Star Trek IV Named Top Environmental Film November 25, 2007
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Feature Films (TMP-NEM) , trackbackThe UK’s EnvironmentalGraffiti.com, one of the top 3 environmental sites worldwide, has nominated Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home as one of the Greatest Environmental Movies of All Time. Other nominees include the dystopian Soylent Green and the Al Gore global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth. The site states that the literal ’save the whales’ plotline was “the most believable of the Star Trek films.”
In addition to being the most successful Trek film, STIV is certainly the one with the most topical message. The film was made shortly before the 1986 moratorium on most whaling. At the time, it seemed mandatory for Volkswagens to have a ‘Save the Whales’ bumper sticker.
New Star Trek to be topical?
Of course The Original Series often took on subjects of its day such as racism and the Vietnam War. In addition to STIV, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was also topical in that it dealt with the fall of the Soviet Union (with Klingons standing in for the Soviets). It is not known if the new Star Trek film currently in production will deal with issues of today, but co-writer Alex Kurtzman did drop a hint. In June Kurtzman told MTV
[Roddenberry] created a side of ‘Star Trek’ as a response to the Cold War. In a way, he made a fantasy of finding a way for everyone to come together — and that has managed to stick through all the versions of ‘Star Trek.’
…
The world’s changed, but it also hasn’t. We live in a world where it’s about ultra-paranoia of others, and that is as it was back when Roddenberry invented ‘Trek.’ In a way, it’s more timely now than ever to be doing this. … There was paranoia about the Cold War. That was their version of terrorism. We’re living in a very parallel environment right now.
More on the nominees for Top Environment Film at EnvironmentalGraffiti.com
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Comments
LOL. I loved this film and glad it is still being recognized.
Those 3 are all good science fiction movies!
#2, Al Gore’s movie is science fact, not fiction. I pray that our politicians wake up so that our future generations can have a world like the one Star Trek portrays.
#3 Gore’s movie is scifi. There is no such thing as consensus in science.
Maybe if Algore followed his own advice it might be a good start. Global warming is the biggest scam the leftist wackos have come up with so far.
star trek 4 sent out a brilliant topical message of the time and its still relevent today. one of the greatest trek films. i never tire of it. there are so many great lines in it. good to see it recognised again.
greg
UK
I’m glad they used whales instead of fluffy kitties.I heard the original was about a probe that coughed up a furball on earth.
It’s AMAZING how today’s problems all originated from one WRONG TURN!!!!!
THE WRONG TURN CARRYING THE ARCHDUKE started a chain reaction that led to todays problems.
It led to WWI, which led to WWII, AND the Cold War. This then led to the Korean War and Vietnam War. While on the other side of the world, the Cold War made it possible for the Gulf Wars to occur.
Isn’t It Ironic how one wrong turn would lead to these terrible wars? If this wrong turn didn’t happen, STAR TREK, would never have existed because it was a result of the Cold War which was indirectly a result ot the two world wars.
if you get past the save the whale message. Trek IV had some of the most memorable trek lines and the character mingling was wonderful.
“Hello Computer” Classic stuff.
I love the Macintosh scene! that was reaking hilarious. I wonder if they meant to imply that the starfleet computers are based off of Mac OS? Now OSX.
I love the Macintosh scene! that was freaking hilarious. I wonder if they meant to imply that the starfleet computers are eventually based off of Mac OS? Now OSX.
cbspock-
please explain what the “leftist wackos” have to gain from this “scam”.
#4 your wrong… so wrong…. i think its sickening that Al Gore’s factual film has become a laughing stock for many people e.g. In the Simpson’s movie etc but i suppose thats the world today… your crazy for warning the world about something that IS happening and could, i said COULD possibly have drastic effects on civilisation as we know it… and your even more crazy if its not in our lifetime and not “our” problem.
on a less serious note… GO Trek IV i never understood how it was one of the best treks… but yea! (still think with a lot more money Trek V was what trek was all about along with Trek I)
Jay
UK
cbspock warning for trolling
comments to http://trekmovie.com/about/feedback
lets not turn this into a political flame war
There certainly *is* such a thing as “consensus in science” and to suggest otherwise is ridiculous. There is never such a thing as *unanimity* among scientists, which is different. Hell, there are a few scientists out there who claim that the HIV virus doesn’t cause AIDS.
I’m laughing at #4 and #5 (same person).
