O/D/1 Blog

WALL-E is the first G-rated post-apocalyptic film I've ever seen. That fact makes this film both a troublesome sign of the times as well as a beacon of hope in what could otherwise seem to the eco-minded as humanity's path of self-destruction.

In case you live under a rock and haven't heard of this film, it's the latest full-length computer animated feature from Disney and Pixar. The main character is an expressive robot named WALL-E who is the sole "surviving" remnant of man's civilization on Earth. He takes the seemingly endless fields of garbage that man has left behind, crushes them into little cubes and stacks them.

The vision of the Earth in this film is grim by any standard, especially Disney's. It is a disturbing sign of the times because it signifies that the ultimate destruction of our planet is accepted, even taken for granted. It means that we are comfortable showing our children what kind of planet they or their children are likely to inherit. A company known for its colorful fairy tale lands has foregone that universe in favor of a dusty, garbage-filled, dystopian planet, completely void of human existence.

But the film remains a Disney film, and of course, there is a moral, and of course, the ending is a happy one (sorry if that's a spoiler, but come on, it's Disney). Ulimately, the message is one of hope and salvation, and the idea that even when the world is this far gone, it can still be saved if someone with an idea decides to get up and take action.

It's all-too-easy to see how we arrive at the Earth of WALL-E, but there's also a light at the end of the tunnel. Our societal excesses are obviously apparent to us, and through films like this one, they will become apparent to our children. That level of understanding could actually start to influence behavior and shift the path toward sustainability. Far from being like death and taxes, our knowledge of impending planetary destruction could allow us to avoid it. This is, or should be, the credo of the cautiously optimistic eco-advocate.

(Image from disney.go.com)

Happy Fourth of July to our American friends. As you prepare for the long weekend, check out this video that explains Millennium Development Goal Seven--Environmental Sustainability

Via the excellent good news website Gimundo, news that one forward thinking scientist is working on harnessing energy from tornadoes.

Tornadoes are more associated with wreckage and destruction than environmental activism. But surprisingly, they've got plenty of potential to do good: Your average tornado contains as much energy as a typical power plant. If only we could find a way to harness that power, we could create clean energy alternatives that don't rely on coal or nuclear power.

Unfortunately, tornadoes don't take direction from humans too well. But Canadian engineer Louis Michaud came up with a novel idea: By creating his own man-made tornado, which he calls an Atmospheric Vortex Engine, he could extract as much as 200 megawatts of electricity - enough to power a small city.

Live Science has more on the man who just might be sitting on a gold mine.

Here is an interesting news story from voanews.com:

NASA scientists say they are "flabbergasted" to find that soil on Mars appears rich enough to grow such Earth-bound plants as asparagus.

My first thought when I read this was that perhaps if our planet fails to cooperate on environmental issues, then once this planet is sufficiently destroyed, we could begin to colonize Mars. This would mean that perhaps the human race is not doomed after all.

But while I and many others may be fond of fresh garden vegetables, I'm not sure I would like to shift to a mostly asparagus diet. In fact, even if we were able to grow many things on Mars, and create a new agricultural society there, I still think I'd rather save this planet than start a whole new one. So we're not off the hook yet.

Fortunately, the colonization of Mars is on neither McCain's nor Obama's agenda, while a cap-and-trade regime is. It looks for now like ensuring a future for our own planet is a higher priority than imagining a future for another one.

Besides, the U.S. needs to improve its standing within the international community before it can hope to foster good interplanetary relations.