The Age of Stupid: A Review

I just watched a film entitled The Age of Stupid. The name itself actually turned me off from watching the film, and it was only after a second thought that I decided to give it a whirl. The whole format of the movie, is, like the title, pretty stupid. It is some guy in the not-so-far-off future, who lives in a world where humans have killed themselves off to the brink of extinction. The entire film is him sitting at a high-tech futuristic computer (that apparently survived the extinction of the planet) showing clips pertaining to global warming and how we should have seen the signs coming.
So, although I thought the set up for this film was incredibly cheesy, I did find the actual clips both informative and entertaining. And scary actually. Really, really scary. The film is discussing how humans let global warming run out of control by the choices we made, and predicts the sort of future we might foresee. The clips are actually things that have happened.... clips from Hurricane Katrina, recent heat waves, the tremendous retreating of glaciers in recent years.... and "looking back" upon these events, the humans realized that they completely ignored the prominent signs of global warming that predicted the doom of their race. For us, now, it is hard to really feel the true threat of global warming when we have not yet felt the full effects. Not to mention that the oil companies have been paying marketing firms to make it seem like global warming is a hoax. That way, they are sure to continue to make big profits.
Some of the interesting topics covered in this film include the fact that flying on an airplane is the single worst thing an individual can do to contribute to global climate change (that one hit home for me as I flew already in June and will be flying again in October...oops). Other big factors include consumerism and shipping our food around the world before it is eaten. Silly, silly, system. Fossil fuels have become so intertwined in our lifestyles that it is hard to see a future without them. But at current rates, we will have used it all up within the next 40 years. Sadly, once average global temperature rise 2 degrees Celsius, we will start runaway climate change, in which it will sort of spiral out of control, no matter what we do to stop it. So, in essence, we are running out of oil and will have to change our sources of energy within the next 40 years anyways. But instead of just changing now, and preventing a global climate crisis, we will likely sit back and watch the show until it is too late and we kill ourselves off. The movie calls it the suicide of the human race. Yikes.
So, although this movie was set up as this futuristic doomsday thing, I felt like it actually did have some great information. But, if you are looking for some lighthearted information to relax to on a Thursday evening, this is not the thing. I have already learned about global warming and was aware of the information the movie presented to me, but viewing it in this light was enough to make me want to sell our car and never buy anything again. Pin It Now!