Go and look at Stephen Fry’s blog entry “getting overheated” (scroll down to the sub-title with the same name). He’s in America filming at the moment and he describes meeting someone who sounds just like you.
I’m laughing at #4 and #5 (same person).
Go and look at Stephen Fry’s blog entry “getting overheated” (scroll down to the sub-title with the same name). He’s in America filming at the moment and he describes meeting someone who sounds just like you.
Gornorrhea, best name ever! OMG that’s clever. :) I love it.
I forgot, to disagree with the left is trolling.
Sweet,, now lets hope the people in Japan watch Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/oceans/whale-defenders
Go Greenpeace!,,,Good luck in the Antarctic waters
“A hornets nest” this is going to be fun though
#5
It amuses me that there are still people like you in the world. Keep living the right wing lie, you crazy diamond!
I don’t think this thread will reach 50 posts. :(
#7
i now have a giant furball image that won’t go away. the probe i assume would’ve looked like a giant litterbox.
#8
check out william gibson’s bridge trilogy for some brilliant thoughts on historical nodal points and how they affect history. cool stuff.
#5
some of us leftist wackos are pretty aggresive. we’ve been known to attack russian whalers with a bird of prey just to make a point.
There are scientists who say the all the planets in our solar system(including earth) have gone up 3 degrees in temp overall.There’s a Star Trek story there!
It’s those damn Rommies! Destroy the atmosphere, cripple the early federation!
Trek 4 is such a great film. I was 12 when it came out, and its environmental message really had an impact on me. I’m glad to see it was nominated for this.
I’m not sure if I’d agree that Star Trek IV was “the most believable” of the Star Trek movies, but the film’s strong reminder that failure to care for our environment can have disastrous consequences makes it one of the most important Trek films.
How do you think a writer would import modern terrorism paranoia into the Star Trek universe?
Clearly 9/11 was a terrible event, but it seems just as clear that the US response has been tragically flawed and an excuse for various abuses of concentrated power. These seem like themes that Star Trek often ascribed to the “alien” cultures, but rarely did the Federation deal with these sorts of problems within its own organization and culture. What event could inspire such fear, which forces would exploit that fear, and how would those forces collect and abuse the power granted ostensibly to facilitate deterrence and response?
#3 I’m almost certain the future is not going to be like Star-Trek.
The human population keeps growing, the natural world keeps shrinking, we can only produce enough food by creating vast landscapes of single crops all helped along with chemicals destroying wildlife and bio-diversity, all so more and more of us can stuff our fat, ugly, bloated faces with ever more food. We create millions of tons of garbage consisting of mad-made materials and chemicals and dump it in massive holes in the ground, or burn it giving off toxic gases, we turn paradises into ugly sprawling holiday resorts, We literally destroy vast landscapes in order to extract coal which is burn to make electricity so that we can leave our computers on all day and night, and suck up oil out the ground in order to drive ever-bigger cars so our off-spring don’t have to - god-forbid - walk to school. None of this oil or coal will be replaced for millions of years and will run out in maybe decades, yet our whole way of like relies on it. How stupid is that. And now China and India has decided it wants to be just like us.
So no. The future will not be like Star-Trek. I’m pretty confidant of that. I’m pretty confidant that it will be very different than now too.
There are scientists who say that the planets in the solar system have gone up 3 degress in overall temp. There are also scientsts who say that there is no proof that nicotine kills. It usually depends on where they get their founding from. Facts are facts, an we can not deny that pollution is affecting our world in a negative way.
Gee , they only litter the San Fransisco Bay with a BIRD OF PREY !! how environmental is that !!!! …… All that Trilithium leaking into the bay , killing all the fish …. Nope Try Again !
Maybe they put the bird of prey in there so coral could grow on it?
#29 - really good point. I’m quite curious as to how they would work in the non-black and white political situation. Certainly, things weren’t actually black and white back then, but it was much more legit to have the good guys (Federation/America) and bad guys (Klingons/Russians). I don’t think that would work now.
Some of the most interesting stories in all of Star Trek, though, have been those where the Federation itself is suspect. Maybe a bit of that? Consider, the writers have said there’s a little bit of DS9-ishness in the movie, and that was pretty much all about how the Federation had become corrupt but was still salvageable by good people. That’s certainly how I feel about America today, and I’d love to know if the writers are similar.
I wonder if Gene Roddenberry would have maintained a positive vision of mankind’s future if he were witness to the internet and the things people say to each other on messageboards.
