One fine day, after the satisfaction of submitting the packages to OpenSolaris Source Juicer as part of a project, I was spending time at the lab chatting, thinking of going home that night. And in the evening, we were all called to watch a documentary, which was said to be the most moving ever among all documentaries relating to saving our environment. Well, most of us were reluctant, as I do think these documentaries a bit boring honestly. But anyways I was pulled out of the lab, and took seat in the E-Learning centre with AC full on. I thought I might enjoy the AC and take nice rest. So after scanning the place, filled with faculties and others alike, I set my eyes on the big screen where many pairs of eyes glued to. The documentary went through many aerial shots of beautiful landscapes, trees, rivers, waterfalls, ice caps, everything they showed. I did not heed to the commentary much. But later I was absorbed into it, not because of the beautiful landscapes it showcased, but the reality that was happening in the world. One startling fact for me was the amount of food grains generated by the US for the cattle farming, so that the meat consumption can be met. I couldn’t believe this one fact.
There were many other cruel revelations, like for the fact that Nigeria has more than half it’s population under the poverty line, though it’s the biggest exporter of oil in Africa. Like the deep gnashes on the face of the Madagascar hills as a result of soil erosion of the most extreme kind. This is a direct consequence of the massive deforestation that is taking place in many parts of the world. Like the many natural water storage getting dried up in Rajasthan, where woman are forced to work to store whatever little they can get from the monsoon rains. I was awe struck at the stark realities the filmmakers have witnessed have shown us in their documentary. The aerial clips were amazing, they showed the largest cattle rasing farm in the US for meat production; they showed the horror of how pollution created by the mining industries by the US, Canada and other power-hungry nations; they showed the massive amount of water that is flowing right now from Ice caps of Greenland, which was trapped for many thousands of years. They showed many, many things how we humans have changed the world for the worse.
I like to touch upon one aspect that the documentary had more focus on. Factory farming. According to Wikipedia, Factory farming is the practice of raising farm animals in confinement at high stocking density, where a farm operates as a factory — a practice typical in industrial farming by agribusinesses. It’s most common here, the Chicken farms and all. In the US, things are little different, in fact it’s huge. The documentary showed us cattle is raised for the meat market. The cattle ranches here are massive, spreading to many acres. But these lands does not have a single blade of grass. Instead, it’s every square inch is filled with cattle, grown to proper size for them to be stripped, chopped and packed in packets of meat sold throughout the US and other countries. To feed the cattle, tons of food grains are required, which is met by the US agriculture. They have used machinery to produce so much food grains, that nearly a quarter of this is for meat industry. This is shocking for me. Already the American people are fed with bountiful of food grains, and they also consume farmed meat? If only they had supplied the food to many poor countries around the world would the problem of hunger be reduced dramatically.
But the documentary then went on to show what many countries have tried to save the environment. Costa Rica, for example, have surrendered their army and looked to preserve their pristine forest, promote progressive wood cutting, where they cut trees when they are old enough, and plant new trees. Even with this programme, they are still the largest lumber producers in the world. They now promote eco-tourism which has become one of the main source of income and attraction. Also the Denmark have third of their power on the windmills set in the middle of the sea. Iceland also have a major share of their power on geothermal electricity, also the documentary showed a giant snake floating in the wavy sea to harness the power of waves to generate electricity.
These are but a few that the documentary has offered to us. It’s one of the spectacular documentary, one that captivates many men and women, tell them the effects Global warming and other impacts on the environment. I really like this documentary, and I must recommend this to every one of you. Also, this documentary is being freely distributed, the first movie to be released in theatres in 181 countries at the same day! Wow, that is something! This documentary is a non-profit movie, the funding for which was recieved from many organisations to make this documentary come alive. Want more details into it? Click the image first up. And if you want to watch the hour and a half documentary right away, there is the video below!
I guess you are not able to see the movie here…. Try this link out
I have to thank Akshay sir for pulling me out of the lab, and made me watch this wonderful documentary. He too loved the documentary, and many others too. I wish you will enjoy it too, feel motivated by it, and do what little we can for the sake of the environment.
References:
Ashes of fire 