "We're now over 400 parts per million..." "A tipping point where we lose control of climate." "And once we've lost control of climate..." "... thenthingslikeKatrina-scaleevents will become simply the norm." "Unless we're able to quickly reduce..." "... veryquicklyandverydramatically reduce our use of fossil fuel..." "... thecomputermodeling'sclear." "Having increased the temperature one degree..." "... we'llincreaseit  about another 5 degrees." "That'll make the Earth warmer than it's been for tens of millions of years." "Some scientists are amazed that in the media and in front of Congress..." "... wehearaboutpeoplewho" "lbelievein"" or ""l don't believe in"" global warming..." "... asifthisweresomehowsomeobject of religion, as opposed to based in evidence." "And scientists look at evidence." "The scientists have a tremendous amount of agreement..." "... oversomeof thebasicprincipals of global warming." "is the Earth warming?" "Absolutely." "is some portion of the warming due to human activity?" "Absolutely." "These are things that, there's a consensus in the international scientific community." "There's no doubt about that." "The natural changes" "The speed of the natural changes is now dwarfed by human changes..." "... totheatmosphereand surface." "Jim Hansen, who is the director of the NASA Institute for Space Studies..." "... recentlygaveabestestimatethat was based on research done last year." "And the current estimate is that the Earth has warmed up..." "... byaboutseven-tenths of a degree centigrade." "And even if we were to cap CO2..." "... carbondioxideemissions to the level they are now..." "... theEarthshouldstillwarm byan  additional half a degree centigrade." "That's been enough to melt 20 percent of the sea ice in the Arctic." "It's been enough to speed up the spin and duration of hurricanes about 50 percent." "It's been enough to start the permafrost..." "... beneaththetundra across the north melting." "Even at the low range, a couple of degrees in the average..." "... reallychangesthingsinplaces." "There 's an amplifying effect, like in the Arctic." "You can feel this, the chunk that we're on, actually starting to fail a bit more." "There's probably hairline cracks up towards the helos there." "The human impacts..." "... what'shappeningwith global warming, climate changes..." "... itishappeningfirstandfastest in the Arctic." "We're starting to see that things are happening even faster..." "... thanwhatscientistsindicated." "By the end of the century, perhaps even in a few decades..." "... theArcticwillbequiteice-free." "Well, climate change..." "... isgoingto haveastrong,fundamental impact on the global water cycle." "It's going to change rainfall patterns." "It's going to very likely increase our experience with floods and droughts." "It's almost certainly going to change the pattern of river flows through the year." "These are all very fundamental aspects of how we manage and use water." "What global warming does..." "... ortheclimatechanges linked to global warming do..." "... isaddanotherdimension of uncertainty." "It threatens your food security, for example, your water security..." "... yoursea-levelsecurityand your security against storms and hurricanes." "All these things we've seen in the news." "It's a national security problem in the sense..." "... Floridamaybe thefirstaffected, as well as other coastal parts." "More importantly than that, it's an international security problem." "The UN estimates by the middle of the century..." "... theremaybe 150million environmental refugees..." "... atanygiventimefrom climatechange." "What we saw with Katrina is just prologue." "I just think that worse is yet to come on that front." "Global warming's real and it's destructive..." "... anditsimpactsdefytheimagination." "So we've got bad things happening on a lot of fronts." "And Earth is hurting..." "... andhumanshavenot figuredout how to change their ways..." "... andwe'retheculprit." "Global warming has taken much of our attention, as it should." "But as carbon has been accumulating in the atmosphere..." "... ithasalsobeenaccumulating in the ocean." "And as time has passed, deforestation, soil erosion, vanishing wetlands..." "... anda wholehostofotherproblems have continued unabated." "We face a convergence of crises..." "... allofwhichare aconcernforlife." "The problem that confronts us is that every living system in the biosphere..." "... isindeclineand the rateofdecline is accelerating." "There isn't one peer-reviewed scientific article in the past 20 years..." "... that'sbeenpublished that contradicts that statement." "Living systems are coral reefs, they're our climatic stability..." "... forestcover,theoceansthemselves, aquifers..." "... water,theconditionsofthesoil,  biodiversity... ." "They go on and on as they get more specific." "But the fact is there isn't one living system that is stable or is improving." "And those living systems provide the basis for all life." "I sat on a United Nations group called the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment..." "... afour-yearstudy,biggeststudyever done of ecosystems around the world." "It involved over 1 300 scientists from 71 countries in the world." "At the end of that, in March of 2005, the final reports came in..." "... andtheydocumentedthis staggering destruction of ecosystems..." "... andtheservicestheyperformforus  around the world." "We better acknowledge that the planet is seamless." "For instance, the fertilizer and the pesticides..." "... thatareappliedinthefields of the upper Midwest..." "... godowntheMississippi, and 1 1 00 miles away, there's a deadzone." "The reality with air pollution is there's no away." "lmpacts can range from headaches, drowsiness, lethargy..." "... tomuchmoreseriousimpacts,notonly aggravating asthma, but causing it." "People didn't talk about asthma decades ago." "I can walk into a classroom in an elementary school..." "... andaskthekids, ""How many of you have asthma?""" "Thirty percent of the kids in the room will have their hands raised." "At least 30." "In some classrooms, it'll be 60 percent." "There's an ocean crisis now." "And the upshot is that we've taken too much out of the ocean..." "... we'veputtoomuchinto theocean , too much pollution..." "... andwe'rewreckingthe edge of the ocean." "We've lost 90 percent of most of the big fish..." "... inhalfacentury,sowe 'returning to deeper areas, further areas offshore." "So between overfishing and by-catch, we're really removing millions..." "... ifnotbillions,ofanimals from the ocean every year." "Many