Everybody, relax. The wars, the environment, all of that will not be solved by some back-and-forth here. Let’s try to be decent to one another.
“I’ve always thought of this as the most believable of the Star Trek films.” I suspect this comment is more than a little tongue in cheek.
However I reckon that in the grand scheme of canon, Star Trek the Moton Picture: a machine planet “finds” an interstellar probe with flat batteries that hasn’t worked a century, gives it the mother of all makeovers and it heads back to earth to find God!
The most ridiculuous storyline of the lot - and yet I loved the film!
Kirk and Spock saved the whales in Star Trek 4 and David Hassellhoff saved Sponge Bob and Patrick in the SpongeBob Movie.
I think its great that Trek 4 has been recognized. It spoke volumes during its time, as well as ST6. And, even Leonard Nimoy said- its the only Trek film where no one dies!:) All of Trek does have an underlying story if you know where to look for it, just as Law and Order does.
Go Trek!:)
PS- can we try and keep politics and political flamming out of the Trek posts? Anthony already warned some.I mean come on- Time and place people- Time and Place.
Kigs
31.Well ,right now all the funding and awards are going to scientists who support a certain global warming theory.I’m not disagreeing that we need to curtail pollution.I’m just confronting you with your own logic.Hope you take it contructively.
The future portrayed in Star Trek is like Santa Claus. A nice fantasy to enjoy, but nothing that you truly believe is ever going to be real.
Doesn’t make me love ST or SC any less.
#4, you can disagree. You can also troll, which I believe you were doing. Why spark debate, when you can engender name calling instead?
Gores film does have inaccuracies, however the full effect is far more valuable. In the end, regardless of which side of the debate you are on, climate change is real, and it’s having an effect.
Having a Star Trek movie even being considered in the same breath as An Inconvenient Truth is quite fascinating. It’s nice to see it honored as being a social conscious film - which is exactly what Star Trek is ultimately about. Ultimately, when our kids look back on our time (as we do on our Parents 1960’s), I hope they view our lives with the same sweet smile of life in a simpler time.
#4 Ultimately, I hope that Anthony continues to keep the content of our discussions focused and that few outbreaks in politics (or religion, or Star Wars, or those pesky Canadians). We’re here to celebrate our love for ST, our unnatural need to see anything related to the new movie, and our near burning desire to finally see the Enterprise with wings and flames on the side!
PAX
I used ultimately too many times.
I always thought that was such a cool shot of the bird of prey over the whaling ship.
ST IV is one of the very few movies I can watch from beginning to end over and over again without getting bored.
I am in no saying that global warming is myth, it’s happening. Al Gore’s main argument in the movie actually happens the other way around. A rise in temperature causes a rise in CO2. Prove me wrong. When people say there is or isn’t a consensus, that’s half true. Many scientists who dissent from the “popular” opinion are silenced and repressed. The existence of global warming is not in question. It is the cause that is. Gore’s film is in no way fact and should not be accepted as such because the consensus is flimsy at best.
Actually, Japanese whaling is itself a by-product of American intervention in Japanese politics and culture.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/world/asia/14whaling.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1
Too bad that Star Trek IV had the worst special effects of the Trek films. (OK, maybe Star Trek V was worse.) If the special effects had been on par with the earlier films, this film would have undoubtedly been the best Trek film of all. What is great about the movie is that the theme brought in non-Trek fans to the theater.
CB spock frightens me. Do we have to lose all of Greenland before we act? Heck, Even Gaorge Bush admits Global Warming is a problem- And James Hansen of Nasa has been sounding the alarm for 20+ years now.
Scientific American has published some very telling articles on the subject.
argh.
Scientific American. Yeah. A real left wing publication, that.
Anyhow
Given the good news re Star Trek IV,
1) I wonder how Nimoy feels
2) Are they still planning to film parts of Trek XI In Iceland (Where they still allow whaling)?
3) How did they miss the ’70s movie “Silent Running” (Complete with Joan Baez soundtrack?)
I’m actually sad to see that An Inconvenient Truth did not win. On the other hand. AIT is not a movie but a documentry.
Global Warming is real, you can’t deny the Earth is warming. The debate is on whats causing it. I prefer to try and change things and not make up excuses.
I don’t think Japan has every watched Star Trek IV with their annual whale hunt…
I read that story about the Japanese whalers, and I immdiately thought of Trek. There was also that scandal with Hayden Pantierre of Heroes trying to save the dolphins who the Japanese were butchering. It’s a shame that in the 21st century we still continue past sins.
