During the lockdown here at Eley Consultancy Ltd we are always looking at different ways in which to learn & expand our knowledge. This week we set ourselves the challenge of watching a film or documentary that was “work related”.
We settled on an environmental film called “This changes everything” by Avi Lewis currently available on Amazon Prime.
The film takes us on a global journey, starting in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada with the largest and most destructive oil mining project in the world and its repercussions to the surrounding environment, including those found at Beaver Lake some 294 kms south of Fort McMurray, as well as at a ranch in Montana, USA.
It also looks at Hurricane Sandy and the effects it had on New York, demonstrating the extreme weather that is now becoming far too regular and a real danger to life. It also goes on to mention about surface temperatures rising and how we are now at a critical point of our existence on this planet & that by continuing to mine the earth’s reserves for resources, it is inevitable that this will increase temperatures to rise above critical levels which will be catastrophic for the planet and for human life.
The global journey continues, then moving onto Halkidiki, Greece looking at a gold mining company from Canada, purchasing a significant peninsula to mine for gold. The company purchased the area in 2012 for £5 billion, when Greece decided to sell off some its assets to raise capital for its ongoing recession. The film also highlights countries such as Spain & Italy who also did similar and how the lands & seas are available to the highest bidder, regardless of the impact on the environment.
We are then taken to Andhra Prasada, India where the government had sold a large area of wet land for a power plant to be built, even though there were large communities living in the area and relying on the land for food and work. A large confrontation between the Indian army and the locals ensued, with two local villagers being shot & killed. The army were outnumbered & chased away ultimately – this was the first instance where the film demonstrated that people standing up for what they believed in, could make a difference, even if it did come at a great cost.
From India, we are then taken to Beijing, China-the fastest growing economy in the world. In 2013, China suffered a smog disaster and this section of the film, looks at the smog that occurred at the time and how it was the eye opener for a lot of the countries inhabitants and how they didn’t want their children to grow up, not being able to ever see the sky. Since 2013, China has shut down all of its coal power planets and is now the biggest producer of solar panels in the world. Again, the film demonstrates that there is a shift occurring and that more countries are waking up to the impacts we are having on the environment.
The last stop on our tour is to take us to the most energy efficient country in the world – Germany.
Germany who have invested heavily in wind farms, solar panels and more are able to proudly boast that at least 30% of their entire countries energy now comes from renewable energy which they should rightly be proud of. They are leading the energy revolution and setting the example for the rest of the world.
Which brings us to the main conclusions ‘this changes everything’ is trying to make:
- Governments will not make changes without pressure from below
- Stopping climate change is about all of us
- Renewable energy is the future
‘This changes everything’ provides us with proof of previous environmental disasters & that it will most likely often come down to capitalism vs the environment & that greed often win’s out. However it does offer a glimmer of hope that everyone on this planet can make a difference if they choose to fight for what they believe in, put pressure on our governments about important environmental issues and switch over to renewable energy sooner, rather than later.