of them don't even become food for humans." "They just are wasted." "What we put into the ocean..." "... millionsoftonsofthings that aren't natural to the sea..." "... theycomebacktousin perverseways." "Some fish concentrate these substances..." "... thingslikemercury, heavy metals of various sorts..." "... thepesticides,theherbicides." "Corporations dump on equivalent..." "... atthesmallest,theydofivemillion gallons per day of toxins into the bay." "It's everything from benzene to acrylonitrile to mercury to copper to... ." "You name it, they've got it." "A lot of the chemicals very common in today's world:" "Plastics, artificial colors, pesticides..." "... arereallyhighonthelist of suspect agents..." "... thatpromotecancer, that promote premature aging..." "... thatincreaserisks of chronic degenerative diseases." "Why don't we think about some of these disorders..." "... suchasautism,ADHD..." "... childhoodcancers,childhooddiabetes..." "... childhoodbehavioralproblems, Parkinson's disorders." "This is now even been linked with Alzheimer's disorders." "And then of course we've got the early onsets of testicular cancers in males..." "... theepidemicof prostatecancer and breast cancers." "The list just keeps growing." "And exposure to chemicals while in the womb prior to birth..." "... couldbecontributing to these disturbing findings." "The communities most impacted by pollution..." "... andinfact,havethemosttoxicsources  of pollution..." "... areoftenlow-incomecommunities of color." "They're the dumping grounds for power plants..." "... forbusdepots,for oil refineries..." "... foranynumberofwastefacilities, and everything that no one else wants." "Whether it's the South Bronx, whether it's Louisiana, in Cancer Alley... ." "Our food is becoming poisoned..." "... tothepointweshouldworry about it." "There's less and less." "The water-- lt's becoming more and more unhealthy to just swim in the ocean." "And all of these are simple to understand..." "... canariesinthecoalmine..." "... ofmuchmoresubtleandscary disasters on the horizon." "Seventy countries in the world no longer have any intact or original forests." "Here in the United States, 95 percent of our old growth forests..." "... arealreadygone." "In many cases, the forest will not grow back." "That land is converted to grassland." "But in the case of rain forests, we have seen firsthand..." "... thatwhenthosetreesareremoved, no, they do not come back." "The land becomes extremely dry..." "... andthenutrientcyclingthat thosetrees  used to do is no longer functioning." "What that leads to next?" "Deserts." "We've seen them and we've watched them grow around the world." "As we have removed trees from along the edges of very dry areas..." "... thatdesertificationhasspread where there used to be forests." "In my own part of the world..." "... Ikeeptellingpeople, ""Let us not cut trees irresponsibly." "Let us not destroy especially..." "... theforestedmountains." "Because if you destroy the forests on these mountains..." "... theriverswillstopflowing..." "... andtherainswillbecomeirregular..." "... andthecropswillfail ..." "... andyouwilldie ofhunger and starvation. """ "Now, the problem is, people don't make those linkages." "Well over 30 percent of the soils of the planet..." "... havebeenputintothecategoryof, I think, serious degradation." "And the practices of agriculture is eroding that ecological capital..." "... thatisas much, for all practical purposes..." "... anonrenewableresourceasoil." "What we don't see or think about when we look at a tree is:" "What's the volume?" "How much water is contained there?" "Turns out to be 57,000 gallons of water..." "... ina 1 0 -to12-inchflashflood ." "It can grab that much water, prevent it from running off..." "... capturesitin thatsponge,cleansit, puts it back in the aquifer." "Take that one tree away..." "... andyougotaflood, you got soil erosion." "You've lost those 57,000 gallons from the local water supply." "Then that water is rushing downstream, hurting people, hurting communities..." "... ultimatelypollutingtheocean." "We really could tip the ocean into a different state." "The health of the ocean as we know it..." "... dependsonthewaterturningover..." "... ofthesurfacewater sinking to the bottom..." "... andthebottomwater coming up to the top." "It's conceivable that we could turn that conveyor belt off..." "... bywarmingof thesurfaceoftheocean a little bit too much." "And if we do that..." "... withallof ourdeadzones,wecould  make the whole surface ocean stagnant." "And that's a terrifying thought." "The last time that happened was the end-Permian mass extinction..." "... andmorethan95percentofall  the species on the Earth went extinct." "The simple fact is, ecosystems that sustain life are unraveling." "Systems that have evolved for hundreds of millions of years." "The evidence is now clear:" "Industrial civilization has caused irreparable damage and our impact is only accelerating." "We have lost the last 30 years in the war against global warming." "The questions then arise, why aren't we responding?" "But more important, what are the forces that are blocking change?" "The greatest weapon of mass destruction is corporate economic globalization." "There's always been a greed factor in human civilization..." "... andwhathashappened with the creation of corporations..." "... whicharethedominantinstitutions of our age..." "... isthattheyhaveperfectedthat as a system." "And what we literally face today is that..." "... thisisgoingtokill offourhost, the planet." "Today, ecosystems, forests, streams, lakes, rivers..." "... theyhaveno rights." "They'reproperty." "Which means they can be bought, sold, destroyed, traded, carved up." "Under this structure of law, you're either property or you're a person." "And it's very clear that nature is property." "And so the reason why we have these reams of documents in libraries..." "... aboutsolutions,aboutsolar,abouthow to produce food in a sustainable way..." "... abouttransportation,about changing production methods..." "... andputtingin placeasustainable economy that respects the planet is..." "... we'velackedtheauthority to drive those things into law." "Because in reality we have a Constitution that empowers the corporate few..." "... tomakedecisions that trump the majority." "And it has been our failure to drive real law into place..." "... becausewedon'thavetheauthority." "We have very responsive political leaders." "They're responsive to wealth, money and corporate power." "ExxonMobil, one oil company..." "... isworthmorethanthesumof