“The 11th Hour”: Time For Change

Drought. Famine. Severe flooding. Record rainfall.  Hurricanes. Acid rain. The highest average temperatures in recorded history. Catastrophe is reported on the nightly news as isolated incidents. But are these incidents isolated, or pieces of a larger global puzzle that could unlock humanity’s future?

Narrated and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners, Warner Bros.’ critically acclaimed documentary The 11th Hour describes the last moment when change is possible. The film explores how humanity has “arrived at this moment” – how we live, how  we impact the earth’s ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course. The film features dialogues with experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA James Woolsey and sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau in addition to over 50 leading scientists, thinkers and leaders who present the facts and discuss the most important issues that face our planet.

In the history of the planet, humanity’s time on earth has been short but powerful. The human drive to ensure its own survival and quality of life has revolutionized industry, science, nutrition and medicine. But it has also effected unprecedented changes in the delicate balance that makes life on earth possible.  

Shaped by oceans and rainforests that generate oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide, govern climate, weather and temperature, planet earth is under siege. The alchemy of natural greenhouse gases that enables life has been augmented with chemicals from tail pipes and smoke stacks. For every truckload of product produced, many more truckloads of waste are created. The oceans have been flooded with mercury, heavy metals, and toxic chemicals. The forests are disappearing, deserts are widening, the arctic sea ice is melting, the permafrost has begun to crack. The earth has grown warmer.  Not since a meteor hit the planet 55 million years ago have so many forms of life gone extinct.

But are these changes to the earth permanent? Or are they puzzle pieces that, if connected, reveal a larger story that needs to be told – a human story that takes into account who we are and the state of our relationship to this planet, our only home. We are in an environmental age whether we like it or not.

After collaborating on two short films (Global Warning, Water Planet), the filmmakers set out to explore the larger story of the human experience on the planet. Seeking out credible voices to speak to the history of the human species, the state of the oceans, land and air, and social design and political challenges for change, the trio netted 150 hours of interviews with over 70 scientists, designers, historians and thinkers. “We reached out to independent experts on the front lines of what could be the greatest challenge of our time– the collapse of our planet’s ecosystems and our search for solutions to create a sustainable future,” says DiCaprio.

“We ourselves wanted to understand why humans were on a crash course with nature, and what we had to do to change course,” says Conners Petersen.  Her sister and collaborator, Nadia Conners, adds, “One of the great things about doing this project was being able to meet people that inspired me or opened my mind through their work and writings. It was a great honor and a huge learning experience.”

The 11th Hour ”examines the human relationship with earth from its earliest glimmers of innovation to the challenges humanity face in the present to the possibilities of the future. “It was the human mind that was the key to our very survival,” David Suzuki, an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster, says in the film. “Now, when you think that we evolved in Africa about 150,000 years ago, and compared to the other animals that must have been on the plains of that time, we weren’t very impressive. We weren’t very many; we weren’t very big; we weren’t gifted with special senses. The one thing, the key to our survival and our taking over the planet, was the human brain. But because the human mind invented the concept of a future, we’re the only animal on the planet that actually was able to recognize: we could affect the future by what we do today.”

The film posits that, in many ways, humanity has detached itself from nature, and grown accustomed to using without thinking. After 200 years of industrial revolution, the atmosphere has undergone a pronounced shift in temperature which is a red flag in relation to human existence. “It’s been enough to melt 20 percent of the sea ice in the arctic,” says author, journalist and environmentalist Bill McKibben. “It’s been enough to speed up the spin and duration of hurricanes about 50 percent.”

But with human ingenuity and optimism, there exists the potential to develop alternate systems that sustain, rather than degrade, the earth. “When we started the project, we wanted to take a ‘big picture’ look at how humans have related to the earth and take stock of the state of the planet,” says Conners Petersen. “It seems so obvious now but I was surprised to find out that humans are facing an extinction crisis along with all other life; that we are not excluded from catastrophic events; that, in fact, we are the most vulnerable even though we have technology. We learned that the earth is going to be fine. It’s us, human beings, that are in trouble.”

“We, as citizens, leaders, consumers and voters, have the opportunity to help integrate ecology into governmental policy and every day living standards,” concludes DiCaprio. “During this critical period of human history, healing the damage of industrial civilization is the task of our generation. Our response depends on the conscious evolution of our species and this response could very well save this unique blue planet for future generations.”

The 11th Hour opens in Metro Manila theaters on Oct. 10.