Documentary Sunday - Cool It

Sunday's are lazy, so why not take the time to sit down, relax and open your mind to exciting new worlds of knowledge, intrigue and opinions.


I sat down to watch 'Cool It' not long ago only to realise after ten minutes that I had already seen it when it first came out. Not a good start. What makes it more shocking is that this is such a powerful documentary (in terms of ideas it showcases, not its style or presence) and I felt disgusted that I had all but forgotten the message Danish environmentalist Bjørn Lomborg was trying to put across.

The documentary takes a little while to get going. We toe-tap a little bit around Bjørn's personal life and influences before looking at how the world of science made him an outcast when he questioned the way we were treating climate change, and it is here where things get interesting. Bjørn essentially picks apart all the excuses politicians have used (mostly through fear) to show that global warming is happening and debunks all of them. He doesn't deny the issue, far from it, just feels that the public have been lied to. One of the main picking points is Mr Gore's rather overblown 'An Inconvenient Truth' (which, while I admire the tenacity to which it addressed the issue, was just the same graphs and facts re-used and exaggerated) and we begin to realise that the issue isn't as bad as we've been made to believe it is.

We are then treated to a brief overview of the possible solutions towards global warming, most of which are so simple in design that its almost unbelievable that no one has sought to implement them in a full-scale use. To top it off, Bjørn takes the current EU climate change budget and uses it to metaphorically fund and deploy all this awesome new technologies, all to immensely positive results.


Who Does it Appeal To?
Environmentalists and global warming guys (it goes without saying) will eat this up, mostly because it presents all politicians -  who think they are spearheading change -as complete morons.
It should also note that as an engineer, a lot of the tech presented in the film was incredibly interesting and those looking to study or go into environmental engineering should also take notes.

What to Take Away From It?
The immense sum of money being coughed up by the EU each year (supposedly) will barely make a dent in lowering the average temperature rise, so instead all the money should be funneled into these alternative methods that (again supposedly) will have a 100% success rate. As a result, Bjørn should be made president of the world.