the value of all the auto companies..." "... inthewholewideworld." "That is a big company." "People say:" """Gee, why aren't politicians responding to the global climate crisis?""" "Because they respond to a higher power, unfortunately." "Right now, that higher power is the fossil-fuel industry." "You're responsible for editing Our Changing Planet..." "... andyousendareviewdraft to the White House." "What happens?" "It comes back..." "... witha largenumberofedits..." "... handwrittenonthehardcopy ..." "... bythechiefofstaffof the Council on Environmental Quality." "And the chief of staff is whom?" "Phil Cooney." "He is a scientist?" "No, he's a lawyer." "He was a lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute..." "... beforegoingintothe WhiteHouse." "Our people have a growing suspicion..." "... thatoilcompaniesare takingunfair advantage of current market conditions..." "... tolinetheircofferswith excessprofits." "On the issues of climate change and environment..." "... thepoliticalsystemfailedus.lt'snot first and foremost a crisis of technology..." "... itisn'tevenacrisisofpublic opinion." "If you ask the public, ""Do you want solar energy?" "Do you want efficient appliances?" "Do you want efficient cars?""" "The answer is overwhelmingly, ""Yes, we do. """ "It's the bridge across this chasm..." "... ofpublicopiniontopublicpolicy." "It's called government." "That's where the failure has been." "That bridge has fallen into disrepair." "There was a time in the 1 960s and 1 970s..." "... whenRepublicansandDemocrats in the United States..." "... joinedtopass the major environmental laws." "The National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act..." "... theEndangeredSpeciesAct ." "Those were done by Republicans..." "... andDemocratscomingtogether." "And that system is now broken." "And part of the crisis is, as everybody knows..." "... itsthatthereismoney, too much money in the political system." "Even Jefferson said..." "... wehaveto rewritethe Constitution every generation to meet our need." "Do we think that the Founding Fathers understood global warming?" "Or deforestation?" "Or the massive amounts..." "... oftoxicchemicalsthatarepumped into our atmosphere..." "... andintoourair ,water,land  and soil every day?" "What we need to do is find a harmony between people and nature." "One of the only ways to do that is to recognize that nature has rights too." "I think the most basic thing to understand about our global economic system..." "... isthatit 'sasubsystem." "And it's a subsystem of a larger system." "The larger system is the biosphere and the subsystem is the economy." "The problem, of course, is that our subsystem, the economy..." "... isgearedforgrowth." "It's all set up to grow, to expand..." "... whereastheparentsystem doesn't grow. lt remains the same size." "So as the economy grows, it displaces, it encroaches upon..." "... thebiosphere, and this is a fundamental cost." "This is the fundamental opportunity cost of economic growth." "That's what you give up when you expand, what used to be there." "So economists don't include all of the things that nature does for us for nothing." "Some technologies would never be able to do what nature does." "For example, pollinating all of the flowering plants." "What would it cost us to take carbon dioxide out of the air..." "... andputoxygenbackinit ,which all the green things do for us for nothing." "It's possible to do a crude estimate of what it would cost us to replace nature." "Constanza, this is several years ago..." "... estimateditwouldcostus $35 trillion a year..." "... todowhatnatureisdoing forus  for nothing." "To put that in perspective..." "... ifyouaddedupallofthe annual  economies in the world at that time..." "... itcameto $1 8 trillion." "So nature was doing twice as much service for us..." "... astheeconomiesoftheworld ." "And in the madness of conventional economics, this isn't in the equation." "Somehow in the last few decades in business school..." "... andtheM.B.A.sthatthese CEOs have..." "... theyweretrainedthattheobject of their business is growth..." "... asifthatwereanend." "It's not an end, it's a means." "We flipped the ends and means. lf we can get the end back, quality of life..." "... welookat thecontradictions..." "... becausethewrongkindofgrowth reduces our quality of life..." "... andwehavetoretakethatback." "I think the industrial system..." "... hastobe reinvented." "Today, the throughput of the industrial system from mining wellhead..." "... throughtofinishedproductthat ends  up in a landfill or an incinerator..." "... foreverytruckloadofproduct with lasting value..." "... 32truckloadsof wasteare produced." "And that is mind-boggling." "But it's true." "So we have a system that is a waste-making system." "Clearly, we cannot continue to dig up the earth and turn it to waste." "In our modern globalized world growth continues to be the focus of many corporations and governments  who deplete our environment for economic gain." "But what about us, as individuals, as consumers?" "To what extent are we participants in the destruction of our biosphere?" "The problem is not a problem of technology." "The problem is not a problem of too much carbon dioxide." "The problem is not a problem of global warming." "The problem is not a problem of waste." "All of those things are symptoms of the problem." "The problem is the way that we are thinking." "The problem is fundamentally a cultural problem." "It's at the level of our culture that this illness is happening." "We're now products of $500 billion of advertising each year." "By the time a child comes to college or grows up through school..." "... asa first-yearstudentincollege,they'll have seen thousands of hours of TV." "On average, four hours and some minutes per day." "As a result, as one study showed, they could identify 1 000 corporate logos..." "... butfewerthan10plantsandanimals  native to their own place." "And so we've become not only consumers..." "... buthugelyignorantoftheterms  by which we live on the Earth." "Americans are spending their time working and spending." "That's where our time is going." "An average American goes shopping in one way or another five times a week." "During the day, we spend time working to make the money so that we can shop." "And there's a growing weariness of having to hold up the global economy..." "... havingtosortof keep up with the Joneses." "So while everything's getting bigger..." "... ourbathtubs,ourhouses,ourvehicles, our waistlines..." "... we'rerunningoutoftime ." "Wehave