The Age of Stupid: time for change

I was intrigued to know what an average old girl like me would think about the new eco film The Age of Stupid, so when an invitation arose to attend the Premiere in Cambridge, I jumped at the chance.

And I am glad I did.

It was a hard hitting film set in the 2055, with Pete Postlethwaite playing guardian to what was left of the human race, a high rise fortress that contained the archives of a collapsed civilisation. It was surrounded by a dark rough sea and it really did look like the end of the world.

But the dramatisation of the setting soon gave way to footage of real life events, including Hurricane Katrina and the melting of alpine glaciers, which are both seen as significant indicators of climate change. Interspersed with environmental issues was footage of families evacuated from war-torn Iraq and and those still fighting violence in poverty-stricken areas of Nigeria, demonstrating the inhumane side to a world dependent on oil. In a consumption-led society that is dependent on a threatened resource it's easy to ignore the other side of the economy, full of people who live with aspirations to be like us, yet see none of it and instead suffer false promises and pollution from the oil giants that make our modern lives possible.

It was uncomfortable to see such a dark reflection.

But what affected me most was the blindness of society's actions and how close I've been to being part of it. One moment we were witnessing the growth of an Indian airway, with intentions to take people off a struggling train system, all profit led and without consideration of the consequences. And in the next, we watched in disbelief as a Bedford-based campaign group fought against a wind farm because it would spoil their view.

As a background to all this was the evidence that climate change is happening faster then we had expected and that more worryingly we only have six years to stabilise carbon emissions to keep global temperatures within the 2% limit above pre-industrial temperatures. So we need to work hard and fast at creating a low carbon or more preferable a carbon-free economy.

When I got home last night I felt shocked but motivated into action. It's hard to know what you can do when news hits like this, but I am happy that tackling our household waste has been the first step in the right direction, as has switching off the dining room light when I arrived home after the film. There are other things I can do too, such as further reducing my dependency on my car for instance.

But above all else, the most important thing I can do right now is to share my experience of this must-see movie. And if you care about the future of your children, your grandchildren and the world we all will be living in, please take time to watch it and decide for yourself what small actions you can introduce to your lives. Then please share your review with your own network of people who can make up their own minds on what steps they can take too.

The Age of Stupid will be on general release across the UK from 20th March. See your local press for details, or visit www.ageofstupid.net.

Karen Cannard
The Rubbish Diet
www.therubbishdiet.blogspot.com