Time for an inconvenient truth

Nations meet to discuss climate change

Delegates from 194 nations are meeting this week in Durban, South Africa, to address the global response to climate change. The meeting, known as COP17, comes as the International Energy Agency, says that Earth is on a trajectory to warm by nearly 11 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius) by 2100. Expectations for the conference are fairly modest, and even if there’s consensus, it might not lead to broad action.  After all, the Kyoto Protocol was ratified in 1997 with the support of almost every country except for a few, including Afghanistan, Sudan and the United States. Meanwhile, the next United Nations summit on climate change will take place in Qatar, which has the highest per-capita greenhouse gas emissions in the world.

Investments in renewable energy surpass those in fossil fuels

Renewable energy is making some progress on the R&D front, attracting $187 billion in new investments, according to research by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The number marks the first time that investments in electricity from the wind, sun, waves and biomass have surpassed investments in fossil fuels such as gas, oil and coal. Still, it might not be enough. In a guest editorial for Science magazine, Bill Gates is calling for the U.S. to triple its energy R&D budget to $16 billion annually. And some entities are taking a step backwards. For example, Google, which expends a vast amount of energy for use in its computer server farms, has dropped an initiative to make renewable energy cheaper than coal.

Efforts made to stop next big oil spill disaster

Speaking of investments, the Department of Energy recently announced grant funding for new technology meant to prevent oil spill disasters. The projects range from a 3-D laser imaging system that can inspect underwater equipment, research to help figure out the severity of storms in the Gulf of Mexico, and the simulation of drilling is smaller deep water fields. Oil spills and gas leaks can have a profound psychological impact on a society for decades. Witness India, one of the world’s most populated nations, which is soon scheduled to take a vote on whether to boycott the 2012 Olympics in London to protest sponsorship by Dow Chemicals, which the country blames for the Bhopal gas leak in 1984.

Academy Award filmmaker turns attention to global water crisis

From the makers of An Inconvenient Truth and Food Inc. comes a new documentary on how the world’s water supply is in dire shape. How bad? Some cities may be out of water within the next five years. In the new film, Last Call at the Oasis, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jessica Yu, “aims to jolt people out of indifference by weaving together the many ways in which the planet’s most valuable resource is being threatened,” and features a Texas town impacted by fracking and famed crusader Erin Brokovich.

An uplifting look at the end of civilization?

Here’s another documentary to watch: One would think that the end of civilization would be a pretty gloomy subject. But according to one review of The Crisis of Civilization, the documentary by Dean Puckett is “remarkably pleasant.” The film connects a lot of threads including the global climate crisis, national security concerns, food shortages, and the financial meltdown, but stands out by weaving together old commercials, B-movies, animation, and clips of political leaders to point towards what’s ahead for the future of our society. Undeniably, tragedy looms but also some optimism about a possible new world. Here’s a preview:

The Crisis of Civilization: Trailer from thecrisisofcivilization on Vimeo