less of the things we really care about." "In America, people are so insulated..." "... byourconcentrationofwealth." "We spend more money maintaining lawns..." "... thanIndiacollects in federal tax revenue." "Our defense budget, which is a trivial percentage of GDP..." "... islargerthanthe entireeconomy of Australia." "So anesthetized by our own wealth, we forget how most of the world lives..." "... andhowthemajority of the world looks." "So where we are now as a civilization is... ." "I would call... ." "Consumerismis theleading ideology." "Even consumer democracy." "Consumer democracy in the sense that any regime..." "... whetherit'stheChineseregime, the U.S. regime..." "... hastogivepeoplewhat they want  and when they want it, which is now." "And people want consumer goods." "Once commodities become cultural symbols..." "... whetherit'sacellphoneinruralChina, or a Lamborghini in Malibu..." "... there'snostoppingthat." "You have to change the object of desire in order to get the root of the problem." "People believe in choice, and choice means consumerism for most people." "There is no mileage in trying to save the planet..." "... bytellingpeoplethey'remaking the wrong choice. lt won't work." "Four, three, two, one!" "You have to change the idea behind limitless expansion." "In a phrase, from well-having to well-being." "It's a cultural transformation." "We've always, as humans, had material desires." "Material things are part of how we do define who we are." "So it's not that consumption is bad, it's that it's gotten totally out of balance." "Media really is the instrument by which..." "... knowledgeispassedinoursociety." "We no longer get knowledge directly from the Earth." "We're no longer in touch with the sources of our survival." "We no longer, for the most part, in Western industrial society... ." "We're no longer growing our food or taking care of our own sustenance..." "... orlearningdirectly from our own experience..." "... orhavingourfamily be the root of our choices." "Basically, we're like the astronaut in space." "You know, we're floating around in a metallic re-created universe..." "... disconnected,really, from sources on the Earth." "And we're dependent completely upon the information..." "... thatissenttous from very, very far away." "We're psychically numbed." "We numb our senses from morning till night..." "... whetherit'swithnoiseorloudmusic or light at night." "So nobody sees the beauty." "And if we've lost the feeling of the beauty of the world..." "... thenwearelookingforsubstitutes." "Eric Hoffer said, ""You can never get enough of what you don't really want. """ "Meaning we rush around permanently needy..." "... buttheloss,the feelingofloss, isthat we don't know what it is we've lost." "What we've lost is the beauty of the world..." "... andwemakeupforit with attempting to conquer the world..." "... orowntheworld,possesstheworld." "One can see from space how the human race has changed the Earth." "Nearly all of the available land has been cleared of forest..." "... andisnowusedforagriculture or urban development." "The polar icecaps are shrinking and the desert areas are increasing." "At night, the Earth is no longer dark, but large areas are lit up." "All of this is evidence that human exploitation of the planet..." "... isreachingacriticallimit." "But human demands and expectations are ever-increasing." "We cannot continue to pollute the atmosphere..." "... poisontheoceanand exhausttheland." "There isn't any more available." "We are living..." "... inanenormouslychallengingtime ." "If we don't change what we're doing..." "... wearefacinglosing..." "... perhapsa third,maybeahalf , of all the variety of life on Earth." "We don't know at what point when we lose biodiversity..." "... thatthesystemwillstarttofallapart." "I believe in the resilience of nature." "So I think that once the human species becomes extinct" "And many species have became extinct before us, many species will after us." "that the Earth may well spin on its axis happily without humans..." "... andthemicrobesand insects will inherit the world." "Unless we cause such a dramatic climate shift..." "... thatwebecomeanarid ,cold planet like Mars." "I don't believe for a minute that life will be extinguished." "Even though we've radically altered the air, the water, and the soil of Earth..." "... lifehasbeenincrediblytenacious and adaptable." "But as a species at the very top of the food chain..." "... Iknowthatwe'rethemostvulnerable." "Life has existed on Earth for 3.8 to 4 billion years." "Over that time, there have been a lot of species." "But you know what?" "99.9999..." "... fourdecimalpoints, percent of all species..." "... thathaveeverexistedareextinct." "So extinction is a natural part of life." "Extinction is what has enabled life to flourish and evolve and change..." "... withtheconditions of the changing planet." "The planet hasn't been stuck in one condition over 4 billion years." "The tragedy of our existence is that we're an infant species." "Not only are we hastening the conditions for our own demise..." "... we'retakingdown" "Accordingtothe United Nations Environment Programme..." "... 50to55,000speciesayear are going extinct because of us." "The tragedy is not the imminent or potential extinction of humankind..." "... buttheenormousextinctioncrisis that we're causing right now." "And I think there is potential for a Dark Age." "One of the problems that I see..." "... isthatso manypeople who have to individually accept..." "... thecostof thetransition, are unaware that it's coming." "Most of our citizens wake up in the morning..." "... andworryabout the morning commute..." "... andgettingthekidstoschool, and paying the mortgage..." "... andthinkingaboutanewcar or a vacation or whatever." "This is too narrow a scale of thinking to address the problems that we have." "We need people to be aware of the global forces that affect their lives..." "... andthatwillincreasinglyaffect their lives in the future." "If this awareness doesn't develop, I'm afraid the transition will be wrenching." "What we risk is..." "... thedestructionof civilization." "All that we fought for." "This fragile little craft..." "... that'snavigatedthecenturies and the millennia..." "... tocometo thisparticularpoint." "It will have been undone in a flash of consumption..." "... andbadjudgment,and violence, and injustice." "is the caring capacity for a happy and healthy human population..." "... ina futuregoingaway?" "Absolutely." "And it's not about saving the planet." "It's about saving a caring