Just Look Up

Our Earth is NOT a planet. I know—just bare with me for a moment.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but planets are, for the most part, uninhabitable. They lack breathable air, usable resources, and livable climates. Our Earth is our HOME. It has EVERYTHING we need. It's our ONLY safe haven. And in the last hundred years, in the last few decades even, we've done a really good job of ruining the chances of survival for future generations. Hold up, even MY generation will face the consequences of past neglect.

Global warming. Climate Change. Whatever you want to call it—it's happening. And we're already seeing the effects of it. Hotter summers. Colder winters. Harsher natural disasters. Loss of land. Loss of LIFE.

As a millennial, this issue we're so predominately facing, angers me to NO END. I cannot fathom how the human race can have so little disregard for this world. People want to enjoy nature, reap every ounce that's sowed, but they spend so little energy on nurturing it, on preserving it. Does the vast majority ever think:

"What if we didn't have breathable air?"

"What if we didn't have usable resources?"

"What if we didn't have livable climates?"

Oh, wait. It's a little too late for the WHAT IF's. These things we take for granted are ALREADY being taken away from us.

The air in Beijing is SO polluted that people have to wear masks outside so the air doesn't pollute their lungs. But it doesn't stop there. Air pollution is NOT an isolated issue. It's happening all over the world. What are we doing to combat this? Just the opposite. Driving our gas guzzlers. Smoking like chimneys. Building, building, building.

The water in Flint, Michigan is SO polluted that people have to bathe and cook with and drink bottled water. And shamefully, even that's in short supply. But it doesn't stop there. Water pollution is NOT an isolated issue. It's happening all over the world.

We're already seeing the affects of our ignorance in the world's foremost population epicenters. Namely, coastal cities. People love 'em. It's the best of both worlds. Urban AND waterfront. But one day, they'll be no more.

In Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth—love him or hate him, this film was more than just political propaganda, it was a wakeup call—he displayed scientific predictions that New York City, an island, mind you, would be underwater if the sea levels were to rise. That was a prediction from 2005: a whopping 11 years ago! Then Sandy came in like a hurricane—literally—and flooded out lower Manhattan, parts of Brooklyn and Queens, and the Jersey Shore. And that's just within the tri-state area.

EVERYTHING has a cause and effect. All of which, in relation to global warming, are detrimental to our quality of life. Because when a drought causes a wildfire which spreads to your neighborhood and burns your house down, YOU have become a victim of climate change. Because when rainfall turns into a flood or a passing storm turns into a tsunami or a glacier somewhere North of your comprehension crumbles into the sea and your house is submerged with all of its contents, YOU have become a victim of climate change. Because when our factories and our modes of transportation pump out so much unnecessary garbage into our atmosphere and there's a heat advisory or an ozone warning on the news and you can't comfortably or safely spend time in the great outdoors, YOU have become a victim of climate change.

These aren't predictions of a dystopian future—they're part of our present.

So why don't we care? Why don't we ACTIVELY care? It's simple, really, and boils down to our coping mechanisms.

1. Avoidance.

Out of sight, out of mind, right? Well, this isn't as difficult as it seems when your daily life isn't overtly affected by the ravages of global warming. Most of the United States is after all, free of this clear and present danger, all the while, according to the data of the world's leading scientists, we're the BIGGEST contributor, globally.

2. Denial.

When you hear all the facts but you just can't bare to believe them because that would be too scary.

"Those numbers seem too high to be true. They must have been fudged." —Science Disputer

"Pish posh. This has been happening since the beginning of time." —Self-proclaimed Scientist

"I'll never be directly affected by it. At least not in my lifetime." —Selfish Brat

3. Rationalization.

Picture this:

"Yeah, I just threw that piece of non-biodegradable garbage on the ground, but so what, the trash can was too far away. I'm ONLY one person so it's NOT that big of a deal." —Litterbug

Or a step up from that would be:

"Yeah, I just threw my recyclable aluminum can into the garbage, but so what, I couldn't find a recycling bin. I'm ONLY one person so it's NOT that big of a deal." —Lazy Jane

Or better yet:

"Yeah, I just bought the biggest, loudest, highest emission, lowest mileage road beast I could find, but so what, it makes me look cool. I'm ONLY one person so it's NOT that big of a deal." —Road Hog

Sound familiar? Yeah...that's because it has never been just ONE person. These rationales attribute to the vast majority of the human race. Which brings me to a solution.

If all of these voices saying "I'm ONLY one person" were referring to a positive initiative they took to help the environment, we could reverse it entirely. And I don't know about you, but I want to live to see that happen. Even if I'm eighty and only able to see it from the rocking chair on my front porch—Wait, who am I kidding? Grandparents will be way cooler sixty-some-odd years from now—I still grip tightly to the possibility that I may live to see our world restored to its best state with clean air, clean water, and milder weather.

Luckily, I'm not the only person who thinks this way. Nolan Berthelette, a boy of only 14, taken too soon by a brain aneurysm, understood the value of Mother Nature from an early age. That's one of the many reasons why I decided to share his story through a holistic biographical documentary.

"One child alone can make a difference, but all of us together can change the world."

—Nolan Berthelette

If you need me, I'll be spending the rest of my life, in one way or another, carrying on his legacy.

Exhibit A: When I heard about CineSpace16, a competition through HeroX to create a short film, of any genre, using at least 10% of NASA footage, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to make a social statement. TERRAnormal is an experimental remix of archival footage juxtaposing humanity's collective neglect of Earth against the benevolent presence of our National Aeronautic Space Administration's upward thinking through space exploration. I hope that this resonates with at least one person enough to make them alter their ways.

Now look up.

#earth #globalwarming #climatechange #shortfilm #NASA