Free 11th Hour Video Reflection Essay Sample
The 11th Hour is a documentary video that became created, produced and narrated in 2007 by Leonardo Dicaprio; a film producer and an American actor. The film is about the current and future state of the world and humanity. Over fifty scientists, environmental activists and politicians have made contributions to the film. Some of the contributors to the film include the late Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, journalist Paul Hawken, physicist Stephen Hawking and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Documented in the film is the deadly problems that face the life systems of the planet. Addressed in the film include deforestation, global warming, depletion of the habitant of the ocean and mass extinction of species.
This essay will address the content of the video that include species extinction, soil, water, air, health and ocean. It will also explain the meaning of the term voting with consumption and discuss how internal and external health of the body relates. This essay will also address one of the moral questions of time. This means that it will consider species level genocide. From this question, we are going to find out whether we are part of the solution or part of the problem, or whether a third position is present.
According to the film, human focus on the economy has led to global warming. Global warming normally appears due to increased levels of carbon dioxide that emitted from burning of fossil fuels. Global warming is the cause of draughts and deforestation. The warming of the sea has triggered the release of large quantities of carbon dioxide trapped on the ocean floor. Global warming will cause melting of the arctic and Antarctic ice sheets. These will minimize the amount of solar energy that reflected into space and, so the temperatures will further increase. With increasing temperature, earth will be like Venus which has a temperature of 250 centigrade and rains Sulphuric acid. The human races will not survive on such high temperatures.
The climate change will have a strong impact on the global water cycle. It will change rainfall patterns and people’s experience with droughts and floods will increase. Change of climate will also change the pattern of river flow throughout the year. Global warming is a threat to food, water and national security. As much as carbon dioxide has been accumulating in the air, it has also been found in the ocean. Further accumulation of carbon dioxide will rise ocean temperatures. Therefore, the planet shall lose control of the planet and things like Katrina-scale events will be the norm.
Every living creature on the planet is in the decline, and this rate of decline is increasing. There is no living creature that is improving or stable. Planet earth is also increasing a lot of air pollution. The impact of air pollution on human includes drowsiness, headaches and lethargy. Air pollution is causing asthma; 30%-60% of children in elementary schools across the United States have asthma. Pollution in oceans has made it unhealthy to swim in oceans. The use of pesticides and fertilizers on soil to produce foods promote cancer and premature aging.
The term voting with consumption means that humans became engaged in activities that largely lead to climate change, activities such as production and consumption, instead of environmentally friendly activities such as use of natural resources as solar instead of generation of electricity. Internal and external health of the body become related; when the environment of the planet is free of pollution, people are likely to be healthy since they will be free from headaches and disorders such as autism and ADHD. Humans is part of the problem of species level genocide. Human activities such as deforestation have threatened the survival of living creature on the planet. Aside from denial, humans are not taking the proper actions such as planting of trees, to stop further global warming.
Conclusion
Since humans play a role in the destruction of the environment, to stop further climate change, every human should be involved in the fight against climate change/global warming. The future of mankind is in jeopardy if global warming goes on uncontrolled.