capacity..." "... asystemuponwhichhumanscanlive in the pursuit of happiness." "That's what's at stake." "So if you step back and you take an Earth perspective rather than human..." "... itcan'tbe an 11 thhour fortheEarth." "It can be an extinction crisis for the Earth." "And it can be a harmony crisis for the Earth." "Because we now see that one species..." "... istakingoversomuch of the resources of the Earth..." "... thatit'sleavingverylittle for other creatures to live with it." "So we find ourselves on the brink." "It is clear humans have had a devastating impact..." "... onourplanet'secologicalweboflife." "Because we have waited..." "... becausewe'veturnedour backs on nature's warning signs..." "... andbecauseourpolitical and corporate leaders..." "... haveconsistentlyignoredthe  overwhelming scientific evidence..." "... thechallengeswe face are that much more difficult." "We are in the environmental age whether we like it or not." "So what does the future look like?" "We know the United States, the world's greatest consumer and source of waste needs to make a transition to a greener future." "But will our pivotal generation create a sustainable world in time?" "What will guide this massive change?" "Does nature hold the answers we need to help restore our planet's resources..." "... protectouratmosphereand , therefore, help all life survive?" "All these forces sweeping over the planet are the forces created by human beings." "If human beings are the source of the problem..." "... wecanbe thefoundation of the solution." "Some people suggest that to live sustainably..." "... wehaveto go outinthewoods  and put on animal skins..." "... andliveon rootsand berries." "And the simple reality is that we do have technology." "The question is:" "How can we use our understanding of science and technology..." "... alongwithourunderstandingofculture and how culture changes..." "... tocreateaculture that will interact with science..." "... andwiththeworldaroundus in a sustainable fashion?" "The great thing about the dilemma we're in..." "... isthatwe gettoreimagine every single thing we do." "In other words, there isn't one single thing that we make..." "... orsystemsthatwehave that  doesn't require a complete remake." "And so there's two ways of looking at that." "One is, like, ""Oh, my gosh." "What a big burden. """ "The other way to look at it, which is the way I prefer, is:" """What a great time to be born." "What a great time to be alive. """ "Because this generation gets to essentially completely change this world." "We're at a point, with 6.4 billion of us..." "... thatwehavetoimaginewhatit'd be like to redesign design itself..." "... andseedesignas the first signal of human intention..." "... andseewe neednew intentions,where materials are seen as highly valuable..." "... andneedto go in closedcycles,""cradle to cradle"" instead of ""cradle to grave. """ "And that energy needs to come from renewable sources, principally the sun..." "... andwaterneedstobeclean and healthy as it goes through a system..." "... andwehavetotreateachother with justice and fairness." "So the design itself changes..." "... frommassproductionofthings that are essentially destructive..." "... tomassutilizationofthingsthatare inherently assets instead of liabilities." "Our project today, for a new generation of designers..." "... isthewelfareofalloflife as a practical objective." "It goes beyond ourselves to include the entire ecological realm." "That all of life is actually a design project today." "That we have to design the capacity to sustain it in the long run." "Whether we're talking about the design of a factory or a building..." "... ora roador evenatown ..." "... it'smucheasiertodesigninisolation..." "... thansuperimposeadesign on what exists." "But if we were to follow nature's operating instructions..." "... itdesignsin exactlythe oppositeway." "It brings onto the palette, so to speak, all of the kingdoms of life..." "... andthenworkssymphonically to create an end result..." "... whichmightbe acoralreef  or might be a forest." "Well, you know, the interesting thing about sustainable design..." "... isthatIdon 'tthinkithasto look in any particular way." "One of the things that we discovered in the last few years..." "... isthenewdesignisactuallyinvisible." "It's not about a visual boundary." "The form, in fact, could be anything." "It's the structure and internal logic and intelligence..." "... andtheperformance that has to be designed." "How we make things..." "... in,youknow,our industrialprocesses..." "... it's1 80degreesdifferent from how life makes things." "Look at the way we make, for instance, Kevlar..." "... whichisourtoughestmaterial." "We take petroleum, we heat it up to about 1 400 degrees Fahrenheit..." "... andwebubbleitinsulfuricacid..." "... andthenwe pullitout under enormous pressures." "Now imagine an organism, us, making our bones or our teeth." "Imagine an abalone making a shell." "They can't afford to heat it up to really high temperatures..." "... ordopressuresorchemicalbaths , so they found a different way." "Now take the spider." "This beautiful orb-weaver spider is taking flies and crickets into the web..." "... andtransformingthemwithchemistry in water in the abdomen..." "... andoutcomesthismaterial..." "... that'sfivetimesstronger ounce for ounce than steel." "Silently, in water, at room temp." "You know?" "I mean, this is master chemistry." "This is the manufacturing of the future, hopefully." "There's actually people..." "... whoarenowtryingtomimic  the recipes of these organisms." "Fungi are the molecular disassemblers, the organisms between life and death." "They generate soil." "The entire food web of nature is based on these fungal filaments." "The mycelial network that infuses all land masses in the world..." "... isa supportivemembrane upon which life proliferates..." "... andfurtherdiversifies." "Mushrooms also have a very bizarre property..." "... ofhyper-accumulating heavy metals." "Forests are thousands of acres..." "... sofungithatproducemushrooms grow to thousands of acres in size." "This gives us a ready ability..." "... totapintothispowerfulinherent resource that mushroom mycelium has..." "... toremediateenvironments, prevent downstream pollution..." "... frommicrobes,fromviruses, including bacteria and protozoa..." "... andalsoforbreakingdown  a wide assortment of pollutants." "And this is one of the pedestals of mycorestoration." "Using mushroom mycelium in order to heal environments..." "... becausethesearetruly healing membranes." "There's the model." "In