More Than Words… How the power of the media can help save our planet

“An image is worth a thousand words” goes the saying, and it denotes the power of the image to convey an idea and sometimes to mobilize thousands of people behind a single cause.

The environmental movement is taking note of this fact not only through documentaries like those produced by TV for Education Asia Pacific and HBO, but also with feature-length films such as “The Great Warming.”

Visual arts are taking up their role in the environmental movement, not just by demonstrating and explaining the problem but also by promoting grassroots action. Filmmaking is even going beyond this by considering the environmental impact of the very movie they’re producing. For instance, “The Great Warming”—which was filmed in eight countries in four continents—was able to buy enough carbon offsets to match the amount of gases the filming and production generated, and whenever possible used renewable energy. Therefore, the final product not only talks about global warming and how to stop it, but also did not contribute to increase carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere.

Calling for Action

To get communities involved as well as individuals is one of the goals of “The Great Warming,” which premiered in November 2006 in the U.S. It portrays, among other things, the involvement of religious communities in the action against global warming. Viewers are also invited to join in to do their part, and it offers an array of sources where the public can get excellent information regarding the problem. The producers have developed kits that are ready to be downloaded from their website for discussion groups, for faith communities and for children. One of the sponsors of the film, Krystal Planet, offers a free home energy review to viewers just by sending the ticket stub from the movie theater. Krystal Planet certifies the Carbon Neutrality of the film.

Lydia Dotto’s book “Storm Warning—Gambling with the Climate of our Planet” is the source of ”The Great Warming” and is not intended to dwell on the debate of whether global warming is real or not. It acknowledges the reality and urges action.

The HBO documentary “Too Hot Not to Handle” features interviews with leading scientists who explain the mechanics and the complexity of our planet’s climate. Focused only on the United States, which is responsible for 25% of global CO₂ emissions, the documentary offers a wealth of evidence that the greenhouse effect is intensifying and the earth is warming faster than at any other time in human history. The film reveals that deadly heat waves in the U.S. have increased threefold since 1950 and today kill more people than hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning and blizzards combined. It also shows how the average temperature in Alaska has already risen five degrees—causing 99 percent of its glaciers to melt and retreat, and how deadly viruses like West Nile, aided by higher air temperatures, are spreading to new parts of the globe, including the entire continental U.S.

Positive Action

In addition to in-depth discussions of such subjects as the greenhouse effect, hurricane intensity, snowpacks melting faster, hybrid vehicles and alternative power sources, the film shows how businesses, local governments and citizens are taking positive action to reduce global warming emissions. Susan Joy Hassol, a scientist and writer of the documentary, allotted almost half of its running time to depict solutions to the problem. The film wants to show that a solution is now possible if we all act.

“My personal hope is that every viewer will be inspired to become part of the solution to reducing our carbon emissions,” says executive producer Laurie David in an interview for HBO. “As the film shows, everything we need to address this pressing problem already exists, and the time to act is now.” Time is of the essence, according to David, since scientists believe we have less than 10 years to slow global warming. “I hope people will take away just some very simple things from the film: that global warming is happening right now, and that we are causing it. We are affecting the climate. Humans have become a force of nature themselves, and the impacts are going to be horrific if we don’t do something about it. And that it’s going to take all of our ingenuity and passions to stop this thing, but it can be stopped.”

The documentary’s website also offers viewers the possibility to take action. It lists simple things everyone can do that in the long run can make a real difference. Some of these are: reduce driving by carpooling, using mass transit, walking or biking; choose energy-efficient appliances, especially water heaters and refrigerators; recycle everything you can; buy “green power” like wind energy from your electric utility; re-use brown paper bags to line your trash can instead of plastic bags, and re-use bread bags and the bags in which you bring your produce home.

Several links also direct visitors to other sites that can increase their participation in fighting climate change, like Stop Global Warming Virtual March. “Too Hot Not to Handle” can also be downloaded as a podcast in four parts.

According to Hassol, one of the greater challenges for scientists is to be able to convey the reality of global warming to the public. At a workshop organized by the Climate Institute in Washington, D.C. in September 2006, she points out how easy it is to create misconceptions. This is due to semantics, since a word may mean one thing for a researcher and another for the general public. For example, when the ice melts, it’s no longer able to reflect back the sun’s heat into space; the sun’s heat is now absorbed in greater amounts by the dark bare surface left behind by the melted ice, and acceleration in the warming rate takes place. Scientists call this “positive feedback.” Non-scientists may assume this is a good thing since it is “positive” but in reality it is a self-perpetuating phenomenon increasing warming of the atmosphere. It would be better to call it a “vicious cycle.”

Another example of this is when researchers use the term “uncertainty” to denote that they don’t know exactly how the situation will be in the future. People may assume that this term means that scientists really don’t know how the future is going to be, casting a dark cloud of skepticism. In reality, scientists know that future climate will most likely be within a certain range, for example, an increase in temperature between 1 and 5 degrees. It would be better to say, “There is a range of possible futures and we are going to fall somewhere in that range.” Hassol adds that in the end it is more than just words: it’s something to look into seriously if we want to get people involved in addressing global warming.

The Lesson of the Tsunami

TVE Asia Pacific is a non-for-profit foundation using television, video and new media to communicate and foster sustainable development. It works with broadcasters, filmmakers, educators and civil society groups to effectively reach its goals. You can visit its website at. Its latest project is “Greenbelt Reports,” a series of 12, self-contained five-minute episodes filmed in Asia’s tropical coastal areas in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The storytellers are local television journalists and TV crews who receive full credit for their work and were paid according to international rates.

The project’s origin was the Asian tsunami of 2004 and it wants to be a multimedia educational initiative that investigates the conservation challenges for three types of ecosystems collectively known as greenbelts: mangroves, coral reefs and sand dunes. These coastal systems and reefs acted as a barrier that absorbed the impact of the tsunami, saving property and lives.

Using compelling images, interview clips and brief narration, each five-minute film tells the story of a community, activist group or researchers engaged in saving, restoring or regenerating a coastal greenbelt. The reality of these greenbelts is that they are very much under pressure from tourism, shrimp farming and population; however, each episode shows that there is hope. In addition, the films want to explore successful models to achieve the delicate balance between livelihoods for millions of people and conservation, and the lessons that can be learned from the tsunami disaster. Nalaka Gunawardene, director and CEO of TVE Asia Pacific, says, “In this series, we try to amplify that message: the need to save or restore greenbelts across coastal Asia.” Gunawardene cautions: “As the memories of the Asian Tsunami fade, there’s a danger that its important environmental lessons might also be forgotten. This is what we try to prevent with this entire effort.”

The series will soon be backed by online and print material with further information, analysis and links. TVE Asia Pacific is offering the series to broadcasters, educational institutions and civil society groups anywhere in the world without any license or royalty charge.

Last October, the first screening of two episodes took place during the IV International Media Forum organized by Greenaccord in Monte Porzio Catone, Italy. Gunawardene’s presentation to the selected group of journalists from around the world was followed by a lively discussion on the tsunami’s environmental lessons.

These three films, all different, are just some of the many success stories that demonstrate the power of the media to help save the planet.