“It’s too late to be a pessimist.” Why? Is optimism really the key to lift humanity out of this abysmal reality? Isn’t humanity too far gone? These were the conflicting thoughts I had after watching the documentary Home. An aesthetically pleasing documentary stuffed with a plethora of facts, it transitions beautifully from the origin of microorganisms to the modern-day world. Yet, the purpose of that documentary seems as dire now as it was when the film was released back in 2009.
Climate Change: Inception
The crux of Home was to give the viewers a reality check by providing details of the inception of climate change and the heinous role humans have played in it. Almost every fact stated is likely outdated by now as 9 years have passed. But after watching the film, it felt like we as primitive beings are back at square one. Our efforts have all been in vain to stop this catastrophe.
Today, countless mining, oiling, and drilling refineries are being run with no one to keep an eye on them. What’s more alarming is that we gave birth to something highly unstable and hazardous than fossil fuel: nuclear energy. The simple example of Chernobyl is more than enough to explain the havoc nuclear energy generates. The aftermath of that accident has left the land inhabitable and infertile with radiation present even today. Suffice to say, the effects of nuclear power will be detrimental to humans and more importantly to our home. The documentary missed this out. However, instead of blaming the products of nature, the credit was rightfully so given to those who manufacture such atrocities: humans.
The documentary provided many reasons for the destruction caused by humans on Earth. These included inefficient resource allocation, food wastage, income inequality, overpopulation, and global warming.
Inefficient Resource Allocation
The first concept taught in an economics lecture is about inefficient resource allocation; it is the primary micro and macroeconomic problem. The documentary shows how 50% of the grain grown worldwide is used to feed the cattle which are jointly demanded meat and leather. Our luxurious lifestyle comes at a cost. The phrase “everything is linked”, perfectly explains this. The amount of water and grain used to feed the cattle could perhaps eradicate world hunger but we are not allocating resources efficiently. However, the documentary did not mention the alternates of a carnivorous diet as transforming every person to a vegetarian seems virtually impossible.
Food Wastage
Furthermore, linked with inefficient resource allocation, Home also touches upon food wastage. Overfishing, which has drastically reduced the species of sea creatures is still in effect. To meet consumer demand, fish are caught in such a large number that we are not giving them enough time to breed; hence, slowly wiping out their kind. What was missing from the documentary was how strange, scientifically unproven, and mythical beliefs lead people to hunt exotic animals. There are only a handful of blue whales alive today as they were hunted for their oil.
What’s even more concerning is that conservation programs are sparsely funded and consequences for killing endangered species are lenient to nonexistent. As a result, we have lost dodo birds, only 1 black rhino remains, and many more. Alarmingly, the Chinese government recently gave the green light to hunt tigers as they believe it can cure certain illnesses, spiting at organizations like the WWF who have worked their entire lives to save animals.
Like the documentary said in the beginning, the territorial nature in humans has made us encroach forests and the habitat of animals, like the tigers and leopards in India who are constantly cross paths with humans. Everything is linked. Foxes and coyotes keep the rodent population in check. We shall disrupt the harmony of nature if we keep hunting animals for mystical cures and trophies.
Financial Policies
The saying “the rich get richer and the poor grow poorer” is ubiquitous. Our financial policies have holes in them, which is why we see countries in serious debts, like Greece, and their monetary and fiscal policies force them to tax the rich and poor alike. The past years of colonialism have left many countries decades behind the 1st world. Due to this, doing labor becomes compulsory for the people in those countries. This is because the education system is relatively poor and ineffective.
A perfect example is the blood diamonds in Africa. There, mining diamonds are mandatory for the locals under the scorching sun. Meanwhile, the foreigners take away the diamonds and sell them for a fortune. The poor country remains poor while the rich country gets richer. Or how cocoa is harvested in Africa and workers are barely paid. It sells for a much higher cost as soon as this cocoa refines coffee. This concept of value-added cripples a poor country’s economy. Its resource gets away from them while others benefit from it.
Overpopulation
Perhaps, the biggest concern in the world right now is overpopulation. Our population has exponentially grown over the years to a point where our future looks grim. We have nearly exhausted our resources. The population of cities grows bigger and bigger as people migrate from villages. Statistics show that life satisfaction in a metropolis is lesser than it is elsewhere. Perhaps the number of population has led to a large fraction of uneducated people. They do not know about the consequences of their actions on the environment.
Not talking about the multinational corporations, but a common person damages our ecosystem through their daily life. For instance using hairdryers, which contain chlorofluorocarbons that harm our ozone layer. We weaken Earth’s defense against the ultraviolet rays. These cause skin cancer and multiple other diseases, not to mention global warming. Home didn’t touch this topic.
Global Warming
Finally, the crux of Home was on global warming. The facts are not entirely enough to motivate people to do something about this calamity. Even though the documentary brilliantly covers the subject, it fails to tell us why there is a lack of motivation amongst the world leaders on this topic. Politicians have the autonomy to pass laws that can limit carbon emission and other factors. Interestingly, this is a French documentary; France being perhaps the only country which is concerned with the climate change problem, seen by their efforts in the 2015 Paris Agreement. France has pledged it will ban petrol and diesel-fuelled cars by 2030, a decade earlier than their 2040 goal. However, the efforts of only France are not enough.
The two countries responsible for the most carbon emissions, the USA and China, are simply not fulfilling their roles as world leaders. The US President decided to withdraw from the agreement, which took effect in 2019. China’s rising emissions show how it has failed to uphold their promise. As the film says, “ecosystems do not have borders”, the failure of the big nations leads to worldwide consequences, such as the rising water levels. Countries, like France, who fulfill their role also have to pay for the crimes of others as “everything is linked.”
Space Travel
Moreover, Home also alluded to space travel. Not impossible, but futile. We do not know of any habitable planet in our solar system with the same percentage of nitrogen and oxygen in the environment. The nearest sun apart from ours is the Promixa Centauri. One might think of it from an optimistic perspective. However, in reality, it is 4.22 light-years away. Also, we do not know a single spacecraft that comes remotely close to the speed of light. It would take Voyager 1 over 76,000 years to get to Proxima Centauri. Apart from the Alpha Centauri star system, there is no exoplanet that can possibly sustain life.