nature, there is no waste." "One organism's waste is another's food." "That's the model for the industrial system that must eventually evolve." "A waste-free industrial system." "If we think about a tree as a design..." "... itmakesoxygen,sequesterscarbon, fixes nitrogen, distills water..." "... provideshabitatforhundreds of species, accrues solar energy..." "... makescomplexsugarsand food, creates microclimates and self-replicates." "So what would it be like to design a building like a tree?" "What would it be like to design a city like a forest?" "So what would a building be like if it were photosynthetic?" "What if it took solar energy and converted it..." "... toproductiveanddelightfuluse?" "For example, if we combine our housing and our waste treatment..." "... andourfoodproduction and energy generation..." "... allintegrated,singlewholesystems..." "... wecanlivebeautifullyontheplanet ..." "... withonetenthorless  the resources..." "... thatourcurrentcivilizationuses ." "Green building is essentially..." "... thedesignandconstructionofbuildings that are energy- and resource-efficient." "They produce healthy places to live and work." "If you take the fact that buildings account for a third of all energy use..." "... it'sthesinglelargestsegmentofenergy  use and greenhouse gas production." "What we can do with buildings..." "... injustthesimplestoff-the-shelf technologies, is really stunning." "With existing technologies that we basically already have on the shelf..." "... orthingswe knowwecandevelop in a rapid period of time..." "... wecouldreducethe humanfootprint on planet Earth by 90 percent..." "... whichwouldbe ahugeshift in what we're doing now." "The direction to go is to decouple from our dependence on oil..." "... throughefficienttransportation, better-insulated houses..." "... andthedevelopmentofrenewable alternatives like solar, wind and biomass..." "... andgettingthosetobecome the major part of the market..." "... usingefficiencyas thetransition." "It won't happen overnight, but it should've started 30 years ago." "We have right now, in the White House and in Congress..." "... peopletryingto delayitfurther, which is irrational..." "... bothforournationalsecurity and environmental protection." "This country..." "... canmoveawfullyfastifit wants to." "Keep in mind that just after December 7th, 1 941 ..." "... Rooseveltwentto JimmyByrnes and said:" """You're my deputy president for mobilizing the economy." "If anybody crosses you, they cross me." "Get to it. """ "Within six months, Detroit was completely retooled, not making cars anymore..." "... makingmilitarytrucks,tanks, fighter aircraft." "And in three years and eight months..." "... fromthebeginningofthat war,  we had mobilized..." "... wehaddefeatedimperialJapan, Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany..." "... togetherwiththeBritishandour other allies, and begun demobilization." "Three years and eight months." "These are not technical issues..." "... nearlyasmuch as they are leadership issues." "How much time do we have?" "Well, not much." "By my reckoning, we ought to be about the business as rapidly as possible." "This means everybody." "Every citizen, every government level, every organization, every corporation." "This is ""all hands on deck"" time." "So that in the future, 500 years out..." "... thatpeoplelookbackatthistime, that this was our finest hour." "That humans at that time in that generation all across the planet..." "... cametogetherin averydifferentvision." "There are, on Earth today..." "... overonemillionenvironmental..." "... socialjusticeandindigenous organizations present." "It is the fastest growing movement on Earth." "And you're starting to see them pull together..." "... andclosetheloops and plug the leaks..." "... ofenergyandwaterandfood and finance and those things..." "... toreimaginewhatitmeanstobe..." "... asI say,ahumanbeing in the 21 st century..." "... wheneverylivingsystemisin decline, and learning how to reverse that." "It's almost as if we had..." "... distributedanambition without ever having written it down." "So that people all over the world knew what they ought to be working on..." "... andwereworkingonit in their own way..." "... knowingtheyonlyhad  one sort of pixel..." "... inthisincrediblemosaic of an image of the future." "And that they could contribute that pixel to that mosaic..." "... knowingthatin theend ..." "... thatincrediblybeautifulimage was a sustainable future." "The exciting thing is that we can see now what the new economy would look like." "Instead of being powered by fossil fuels, it's powered by renewable energy." "Instead of having an automobile-centered transportation system..." "... itwillhaveamuch more diversified transport system." "Instead of a throwaway economy..." "... itwillbe areusedeconomy, where everything is reused." "Indeed, we see glimpses of it emerging here and there around the world." "So we have technologies to build a new economy to sustain economic progress." "We can see that new economy emerging." "The challenge for our generation is to build that economy in the available time." "And I don't think we have a lot of time left." "Virtually all of our major infrastructure changes..." "... havebeenencouragedinsome way by the government." "So I would think the way to deal..." "... withthistransitionawayfrom oilis..." "... nottopretendenergyoperates in an unregulated free enterprise market." "It does not." "But to go ahead and, as affordably as possible..." "... giveincentivesto movetoward these other fuels..." "... andtheseminimalchangesin infrastructure that make them possible." "Energy is the key to everything else we do." "With abundant, affordable and clean energy, we can solve a lot of problems." "Without it, we won't be able to solve very many problems at all." "The sun is the most plentiful, bountiful substitute there is." "There's more than enough energy coming from the sun every day..." "... toruneveryfactory,everyhome, every  automobile on Earth 1 3,000 times, I think." "We're also finding that on the larger scale..." "... whatwe'dcallthe utilityscale, wind energy has evolved to the point..." "... whereitcancompeteprice-wise with our traditional fossil fuels..." "... thatis,coaland oil and naturalgas..." "... andproducelargeamountsofenergy that can be distributed through the grid..." "... whichistheconventionalway that we receive energy." "It's important to see, as we make progress in the world..." "... tohavean economythat'sflexible, fluid and ready to make changes." "How do we protect the atmosphere