# 46 - Silent Running was another good example of an environmental movie. It should have received honorable mention.
Scientific American has been getting a bit vitriolic about global warming: jumping on the name calling bandwagon. Name calling is not very scientific.
Considering Al Gore created a company for selling carbon credits several years before AIT was released, it is at least a little suspicious. It looks to be a big infomercial. Even people who are proponents of AIT admit that it plays fast and loose with some information.
I don’t think buying and selling carbon credits will fix anything. It presumes that there is an inherent right to pump CO2 in the air. We need to focus on developing energy sources that do not dump CO2 or anything else in the atmosphere: like Bussard’s Polywell fusion or solar power satellites. The current global warning pundits seem more concerned with creating the panic and profiting from it, than actually trying to solve the problem.
Trek IV is certainly one of the best Trek movies, period. It is my second favorite next to you-know-which-movie. It actually presented the audience with the possiblility that what we are doing to our precious world today is going to affect the world of tomorrow. I remember when the admonition “Live for today” was always tossed around like waste-paper, but I think we misunderstood what it meant relative to the future. We live in an extraordinarily materialistic, self-absorbed world where $$$, possessions, and power/control are the primary agenda of those who lead humanity through history. The entire vision of Star Trek (and, thus, Gene Roddenberry) was one of the elevation of humanity from being sub-human addicts, whose actions can only lead to self-destruction, to a level of consciousness that recognized the sacredness of ALL existence (and not just one specific form of existence). The whole Vulcan philosophy of logic, as you recall, came about as a result of beings recognizing that logic and peace were more worthwhile endeavors than violent, barbaric behavior. (Do you see any sort of recognition REALLY taking place in our world today?) I truly hope that the vision of Star Trek comes true, in the same way the vision of men going to the moon came true. With so many human beings being ‘right’ instead of being compassionate, I’m not sure how such a vision will take place.
#49- Interesting. Very.
STIV? A little heavy-handed in retrospect. Accessable, yes. Personally, I’m liking STV better and better as I think about it.
Al Gore? I’ve met and spoken with him twice, once while he was VP. (I work in the political arena.) I’ll just say this: Take what he claims with a grain of salt. He’s given to hyperbole.
cbspock? I do understand your opinion, and your reaction to #3, for somewhat different reasons… so I’m not going to attack you.
IDIC.
Everyone remember where we parked.
#30 - The future does look bleak, but even in Star Trek, the early 21st century was not in good shape. I think we can get off oil and clean up the world, but only if we can overcome the various stupidities that plague us. Panic and name calling won’t fix it: focusing on the goal of making the world better may do it.
The world as Star Trek presents it may not come to pass, but interest in Star Trek, science fiction, and a space program has brought about some amazing things so far. It seems the world has lost its goals, and has lost its way. If we focus on the future: have a viable space program, try for a world like Star Trek presents, not only in technology but also in temperament, maybe we can save this world.
Even warp drive polluted……….. ;)
Hell, the future looks so bleak, I don’t even buy green bananas!!
Great now I can never in good conscience watch this film again.
I just wish the TNG movies had been as ambitious with its story lines as TOS was with its, Trek IV being a perfect example.
The United Nations scientists have concluded that it is extremely likely that human activity (fossil fuels, etc.)is primarily responsible for global warming. Global warming is accepted as a man-made phenomenon by the overwhelming majority of scientists. Dennis Bailey in a post above accurately points out that there is definitely such a thing as consensus in science (as opposed to having a very small minority of scientists who dissent). Science already accounts for how people disregard all of this and insist global merely a left-wing conspiracy. It is a psychological process called a defense mechanism, when one denies the truth out of their own emotional need. Rationalizations, repression, and attempting to discredit the messenger are some forms of defense mechanisms.
A concern I have is that when global-warming deniers are given equal credibility in a debate it will confuse less-informed people. Should we give the flat-earth society equal weight in the issue of if the Earth is round? Or the one-third (Yes, one-third) of Americans who believe the sun goes around the Earth?
Anyway, getting back to Star Trek, I believe that Star Trek is about humans empowering themselves with science and knowledge to make a better world. I certainly hope that spirit prevails and we actively face this challenge instead of acting like a species of ostriches.
