Sunday, September 28, 2008

The 11th Hour

Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, this captivating documentary explores the perilous state of our planet, and the means by which we can change our course. Contributing to this crucial film are noted politicians, scientists and other ambassadors for the importance of a universal ecological consciousness.




"We reached out to independent experts on the front lines 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," says Leonardo DiCaprio.

"We ourselves wanted to understand why humans were on a crash course with nature, and what we had to do to change course," says co-writer/co-director/producer Leila Conners Petersen. Her sister and collaborator, Nadia Conners, adds, "One of the great things about doing this project was being able to meet people that inspired me or opened my mind through their work and writings. It was a great honor and a huge learning experience."




The 11th Hour examines the human relationship with earth from its earliest glimmers of innovation, to the challenges humanity faces in the present, to the possibilities of the future.




"It was the human mind that was the key to our very survival," David Suzuki, an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster, says in the film. "Now, when you think that we evolved in Africa about a hundred and fifty thousand years ago, and compared to the other animals that must have been on the plains of that time, we weren't very impressive. We weren't very many; we weren't very big; we weren't gifted with special senses. The one thing, the key to our survival and our taking over the planet, was the human brain. But because the human mind invented the concept of a future, we're the only animal on the planet that actually was able to recognize: we could affect the future by what we do today."





The film posits that in many ways, humanity has detached itself from nature, and grown accustomed to using without thinking to manage the earth's resources.


Click here to visit the official website.


More documentaries like this...

The Kogi - From the Heart of the World

Life After People

A World Without Water

Global Dimming

Own this important documentary on DVD...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent pick! I loved this film. Thank you.

cinndave said...

Leonardo DiCaprio wants to reduce his carbon footprint. So what does he do? He buys 3 Toyota Priuses. 1 would have been enough, but he bought 3, effectively tripling the carbon footprint associated with material and manufacturing, which is quite a lot. And none of his cars get mileage as good as a Volkswagon TDI. That tells me Dicaprio doesn't know what he's doing. He's all for show.