that belongs to us all?" "One of the ways is we make people who are polluting..." "... startpayingforthatpollutionthrough a polluter pay system on climate change." "So we lower income taxes..." "... andraisetaxesongasoline, for example, taxes on burning coal." "We could probably do it all with a carbon tax." "We're not changing the level of taxes." "We're reducing income taxes..." "... andoffsettingit withanincrease in energy taxes, in effect." "A tax on fossil fuels." "When we break our addiction to fossil fuels..." "... youseemoneyflowingtoindustries that represent the vitality of the economy:" "Media, high-tech, services." "Taking action on climate change is good for jobs and the economy." "If we retrofitted..." "... allgovernmentbuildings built pre-1 950..." "... andwecreatedtax environments to help cities and municipalities..." "... andstatesandthe federalgovernment to retrofit those buildings..." "... wecouldcreate3millionindustrialjobs." "Plus we could import much less oil from the Middle East." "But more importantly, we'd be having a much cleaner environment." "If we move from the rigged game we have now in energy..." "... toa levelplayingfield,competition between dirty and clean fuels..." "... Ihaveno doubtthe cleanfuelswillwin." "Once we send the right signal to the marketplace..." "... thatthetwoguysinthegarage  who created Hewlett-Packard... ." "Those two guys today, I want them working on clean energy." "I want them to know we fixed our public policies..." "... sothey'llbe rewardedwhenthey come  up with a killer app to defeat Big Oil." "That's what we need to do." "Once we do, we'll see a relatively quick transition to cleaner energy." "People need to realize they can do things in their everyday lives." "Keeping tire pressure at the right level..." "... puttingincompactfluorescentlight bulbs." "Personal action is important." "This problem of global warming is huge and tremendous..." "... anditmayseeminconsequential to take your personal action..." "... butitis importantfor manyreasons." "Because everybody making a change..." "... addsupto somethingmeaningful." "Because shifting the way we act and live is part of the solution, long-term." "Because if we act in that way, we will demonstrate to leaders that we do care." "That's what we need from individuals..." "... asthenextstepbeyondthat, isto build a political will for taking action." "You can also vote." "And I don't mean voting at a voting booth." "Anybody of any age can vote." "Because you vote every day that you pay for something." "Every time you lay money down on a counter to buy something..." "... youaresayingthat, ""l approve of this object." "I approve of how it was made, the materials that are in it..." "... andwhat'sgoingtohappentoitwhen  I no longer need it and throw it away. """ "Life creates the conditions that are conducive to life." "So our technology, our cities, our schools..." "... whatwemake,whatwewear,  what we eat, all of that..." "... ifitis oriented around that one principle..." "... thatonelifeprinciple..." "... thenwewillbehere fora long,  long time in an extraordinary world." "The question is, what does it take for humankind to change its ways?" "And I am really encouraged by Deepak Chopra's statement..." "... thatpeoplearereallydoingthebest they can given their level of awareness." "So to me, winning this battle that we're in..." "... tochangepeople'smindsandhearts..." "... isa matterof liftinglevels of awareness." "Always raising." "And there's always a higher level of awareness for any of us." "We need to be slower, and we need to be smarter." "Slow movement means disengaging from consumerism..." "... asthemainavenueofexperience." "It doesn't reject any consumption, but it says:" """We're not gonna live our lives mediated by the marketplace or what's being sold." "We won't make our identities and meaning based on that." "Instead of the long commute, the bigger car, the bigger house..." "... let'senjoythelocalproduce, have time to ourselves..." "... understandthat things are thieves of time. """ "Because the more things you have, the more time you have to spend working..." "... themoreyourlifeischained to a rhythm to get those things." "The other element is the smart element." "And there I think we have to reintroduce a term..." "... anoldtermbeforetheindustrial revolution, frugality." "Frugality does not mean poverty." "Frugality means the wise use of resources." "As I said earlier on, the meaning of the industrial revolution was..." "... thatnaturewasturnedinto aresource that was considered endlessly abundant." "It's not true." "Not only is it the 1 1 th hour, it's 1 1 :59 and 59 seconds." "And although prior people's movements..." "... havetaken30 to 40 yearstobuild to a point where they had the power..." "... todrivechangesintothe fundamental structure of governance..." "... wedon'thave30to40 years ." "It's not just gonna be a matter of tweaking a policy here and there." "It'll take a broad societal mobilization." "It's gonna take involvement at all levels..." "... fromthegovernmentthroughindustry and on down to our communities..." "... anda wellingup  of involvement of citizens." "Winston Churchill had it right about us:" """The Americans always do the right thing..." "... butunfortunately,it 'sonlyafter they've exhausted all other possibilities. """ "And we've been exhausting some fairly bad possibilities for a long time." "I think maybe we're finally ready to get it right." "People often ask:" """What can I do?" "I wanna do something. """ "You made the first choice because you know you have to do something." "For the rest, it's a matter of looking deep into your own heart and your soul..." "... tounderstandwhatyourgiftsare, where your passions lie..." "... todosomeresearch, educate yourself..." "... tofindthepeopleyou'recomfortable with, and then get involved." "There are two things that can perhaps save the world." "One would be the mastery of one's kindness to oneself and a big heart." "And the other would be understanding your passion for place..." "... forwhereyoulive,andreally loving the place that you live in." "Environmentalism was once the project of a passionate few." "Now, millions of people have responded to ecological destruction..." "... andhavecreatedthe groundwork for a sustainable and just world." "With the onset of global warming and other catastrophic events..." "... environmentalismhasbecometoday a broader unifying human issue." "We as citizens, leaders, consumers and voters..." "... havetheopportunity to help integrate ecology..." "... intogovernmentalpolicy