Fighting Climate Change with Movies

AS IT IS 2016-06-12 Fighting Climate Change with Movies

“How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change” is the latest movie from filmmaker and climate activist¹ Josh Fox.

The movie is the third film in a three-part series about climate change.

In 2010, America’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated Fox’s documentary “Gasland” for its highest award -- an Oscar. “Gasland” explored “fracking,” the hotly debated process of removing natural gas from the ground. He examined the subject again in “Gasland II,” the second film in his climate change series.

Fox was in Washington, D.C. recently to present his third film. He was arrested during a protest against a new fuel pipeline². The arrest was evidence of his opposition³ to traditional fossil fuels and support of renewable energy.

In the film, Fox says pollution from fossil fuels must be reduced. Without limits, he says, there will be more extreme weather, like severe storms and dry weather, rising sea levels and shortages of food and water.

“It’s going to change in some of the most difficult and dangerous ways that we can imagine. When you really encounter that head on, it causes an incredible crisis. I think you go deep into some kind of despair and I think you ping-pong back and forth⁴ between that despair and, and denial.”

Fox notes there are some things that climate cannot change.

“And those are the things that are inside of us. Those are our value structure and that is what the film starts to define. If we start to really emphasize building community, building human rights, building democracy and the things that are inside -- courage, love, generosity⁵, innovation, creativity. And I think those are some of the hallmarks or the pillars of what we talk about when we talk about activism, when we talk about a response to climate change.”

In the new film, Fox travels through a sunless forest in the Amazon with local activists⁶ to measure oil spills. He goes to a village in Ecuador to learn how people there stopped a pipeline from being built. He joins young people in Australia to stop barges⁷ from entering the port of Newcastle -- the largest coal export center in the world.

(Islanders yelling “We are not drowning, we are fighting! We are not drowning, we are fighting!”)

“Before I say anything else about this sequence, you should probably know that the downside of what we’re about to do was, you know, this is the short list: drowning, arrest, run over by boats, all kinds of sharks, jellyfish, any kind of sea creatures, drifting away in currents out into the Pacific Ocean, cultural disrespect, big waves -- well, you get the idea!”

The port at Newcastle was forced to close for just one day. But Fox says that was a major victory.

“I think that protest was incredibly effective. But what it also did was, it was a win internally for these folks and for all of us that we can celebrate. Then we realize resilience is one of the most important things going forward and these people exhibit so much resilience.”

Also in the film, Fox talks to Ella Zhou, an energy expert with the U.S. Department of Energy. She works in China. She met him at the Great Wall to explain the importance of what she calls “moral imagination.”

“I think that the moral imagination forces us to get out of our box of thinking about, for instance, what is being successful. The moral imagination allows us to think outside of this box, having a moral value about what you want as a person, as an individual, what you want out of your own humanity. What do you want to do for the world for yourself?”

“If there was any idea that could rocket you off into the stratosphere this was it. The moral imagination wrote The Bill of Rights, came up with the idea of democracy.” -- Josh Fox

Fox is visiting 100 cities with his new film to try to bring attention to the efforts being made to fight climate change. His film will be shown on the television cable channel HBO soon.

Words in This Story

encounter – v. to have or experience (problems, difficulties, etc.)

head on – adv. in a very direct way

despair – n. the feeling of no longer having any hope

ping-pong – expression alternating between two emotions

generosity – n. the quality of being kind, understanding and not selfish; the quality of being generous

hallmark – n. a quality, ability, etc., that is typical of a particular person or thing

response – n. something that is done as a reaction to something else

sequence – n. a series of scenes from a movie or television program; a part of a movie, television show, etc., that deals with one subject, action or idea

downside – n. a part of something that you do not want or like; a drawback or disadvantage

drift – v. to move slowly on water, wind, etc.

incredibly – adv. very

effective – adj. producing a result that is wanted; having an intended effect

internally – adv. referring to or describing something existing or occurring within your mind

resilience – n. the ability to become strong, healthy or successful again after something bad happens

exhibit – v. (somewhat formal) to show or reveal (something)

rocket you off into the stratosphere – expression give you great inspiration

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 barges   

驳船( barge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tug is towing three barges. 那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
• There were plenty of barges dropping down with the tide. 有不少驳船顺流而下。