Sorry for the long post, but I hope some people find this interesting. Two quotes regarding environmental messages from science-fiction classics:
H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds, (1898), was a metaphor for man’s destruction of animals and less technologically advanced peoples, with the Martians as the metaphor for humans:
“And we men, the creatures who inhabit this earth, must be to them (Martians) at least as alien and lowly as are the monkeys and lemurs to us. ..And before we judge them too harshly we must remember what ruthless and utter destruction our own species has wrought, not only upon animals, such as the vanished bison and the dodo, but upon its inferior races. The Tasmanians, ins spite of their human likeness, were entirely swept out of existence in a war of extermination waged by European immigrants, in the space of fifty years. Are we such apostles of mercy as to complain if the Martians warred in the same spirit?”
This seems directly related to global warming, as the estimated is one fourth of all species will vanish from the earth due to global warming.
The second quote is from Agent Smith of the Matrix:
Agent Smith: I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you’re not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You’re a plague and we are the cure.
While I can’t say I agree with his “cure,” the guy wasn’t totally wrong in his assessment, was he.
#58 - I would have more confidence in the global warming argument if the proponents did not invest so much effort in saying bad things about those who have questions about it. They put people like Bill Nye out to make their case; Bill Nye is fine for presenting an entertaining view on science in his show, but I don’t see him as a serious scientist. There are legitimate questions about the ability to model such a complex system as the earth’s weather. There are still many unknowns. Add to that Al Gore and others “simplifying” data for ease of presentation and you don’t really get the impression of an objective scientific view. They could be fundamentally right, but if so, it makes you wonder why they couldn’t do a better job presenting it.
And I have little faith in the UN at this point in history.
#58
It won’t take terribly long for the species to not act like ostriches as there are likely to not be many of us left in a few years. I fear peak oil more than global warming, though they’ll both mean enormous unwanted changes that we cannot prepare for at this late stage in the game.
#59 - Humans a virus? Well, the overpopulation can be fixed. Richer people tend to have less kids:they are more secure financially as well as physically, and can invest their resources safely in fewer children. The solution: make everybody rich. Go into space, set up solar power satellites and/or develop Bussard Polywell fusion: cheap power for everyone.
Right now, we can make enough food already to feed everyone on the planet, couldn’t always say that. We just have to something about the local buttheads in charge that play their little war games that prevent these people from getting fed, still waiting foor the un to fix that…
Let me be clear though, whether global warming is caused by humans or made worse by humans, or not; we need to get off fossil fuels. We need to stop dumping junk into the environment. We need an energy source that is renewable or virtually unlimited. We need to stop destroying the environment to find and transport the stuff. If we need oil and plastics we can still make them from plant and animal waste (look up thermal depolymerization). We need to stop deforestation of rain forests. We need to stop supporting countries that give lashes to rape victims.
Paying Al Gore for carbon credits won’t fix it, using brains and honesty to find a solution will.
I tend to lean towards the sunspot theory. As the sun cycles, then so does the earth’s climate, not to mention the other planets in our solar system. I doubt our naughty use of oil here on Earth is also responsible for the warming conditions on Mars.
That said, I would like to see us find a new primary source of power other than oil, because it stinks, and it’s SO last century. And I’m quite sure that we will sooner or later. Oh, and there is no shortage of oil, either. Earth has hundreds of years of oil left, but right now we DO have a shortage of refinery capacity.
It is in refining that the left and the right have found common ground. The left doesn’t want to make refineries due to “environmental” issues. And Big Oil is just fine with that, because they don’t want to make too many refineries, which would result in MUCHO gas on the market, which would result in much lower prices. So neither the left nor the right want there to be more gas.
Another example of the left and the right seeing eye to eye on something: immigration. Replublicans want as many illegal immigrants as possible because they see them as cheap labor. Democrats want as many illegal immigrants as possible as they see them as democrat voters.
very cool. what was cool was how they took a relevant issue and made a lighthearted but effective film around it.
why all the political debate here? this is supposed to be star trek postings. think anthony should give warnings to some of the more mean spirited retaliations to cbspock’s #5 posting, though. no room for it here.
Well, all I can say is…..”oil” be glad when we get back to talking about Star Trek!!
wonder what era nero is from. if it’s tng/post tng then i’d assume nero is a renegade? nemesis ended with peace negotiations with romulus so i cant imagine he’s affiliated with the legitimate government. do we know if he’s from pre-tos or tng time? i havent heard for sure
#64- Oregon-A study and review of existing literature published in Nature in Sept. 2006 suggests that the evidence is solidly on the side of solar brightness having relatively little effect on global climate.
