Years of Living Dangerously
On Sunday (4/11), we watched this Showtime eponymous series by famed director James Cameron. Also saw him interviewed a few days before the premier by Chris Hayes on his own show: "All In" (MSNBC). For any naysayers out there, before you scoff and change the channel, let me encourage you to keep an open mind for a teeny second: James Cameron has five kids and cares about their futures. This is why he has the instinctive courage to pursue this series, according to their interview.
Perhaps the most powerful segment is the interview by Don Cheadle with a Christian climatologist at Texas Tech (and her evangelical preacher hubby) who want the planet (especially their fellow believers) to understand that God or the almighty to your understanding has given us the power to reason; therefore, it is our responsibility to make adjustments to our behaviors or face decimation (own free will).
I believe him, even though he (and no one) is the perfect hubby or father. This series will enlighten you about Plainview, Texas, where their largest employer (a meat packing plant) laid off more than 2,000 workers with zero notice following the worst drought in recorded Texas history since 1957. The town has yet to recover and this show also explores the Indonesian inquenchable quest for palm oil in which millions of rainforest acres are decimated each year and their carbons released into the atmosphere further contributing to global warming.
For we in Texas, this episode highlights our own future with devastating consequences with data from NASA (as told by Indeeeeeee -- aka, Harrison Ford). To be blunt: We are approaching uninhabitable temperatures in our state by year 2,100 (if not before). To imagine the ongoing consequences to our water supply, one only needs to visit Syria, as told in this show by NYT foreign correspondent, Thomas L. Friedman. He reports that the most bloody civil war in this nation's history was a direct result of drought and government inaction (and, in some cases, overt hostility to include incarceration for anyone making a report).
Perhaps the most powerful segment is the interview by Don Cheadle with a Christian climatologist at Texas Tech (and her evangelical preacher hubby) who want the planet (especially their fellow believers) to understand that God or the almighty to your understanding has given us the power to reason; therefore, it is our responsibility to make adjustments to our behaviors or face decimation (own free will).
We must not panic during the days ahead and strive to help each other by telling the truth (no matter the pain) and lending a helping hand to those in need. We no longer have time for denial. What scares me most right now is that Texans love their guns, we're armed to the teeth, and many are ready to strike to defend freedom (or, let's be blunt: their own resources, including water or land, as we have seen this week in Nevada). A volatile mix that demands coherent cooperation without violence.
