2040 DOCUMENTARY

2040 documentary begins with the scene of Damon Gameau planting a tree with his 4-year-old daughter,
Velvet.

Gameau is a movie director from Australia and he is worried about how climate change will affect his
daughter’s future and he imagines solutions forthe environmental destruction.

He shows the present situation and imagines how the world could be in 2040, if we act now: so this movie
is a fact-based dreaming.

Predictions for the future are negative, but Gameau offers a positive and optimistic reality saying that there
is hope for solutions.

He explains that there has always been an offset carbon footprint → carbon was partly released and partly
absorbed, but the industrial revolution destroyed this balance and carbon foot print has dramatically
increased (more than 40%) → more than 90% of the heat is absorbed by oceans, which became 30% more
acid than 150 years ago→ hurricanes, floods, glaciers melting → sea-level rise → people living along the
coast are at risk.

Aiming at reducing our carbon emissions is not enough → we need to decarbonise the planet, that is to
eliminate the carbon already present in our planet.

The documentary focuses on a range of challenges for the future and the solutions that already exist fo
these challenges. The challenges are about:

1- Energy
2- Transport
3- Food production

We need a new life style to avoid climate change

Gameau leaves for a journey to find the solutions.

His first stop is in Bangladesh, one the top users of solar pannels (nearly all the nergy is produced by a solar
system) → they created an energy micronet with only one solar plant, that is shared by everybody, creating
energy which can be sold (locally generated and interconnected energy) → this decentralization of energy
allows indipendence from central state structure , it is renewable and it is cheap → there could be also an
economic advantage: selling energy within the same country means splitting the income among local
energy producers, giving impulse to local economy.

In the USA 20% of carbon pollution is caused by transport (cars) (in Los Angeles and New York parking area
and roads represent 2/3 of the land) and within 2040 there will be an increased of cars → solution: on-
demand driverless vehicles (car-sharing) → advantages: there will be less cars on the roads, they are
cheaper, they can reduce parking areas → not used cars could be changed into electric cars → wih less fuel
cars, oil demand will dicrease and oil extraction areas will become green again → in the cities there will be
more parks, ecological transport networks and an healthier environment.

Nowadays, they spend 1 billion dollars each year to produce fossil fuel and there are economical interests
→ they use advertisng which create disinformation and confusion to cheat people (like tobacco’s
companies).

But, it’s not enough reducing carbon footprint → we must isolate and store exceeding existing carbon
Solution → Paul Hawken is the founder of “Project Drawdown”, a project aiming at reducing global
warming → it based on the “regenerative development” → that means that not only the planet will benefit
but also people and animals

Soil degradation is one of the top causes of climate change → more than carbon fossil emissions

We need to explore the food and agricolture worlds to find solutions:

1- Regenerative Farming → change agricolture methods to stop carbon emissions and to isolate
carbon → in Victoria, a rural Australian area, in 1979 a fire destroyed about 3000 sheep and they
were obliged to find an alternative farming method → this method rigenerated the soil → using less
chemicals and using more plants to absorbe carbon footprint and store it into the soil

But how can we take carbon underground?

Plants exploit carbon dioxide and solar energy partly to produce simple sugars and to grow up → the other
part is stored underground through the roots → sugars feed soil bacteria, while carbon dioxide is isolated in
the soil in the form of carbon

Plants farming variety takes carbon into the soil and soil becomes healthier

In the past years cattle (bestiame) moved continuously from one place to another one, to run away from
predators → that was positive forthe soil

But in the last 50 years cattle has been closed in livestock feedin it with cereals → cattle is not healthy any
more → the meat we eat is not good

→ We need to have a more vegetarian diet and eat only meat coming form regenerative farming

Soil used for regenerative farming can absorbe more rain water, while soilwith chemicalscan absorbed few
rainwater and let much polluted water outside, which goes into rivers

Our food has a great impact on the environment → if we eat lessmeat,many intensive farmings are closed
→ cattle can move around openair contributing to regenerative farming → soil not used for cattle is used to
absorbe more carbon footprint and to produce healthy vegetable

Agroforestry technique → simultaneous farming of fruits in small plots of land → local diversified 0
kilometer production

70/80% of food is produced by small farmers, while agricoltural industries cover 20% of world need
(cereals, soia for cattle) → so it’s not true we can’t live without industries

2- Marine permaculture technique → this type of wilder culture allows oceansto regenerate.
93% of global warming ends into oceans every year → oceans become hotter anda more acid →
marine life die
↓
The solution is about SEAWEEDS → resetting marine circulation to get water colder, to increase
nutrients and to allow seaweeds to grow → this way we recreate fish habitat
↓
The technique is based on a recycled material platform under the ocean surface, where seaweeds
are grown → the more seaweeds grow the more the platform gets heavier and goes underwater →
tides push cold water full of nutrients from the bottom upwards and seaweeds are feeded → New
Circular Economy → TAKE – MAKE – WASTE → seaweeds take pollution, they produce nutrients
and they eliminate pollution (waste)
Seaweeds can be used in many different ways → they make carbon dioxide level lower and they
can be eaten (they are very healthy!)
There is one special type of seaweed : the brown seaweeds → they grow very quickly (half meter a
day) and can absorbe carbon footprint very quickly → seaweeds are good for everything and will be
able to produce an alternative food source

→ Governments must act to prevent an environmental disaster → Marine permaculture could

create new work places and could reduce meat consuption and could isolate exceeding carbon
footprint

Man has always been in relation to nature → on the contrary, now, he is isolated form nature

In Ohio, Oberlin, they set up a project → an environmental panel through which tey explain citizens
how natural resources can be used → this influences people behaviour and contribute to finding
solution to global problem

The empowerement of girls → Females can strongly contribute to the environmental solution →
females should study more and make a family planning (have less children)