and everyday living standards." "During this critical period of human history..." "... healingthedamageofindustrial civilization is the task of our generation." "Our response depends on the conscious evolution of our species..." "... andthisresponsecouldvery well  save this unique blue planet..." "... forfuturegenerations." "So I see a world in the future..." "... inwhichwe understand that all life is related to us..." "... andwetreatthatlife  with great humility and respect." "I see us, as well, as social creatures." "And when I began to look back and say:" """What is the fundamental bottom line for us as social creatures?""" "I couldn't believe it because it seemed so hippie-dippie, but it was love." "Love is the force that makes us fully human." "Now, to me, the value..." "... isthehealingpower that comes from getting..." "... thatit'snotjustglobalwarming." "It's not just fossil-fuel dependency." "It's not just soil erosion." "It's not just chemical contamination of our land and water." "It's not just the population problem." "And it's not just all of those." "The deterioration of the environment of our planet..." "... isanoutwardmirror of an inner condition." "Like inside, like outside." "And that's a part of the great work." "What if we choose to eradicate ourselves from this Earth, by whatever means?" "The Earth goes nowhere." "And in time, it will regenerate..." "... andallthelakeswill bepristine." "The rivers, the waters, the mountains..." "... everythingwillbe greenagain." "It'll be peaceful." "There may not be people, but the Earth will regenerate." "And you know why?" "Because the Earth has all the time in the world..." "... andwedon't." "So I think that's where we're at, right now." "Subtitles by sdl Media Group" "[english]" "The tree for us in the Green Belt Movement is a symbol." "A symbol of hope." "A symbol of what people can do for themselves." "A symbol of self-empowerment." "A symbol of peace." "Many people, when they look at our work-- lf you go to our website Greenbeltmovement.org, you'll see..." "... thatthereareverymany  other activities we are carrying out." "But the tree remains our focal point." "And we do that because a tree is visible." "A tree is" " Has multipurpose." "If you plant a tree as a farmer, you know that it will give you firewood." "You know it will give you building materials." "You know it will give you shade." "You know it will clean your air." "You know that it will send roots deep into the ground." "It will hold your soil." "You know it will drop leaves and it will replenish the soil." "If it's a fruit tree, you know it's going to give you fruits." "And if it is a tree that animals love, it's going to give you fodder." "I mean, what a friend we have in a tree." "Water is not just water." "Although we treat it that way when we..." "... thinkofwaterassomething we drink or whatever." "But basically, water is filled with life." "The ocean is a living soup, every spoonful of water has life in it." "So when we think about what shapes the character of Earth..." "... andwethinkabouttheocean andsay, ""lt's water. """ "It is, but it's really the life in the sea that shapes the character of the ocean." "And thus, the way the world works." "It's life in the sea, not just water that's generating the oxygen..." "... thatisabsorbingthe carbondioxide." "One of the most abundant creatures on the planet..." "... isinacategoryofsmall critters that are known as coccolithophorids." "They photosynthesize." "They take the sunlight's energy, turn it into food and generate oxygen." "They're very important little creatures." "Not just that one group..." "... buttherearethousandsofkinds of organisms out there in the ocean." "Planktonic organisms that live largely in that upper 1 00 meters of the ocean..." "... wheresunlightpenetrates and drives photosynthesis..." "... thatdrives the production of oxygen." "And the production of food that makes the food chains possible." "Nomadic people are so profoundly different, you know..." "... thatinanomadicsociety,there 'sno incentive to accumulate possessions." "Because everything has to be carried on your back." "So you ask yourself, what is the measure of wealth in that kind of culture?" "You actually discover that the measure of wealth..." "... isperceivedexplicitlytobe..." "... thestrengthof thesocialrelationships between people." "That is the currency of the society." "Because without that bond..." "... andwithoutthatcollective commitment to the well-being of all..." "... everybodycandie." "In a nomadic society, sharing becomes an involuntary reflex..." "... becauseyoudon'tknow who will be the next to bring food." "I once watched a little Penan woman tear apart a cigarette..." "... andindividuallydistribute the strands of tobacco equitably..." "... toeveryhutintheencampment." "Rendering the product useless but honoring her obligation to share." "Now, that entire world of the Penan..." "... morallyinspired,inherentlyright..." "... fullydeservingof being, fully replete with lessons for all of us..." "... hasbeensweptaway in a single generation..." "... bythemostegregious, outrageous deforestation..." "... evertobe seen on the face of the Earth." "I've spent a lot of time..." "... seekingouttheastronauts..." "... becauseeveryoneofthem seemsto have come back from space transformed." "And one of my favorite is a man called Story Musgrave..." "... thefirstphysiciantowalk inspace ." "And he described what it had been to be in space." "I mean, there he was traveling 26,000 miles an hour." "In perpetual free fall, 250 miles above the surface of the planet." "The golden visor of his helmet illuminated by a single sight..." "... ablueplanet,asherecalled, floating in the velvet void of space." "And Story later told me that to have experienced that sight..." "... asightthatwas onlymade possibleby the brilliance of the human ingenuity..." "... andthehumanimagination." "And then to recall the callous way in which we treat our only home..." "... wastoknow the purest sensation of horror." "And that vision of the Earth from space..." "... onlybroughtto us whenImyself was 1 2 or 1 3 years old." "is gonna have a more incredible impact on the human destiny..." "... thaneventheCopernicanRevolution of the 1 6th Century..." "... thatshowedtheEarth was not the center of the universe." "Because what we see at last from space..." "... isnotalimitlesshorizon." "Or the stunning products of human beings." "We see a very finite orb." "The fifth rock from the sun floating in space." "A little vale of life circling in a big, dark universe."