Remember Ptolemy’s theory, that everythinggoes around the Eart, because it is the center of the universe? When it didn’t match up with the data he invited these complicated “epicycles” in which the planets reverse direction. Of course, all this was a big rationalization because he refused to accept the heliocentric theory of Corpernicus.
Sunspot theory, huh. Yes, I guess all the oil companies are correct to doubt global warming. They must be objective, unlike all the lefty- freedom hating scientists that hate us for our freedom who deliberately try to trick us in the great hoax of global warming.
I am not attempting to engage those whose minds are locked against the scientific consensus; I am concerned about the paralyzing effects on those who are confused on this most important issue.
This is my last post on the topic; I agree with Mr. Ballz- back to Star Trek.
#66 - LOiL! >;>}
Sometimes one must know when to be superior and not be dragged into such conversations. One wiseman one said: Why argue with a moron? They’ll only drag you down to their level and beat you with years of experience…
Go Leopard!
68 - ok I’ll shut up if you shut up. :)
Say, how about that Star Trek IV, anyway? Great flick, huh?
Brilliant storytelling, strong concept, topical message - STIV contains everything TOS used to be about. Completely justified nomination.
more beliable than shatner climbing a mountain star trek v - i dont think so!!!
hey anybody else notice that the mi 2 opening was a rip off of stv, where on to you cruise!!!!
I think there is more factual evidence that a future scenario like ST:IV may pan out, than the predictions in Uncle Al’s movie. An “Inconvenient Truth” is actually a very convenient lie. Gore stands to make billions with his so called “carbon credit” companies. He has already snagged a Nobel Prize, (something he likes to say that his buddy Clinton never won) and he has attained all the fame and power of a world leader without any accountability. Someone here nailed it when they said that it doesn’t have to be factual as long as it brings attention to the problem, RIGHT! Do you have any idea how much money is being made on this thing, all in the name of science and the environment, (billions in grants, subsidies & funding)! You guys are like the idiots on top of the building in “Independence Day”, just waiting to be vaporized. The sad part is that when this Global Warming thing is proven to be a hoax, you guys will say things changed because of all this hype and all the new taxes that will flushed our money down a 1.5 liter toilet, that requires 3 flushes and a plunge.
FYI… Star Trek does not exist in your world, someone stops Warp Drive because it is a danger to the planet, Communicators because it is a danger to the planet, transporters because it is a danger to the planet, replicators because it is a danger to the planet, anything consuming the power needed to develop and use future technology because it is a danger to the planet. In your world we go cold and hungry in mud huts because we can not burn or consume carbon based products, and with all of this there is a carbon footprint tax on your breath.
Mmmmm….. whale burgers! Yummy!
Please, please, PLEASE don’t let the new trek movie be political. No soapboxes, no preaching. Just tell a good story. I am so sick of politics.
Environmental groups must also use natural and man made resources to promote their causes. The fire cannot be fought without also feeding the flames. No matter what humans do to the Earth, it will renew itself in some way until our sun dies.
LOL!!!!
ST IV is a better eviro film that Gore’s! *LMAO*
It’s also better science fiction too!!!!! xD
76-
Star Trek, going back to Gene R. is a great vessel for delivering parables.
Some are subtle, some less so. A central theme of the ’60s Trek was Tolerance vs Prejudice, etc- at a time when our country needed those sorts of messages the most
And how about the Trek Episode “A Private Little War”? If that wasn’t an Allegory for the Vietnam war, I don’t know what was.
And for all here that seem to think the Left has captured the environmental issue, or is too passionate about it, or disingenuous… I pose this:
Even if Man Made Global Warming is a simple Ad Hoc Hypotheses (and I believe it is not)
What is the harm in acting soon?
Help the trade deficit and prevent billions from going to rogue states or the Mideast?
Both the left and the right can profit by conserving and establishing a balanced Energy mix by using PHEVS (or even better the new Chevy Volt!) adding more types of renewables, and increasing the efficiency and prevalence of Solar and Wind.
These we can do now. Right now. No need to wait for fusion or advanced inherently safe breeder reactors
.
Home grown power helps the right and the left.
It’s basic Econ 101:
We need to export MORE stuff. We need to import LESS stuff (read:Oil), and build an economy where we are not simply flipping burgers, making movies and watching I Pod/You Tube.
