“The world needs everything that’s happening inside this building right now.” That was the message of film-maker and photographer James Balog during his plenary lecture at the AGU Fall Meeting in the Walter E Washington Convention Center in Washington DC. After touching on issues of “direct, wilful stupidity”, Balog told delegates that nothing consequential has ever been achieved without facing adversity, and proposed an amendment to the US Declaration of Independence to include an unalienable right to clean air, clean water, a stable climate and the pursuit of truth.
Balog used the primal elements of earth, air, water and fire to detail people’s impacts on their environment, a phenomenon that Balog dubs human tectonics. “Humans are a force of nature,” he said. “The human element is the only element that can choose to make changes in this world.”
Balog’s new documentary The Human Element will be shown tonight at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The film will be available on iTunes and other video platforms from 29 January 2019.
- This article was amended on 17th December 2019 as the film will not be available for free and will be available on other video platforms in addition to iTunes.
