Environment & Politics
Film Annotation #6
Evan Schulze
9/18/15
1. The title of this film is The Future of Energy. It was created by Planetary Advocates, and
the story was originally published in The Economist, a magazine.
2. The central argument of this film is simple and clear: fossil fuels are no longer the option.
We must find more sustainable energy options in order to save our own planet from
ourselves. We are destroying our environment by releasing so many harmful pollutants
into our atmosphere, and we must switch to natural, eco-friendly resources in order to
keep our planet livable for us humans.
3. The argument is made and sustained through describing examples of plans and societies
in which sustainable energy is being used for all, most, or some of the energy
consumption of the city or town. However, these are all qualitative amounts; there are no
numbers or quantitative analysis involved in their statements or their proof. This
qualitative analysis does however speak to human emotions, therefore the film has a very
positive, feel-good message to it.
4. A town called Geensburg, Kansas was totally destroyed in 2007 by an EF5 tornado.
However, this city is a stakeholder in the film because it was able to be built and operated
on 100% renewable wind energy. This community should be a model for other
communities because of not only its genius forward-thinking sustainable energy sources
but also for its resilience and bravery to rebuild in such a way.
5. In the film, scientists discussed that through just wind, water, and solar renewable energy,
the entire globe could be off of fossil fuels and onto these renewable energies by 2050.
This would cause our temperature to stop increasing at 2 degrees, which would still cause
our ice caps to melt a substantial amount but wouldn’t impact our way of life a huge
amount. This really touched me as a viewer to be optimistic about our efforts to change
the world and keep pushing towards total green energy.
6. I think it is ridiculous for the film to think that the whole world will be able to survive
and function in an entirely green world. Economies will fail, wars will start, and lives
could be lost just due to a switch to entirely green energy. We need to find that happy
balance between fossil fuel usage and sustainable energy consumption in order to
optimize our eco-friendly and economic situations.
7. The audience best fit for this film are activists for a green world who are losing faith in
their actions, efforts and plans. This is a moral wake-up call, reminding them that their
efforts are making a difference and that there is still hope to save this world.
8. More facts and quantitative analysis could have made this film more educational. The
proof given in the film is somewhat opinionated and not very well supported. Especially
to engineering students like us, seeing numerical proof that our climate is changing and
sustainable energy is the answer to fix it would greatly increase the educational
effectiveness of the film.
9. The film is full of action and points of intervention to save our planet from the pollution
of fossil fuels. The film offers wind, solar, and water energies all as sources to fix our
polluted air. By 2030, the film states that we could rely on 80% green energy, then 100%
by 2050. This would greatly change our earth for the better and improve our way of life
as we know it, according to the film.
10. A huge part of this class is how harmful fossil fuel emissions are to us as humans. I
decided to research this more. In just 2011, more than 30 million people were affected by
the pollution in our atmosphere, according to Scientific America. Around 24,000 hospital
admissions and emergency room visits were decided to be a result of fossil fuel
emissions, and 30,100 people experienced premature deaths with reasons related to
pollution. Pollution really does affect our health as humans, so we should really not take
this matter of sustainable energy lightly. It is essential to switch to some sustainable
energies to continue to survive.
The second part I decided to further research was Jeremy Rifkin, a key speaker in the
film. He was very certain that if the world switched to 100% green energy by 2050, we
could power the whole planet. It turns out Mr. Rifkin is much more qualified than just a
speaker in a video made by a small group of young adults. He is the head of the European
Union’s Third Industrial Revolution, which is a long-term sustainability plan that will fix
not only climate change, but the economic crisis and energy security issues as well. He is
also a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania where he teaches CEOs and other senior
management leaders on sustainable energy and how that can benefit their company’s long
term. He is truly a leader in the field of sustainable energy and especially economics,
which is what his degree from UPenn is in, so it is logical to use him as the head speaker
in a film like this. I’d love to have a conversation with him about the effects of
sustainable energy on the economy.
The third and last part I researched was Greensburg, Kansas, and what progress they have
made since the creation of this film. Greensburg has the most LEED certified buildings
per capita in the US, and are the first US city to only use LEDs in their streetlights. 100%
of the electricity is still received from wind power, just like it was stated in the video, and
they even collect rainwater for use in irrigation and toilets. Many communities all around
the US have taken up curbside recycling, and Greensburg is obviously one of them.
Greensburg is truly a model city for the rest of America, and should be used as the
platform to obtain by the rest of the communities of America.
Bibliography
"5 Ways We Put the "Green" in Greensburg." Greensburg, KS: Rebuilding... Stronger, Better,
Greener! Accessed September 29, 2015. https://www.greensburgks.org/sustainability/how-weput-the-green-in-greensburg.
"Film Cast Archives - The Future of Energy Film." The Future of Energy Film. 2015. Accessed
September 29, 2015. http://www.thefutureofenergy.org/film-cast/.
Fischetti, Mark. "The Health Care Burden of Fossil Fuels." Scientific American Global RSS.
August 31, 2011. Accessed September 29, 2015.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/graphic-science-health-care-burden-of-fossil-fuels/.
"Jeremy Rifkin." Jeremy Rifkin. Accessed September 29, 2015.
http://www.foet.org/JeremyRifkin.htm.
"The Future of Energy." Top Documentary Films RSS. 2015. Accessed September 29, 2015.
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/future-energy/.