All that said, it’s simply Luddite thinking at that point to view Global Warming as anything other than man-made.
Perhaps the left seems a bit too vehement, because we in the U.S. have ignored the issue for twenty-plus years and now must act much, much, more quickly to achieve any measure of efficacy.
Bravo, #68.
Sunspots! Humph.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060913-sunspots.html
Stop this global warming crap. If Al-Qaeda unleashed a dirty bomb you’d have a lot more to worry about than AlGore’s sci-fi fest doomsay predictions.
My SUV isn’t the problem.
#45 Bubba Hotep said:
….”Actually, Japanese whaling is itself a by-product of American intervention in Japanese politics and culture….”
So the Japanese were quick to take up whaling due to the American contamination of the Japanese culture (i.e. it’s our fault)….so why aren’t the Japanese so quick to emulate the U.S. and (most of the world) this time around and give up whaling?
Maybe American Intervention was the reason for the Japanese to take up whaling, but what’s the reason for not stopping?
Back on topic, this is tied for my favorite ST film with TWoK. TWoK was an exciting action-adventure, and TVH was a great personal advernture.
#80: “Stop this global warming crap. If Al-Qaeda unleashed a dirty bomb you’d have a lot more to worry about than AlGore’s sci-fi fest doomsay predictions.
My SUV isn’t the problem.”
Actually, it is…whereas “if Al-Quaeda unleashed a dirty bomb” is an anxious fantasy - something that has not happened - and therefore is less of a problem.
Making stuff like that up doesn’t constitute any kind of factual, rational argument against taking steps to deal with problems that really exist.
Never mind that your basic assertion that a dirty bomb *would* cause us more trouble than global warming *will* is incorrect.
Love TVH! Happy memories.
# 82: An anxious fantasy?
I guess you spend all your time watching fantasy TV.
It’s so sad. I work in politics, so I have to deal with people with more opinions than information everyday. I didn’t expect to find the same thing in a Star Trek forum, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Seriously, if you STILL think that that global warming is fake, what exactly would it take to convince you otherwise? If you think about it and realize that NOTHING would convince you… well, at least be honest with yourself and realize that you are just another person clinging to what they want to believe instead of trying to figure out what is actually true, as in so many of the best, and saddest, trek stories.
Global warming is nothing more than our sun heating up and that’s the truth not a perception.
By the way my post (#68)- the info on sunspots is from Wikipedia.
I’m amazed to find so much ignorance among Star Trek fans. Cbspock and others here spouting keep spouting off about global warming as a leftist scam. OK, then…who stands to gain from this scam? Compared to the profits being raked in hand over fist by the oil industry, the “global warming is real” crowd is practically doing it for free.
So, why would the left be scamming us? What do they stand to gain from taking measures to combat global warming? Um…cleaner air, more efficient cars, alternate sources of energy… Wow, what a scam! No personal profit, but endless benefits to humanity!!!
As for those who still contend that global warming is NOT happening…well, you no longer deserve to be heard, just as any “flat Earth” nuts have no valid opinion to share. You deny the CONSENSUS of most of the world’s environmental scientists, all for what? So you can keep driving SUVs that cost $40 to fill up?
There is no logic (sorry) to the continued denials of what is clearly happening. Global warming is real, and those who deny it are as foolish and useless to humanity as flat-earthers and Holocaust deniers.
The only item of any debate is how much humans have contributed to warming. Warming is a FACT; human involvement is a little more debatable, but the evidence still overwhelmingly shows that we are contributing to the problem.
Do you really have any hopes of a future like Star Trek happening when you refuse to accept the LOGIC and SCIENCE of global warming?
Even if global warming turned out to be a total fraud, would it hurt us to act as if it was true? Would it really be a bad thing for us to clean up our air, our water, our soil? Is it so terrible to want alternate fuels and energy sources so we can stop burning fossil fuels?
Disagreement is fine, unless you are disagreeing with the obvious truth. If you tell me you think Trek 6 is better than Trek 4, we’ve got a disagreement. But tell me that there is no scientific consensus on global warming, that it’s a leftist hoax, and that it just isn’t real, and we are beyond disagreement and into the realm of “denying reality.” Might as well tell me that the sun isn’t real, even though we all can see it.
As for The Voyage Home, it was a fun, cute movie at the time, but it doesn’t hold up to repeat viewing very well. Still, it ties TMP as my 3rd favorite film (right behind II and III).
