for people who haven't watched "The Lorax", O'Hare is a fictional character who owns a company that sells bottled oxygen in a future world.
This week I want to start off by describing a vision of the future that I do not want to see: A dystopian future where all of civilization is reduced to a singular town, a walled city-state that is controlled under a monopoly company who sells air(?!) for a living, where all vegetation and plant life is artificial, where residents eat jellos instead of real food, a place that is oblivious to the outside world...The town of Thneedville became the state it is in because overproduction of Thneed has depleted (almost) every Truffula tree in the world, what is to say that our world won't follow its footsteps? Thneedville also has mass surveillance pretty much everywhere throughout the city, and newborn babies there are literally glowing a fluorescent yellow (search it up). It is the most accurate dystopian future that I don't really have trouble visualizing. We might very easily get to this future.
TL;DR: I hope Thneedville does not become our reality.
↑ food jello!
<----inside Thneedville
outside Thneedville---->
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I think that wildfires and air quality is a topic that has more personal urgency (i.e. your own house can be destroyed), but people might not have a clear idea of how they can contribute.
There needs to be a large expansion of funds for wildfire expansion
Advocate for prescribed burns and eliminate the public's perception that they're bad
Allocate more grants and public awareness to groundbreaking research that explore new sources of energy that are solutions to air pollution
Turn forest waste into revenue: if we responsibly remove dead trees and vegetation that make potential fire fuel, and turn them into paper, furniture, and other sources of renewable energy, we can improve ecological health while providing enough money to sustain this industry
This is such a lovely connection, Lisa! I wonder how seeing these stories will influence future generations- this is certainly not a future that I am interested in seeing, and I know that stories such as the Lorax were important foundations that set the tone for a life of engagement in environment and sustainability.
I definitely think it can be helpful to think backwards in this way...what is it that we definitely do *not want*, and how can we avoid such fates?
Hi Lisa, your connection of the course content to the film The Lorax was very engaging and thought-provoking.
This is such an amazingly engaging post! I applaud the (surprisingly accurate) connection you've drawn between this week's content and this movie.
The Lorax was so ahead of its time!!!! Such a great movie with such a great message, which makes it accessible to kids. I love your proposed solutions so we don't end up living in Thneedville.
Hi Lisa,
I love this movie, one of my favourites! That movie greatly relates to the topic of sustainability and the future, excellent example that everyone should watch!
Hello Lisa, I love this movie!! I'm glad you brought it up as well because there have been many times as well when I thought of this movie during discussions in class HAHA Additionally, I enjoyed reading your interventions :) As much as I love the movie, let's aim to not head towards a future like the one in Thneedvillle.
Hi Lisa, I haven't watched The Lorax so thank you for sharing that! It reminds me of one previous class where talks about we are taking water for granted so we might want to raise its price. I think it's a similar situation here for air as well. Since we are not charged for it, lots of us seemed to also take fresh air for granted but it might also be gone sooner than expected.
Hi Lisa,
I really enjoyed reading your post! There are actually companies who sell bottles of 'mountain air" to places where the air quality is poor. Although something like selling air may seem far fetched, it's actually already happening, we're closer to the lorax that we'd like to imagine.
Hi Lisa, I love how linked the town of Thneedville to the theme of wildfires and air quality! The diagram you have created with the images delivers a strong message based on the differences inside Thneedville and outside the town. I'm sure no one hopes to see a future where air is sold and all vegetation and plants are artificial.
Hi Lisa Ni, your dystopian account of the Lorax in relation to air quality really puts the effects of wildfires into perspective in a more digestible manner. I love that your intervention also addresses technological advancements towards climate change as well, not just short-term solutions towards reducing the severity of wildfires. The economic solution that supports the management of dead trees in forests is interesting! Is there a reason it isn't more common practice?
I really like your idea about turning dead trees and vegetation into other materials. This would promote safer forests that are less likely to burn, while also providing as a mechanism to make items more sustainably. This would promote a world where living trees are less likely to be killed by fires and chainsaws. The more living trees remain, the more forests are able to offset climate change.
Thanks for sharing these thoughts Lisa! The Lorax is an unsettling movie because of the amount of parallels you can see between it and our world (ex. corporations may not be selling air yet, but as we talked about last week, they are selling water!). We definitely need to address both the root cause of wildfires and embrace better management techniques if we want to avoid a Lorax world.
Hi Lisa, I haven’t seen the Lorax, but I really like your post! I think you hit the nail on the head about public perception and awareness. If people understand that they have the capacity for positive change, I feel like they’d be a lot less resigned and apathetic. Your idea about using forest waste was interesting too: a lot of necessary climate action will take away people’s livelihoods, so it was nice to see the opposite for a change.