Planet Of The Humans

We have just finished watching the new film produced by Michael Moore, Planet of the Humans. Excellent film, well needed today. And best of all it is released as a free film and can be found here: https://planetofthehumans.com

A major point that Jeff Gibbs, Director, says is, “Environmental groups have been collaborating on the lie of growth by helping us pretend that there will be 'green growth.' As if you can have wealth or stuff that doesn't destroy the planet…There is nothing you will ever have in your life that's not an extraction from the planet earth. And so we've all lost touch with that."

For me the revelation was that for years we have operated under a set of false assumptions:

1.     The earth has unlimited resources. From John Locke to the Koch Bro’s our planet has been like a mega bank that has limitless fossil fuels and minerals. 

2.     That the solution can be found in the environmental movement and the use of “green” technology. Unfortunately for the green movement, “It's a giant profit center, unfortunately, for environmental groups…for corporations, for the people mining and destroying the planet," Gibbs maintains. "The people that produce our fossil fuels love [the green energy movement] because it still uses fossil fuels and it's not a threat to fossil fuels. All the car companies love the electric car." In other words, capitalism and corporations are intertwined with environmentalism. 

Although the first half of the film is depressing, it does offer solutions and hope. Some of these are:

1.     Examining our false assumptions that are killing the planet. Solutions will come about not by technology but by looking at our false assumptions including unlimited growth and infinite resources. 

2.     Remove capitalism and the profit motive from the green movement. We must take the environmental movement from corporate interests. We need to change the laws in this country and the world so that corporations are not allowed to be addicted to infinite growth. We run the planet, there's no reason they should be allowed to do whatever they want."

3.     We must support family planning around the world. Far too many people are consuming far too few resources for the planet to sustain. “Why aren't we sharing our resources here with those people that don't have enough so they don't have to chop down a tree to live?... “

4.     “The transportation system must be redesigned,” Gibbs says, “to cut dependence on air and automobile travel.” He argues for urgent development of "high speed rail that will get us away from those cars. When are we going to build some ships that we can go across the ocean and not have to fly, that are comfortable and not these cruise ships? Nobody's even asking the questions, how are we going to do this? So if you were really worried about climate change you'd be demanding that we have an interstate bus system and an interstate rail system that would plummet our carbon footprint, not more individual electric cars."

Although the film is at times sobering and even depressing it does show a glimmer of hope. Do yourself a favor and watch it at the above website. Best of all it is free! Again, here is the site:

https://planetofthehumans.com