It's time to look at Earth's state in '11th Hour'

Many people believe we are living in a golden era for documentary films. The environmental-themed, highly polished "11th Hour" is another worthy documentary, one that highlights a vital subject for all human beings.

"11th Hour" is a documentary that looks at the state of the world's environment. Unlike "An Inconvenient Truth," the Al Gore film to which people will likely compare it, "11th Hour" focuses not just on global warming but on the whole of how we treat the Earth and the sustainability of how we use its resources. Leonardo DiCaprio narrates, and is among the producers of the documentary with his involvement growing out of his interest in environmental issues.

"11th Hour" also differs from the Al Gore film in its presentation of its subject. While Gore's film takes a calm, gentle, step-by-step approach to build its case, this documentary comes out swinging. It delivers visceral images of devastating hurricanes, polar bears scavenging in dumps, and pollution and industrial waste, before presenting experts to discuss what exactly we are doing to the world's environment and then suggesting solutions.

"11th Hour" is a visually stunning, emotionally powerful and technically polished film, with no expense spared on its production values. The goal, and tag line, of this worthy documentary is to "turn mankind's darkest hour into its finest."

While some segments of society still deny global warming exists, or at least that human activities are the largest contributor, few people deny that the way we are using up the Earth's resources and generating waste is unsustainable. But, with our busy lives, few of us have time to look at the big picture of the world.

It is this big picture of how we use the world, how we live on this planet, that the "11th Hour" brings to us. It is a wide-ranging approach.

The documentary has a long string of respected experts on a variety of environmental and industrial issues to outline where we stand now in uses of natural resources. Scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey, sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau, businessman and founder of the Interface company Ray Anderson and former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev are among the more than 50 top scientists, thinkers and leaders who discuss the issues facing the planet.

The facts in the film paint a picture of an environment out of balance and presents evidence for the ultimate result of continued unsustainable use of the Earth.

Topics covered include climate change but also declining water quality, species extinctions, toxic waste, vanishing forests and emptying oceans, and how those changes impact human survival on Earth.

It looks at the contribution of population growth, globalization, consumerism, use of resources and the end result of unlimited growth.

If you have taken a basic biology course, you know what the end point is for unlimited growth for a colony of organisms: explosive growth followed by collapse when resources are exhausted.

This is the future that the film's experts predict if we continue our shortsighted approach of every country, corporation or man for himself in use of the Earth.

"11th Hour" hits hard on the roles that globalization and corporations play in this unsustainable state, but consumerism and the individual consumer do not escape blame.

The film also rightly points out that individuals have more power than they might think, through choices on consumption and use. Choosing to buy organic foods or from local farmers is already having impact on food quality and land use.

Individuals' interest in hybrids and compact florescent light bulbs are impacting the market place. As the film points out, corporations are more likely to follow than lead, so when consumers reject unsustainable lifestyles or polluting manufacturing practices, it can force change.

However, the title of the documentary underscores one point of "11th Hour," which is how late we are in coming to these realizations. The Earth will not cease to exist if we do not change but we might, as the film's experts point out.

The topic is critically important and the film's long list of experts is unassailable. However, the film takes some stylistic approaches that may dilute its impact.

Too often experts speak for extended periods before they are identified on screen. In these politically fractured times, delaying the identification of speakers on screen opens the door to skepticism of their statements. This skepticism about "expert" testimonies from those with hidden agendas means that experts have to be scrupulously credentialed.

Sadly, the use of emotionally powerful images, a movie star narrator, and the sometimes strident tone may turn away those of a certain political bent, those who get their news from Fox, believe movie stars lead all so-called liberal causes, or who are unsure of the difference between environmental concerns raised an ecological scientists and issues raised by activist groups like animal rights organization PETA.

In fact, the subject of "11th Hour" is not a political topic. Realistically, all of us need to be aware of the state of the Earth. As one of the film's producers, Leila Conners Petersen, says it is "not about saving the trees, it is about saving ourselves."

Although the forceful tone will be off-putting for some, the information in "11th Hour" is critical for all of us. You can read about the topics explored in the film at its website www.11thhourfilm.com.

This must-see documentary is now playing exclusively at the Plaza Frontenac Cinema.