It isn’t true. Polar bears aren’t committing suicide, that’s ridiculous. Arctic storms killed them. Greenland was warmer decades ago and there’s more ice in Antarctica now, not less. I personally have had enough of the land of make-believe cooked up by these wackos. Yes, I’m sure man has an effect on the environment, however small it may be and I do support the idea of alternate fuels etc, but the Earth isn’t so badly designed and if man were truly responsible then I’d love an explanation for the warming occurring throughout the solar system. Among other bizarre instances throughout the system, Mars is experiencing global warming as is Pluto which according to everything we know and understand should actually be cooling since it’s on it’s way out to the point in it’s orbit where it’s farthest from the sun.
Al Gore is a known lier. He is the boy who cried “wolf!” only there are still a few people who actually want to believe him and all the rest of the doomsday crowd. Everyone needs to be aware of what these people already know, you can’t get funding without exaggerating the truth.
“My SUV isn’t the problem”
Nope. your arrogant and ill-informed attitude is… which is probably why you feel the need for an SUV in the first place.
AM, your comments are more in keeping from those from that cartoonish bafoon from “American Dad”
Going after Osama and fixing the planet are NOT mutually exclusive.
Having helped hire all the baggage screeners after 9/11, I more than did my part; and worked my butt off to secure the Airports after the early formation of the TSA in ‘01-’02.
That doesn’t mean I take Global Warming any less seriously.
I didn’t see anyone here really defend Al Gore- more that we are listing facts and links for you to read, and perhaps gain new knowledge and insight.
And yes sir, your SUV is indeed part of the problem. The US pumps a HUGE amount of C02 relative to its population. We’re simply used to excess here. Do you really need that huge size?
It frightens me how poorly informed and selfish many folks in this country seem to be.
I’m sorry Mike, #85, I seem to have disregarded your sage advice.
Star Trek has shown the way. M/AM power… if only we could find some AM… but sadly, it produces high-energy gammas. We couldn’t turn them to useful energy unless we had some way to “photodivide” them (opposite of a photomultiplier).
Global warming is real, and indeed could be primarily due to the 800 octillion pound gorilla in the solar system: The Sun. But the alternative is global cooling. Global cooling would bring back the glaciers… and cover most of Canada, the Great Lakes, Maine, Upstate New York, and Scandinavia, and the Alpine countries, and destroy crop production in Canada, the American Plains, Southern Russia and the Ukraine. Worse still, during global cooling, the Sahara would retreat… and that being the engine that drives part of the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic wind and water current patterns… would cool Europe even more.
Global warming could increase crop production in Asia and Canada, increase the Gulf Stream effect giving northern Europe and northern North America rather warmer winters. That would reduce the need for heating and reduce CO2 production.
The real answer is to go NUCLEAR in the US. I tire of the whiners: when France, the “model to leftists” is held up as an example of how the US should be, I strongly agree.
I point out that they generate over 85% of their power from nuclear. The US is down around 12%. The US makes up the difference primarily by burning coal and natural gas to generate electricity: which instead should be used to cogenerate and produce heat and electricity simultaneously. (As is now done at large hospitals and other places…)
Of course, then the leftists whine: you can’t have nuclear power, it’s “dangerous”. No, it’s not: you store the spent nuclear material *inside the same containment dome*. It’s nutty to transport it. Again, as I point out: if it works for the French, it should certainly work for the US. At that point, hydroelectric, wind farms, tidal farms, and solar combine to make this very practical. Then the US can save the coal and natural gas for onsite heating where it’s sensible.
Furthermore, you produce hydrogen fuel cells right at the nuclear power plant when you’re not needing the full capacity: thus building up the needed supply for hydrogen-powered cars.
And perhaps if some of the Star Trek fan film groups wanted to do something really interesting: they’d produce “mockumentaries” of “How The Earth Saved Itself”…
I’d much rather see a Disneyan, positivist approach to Global Warming, instead of “gloom’n'doom”. I know some folks are pushing a “Go Green” approach as opposed to a “the sky is falling” approach, and more power (no pun intended) to them! Do that in the genre of the Star Trek film, and people would watch it and get the messages at the same time. Imagine it as “Captain Kirk’s Earth Tour”… I’m sure that film would be watched, even if it featured an Elvis impersonator, or a Tiger Beat Kirk…..
Gotta love Trekkies/Trekkers…… the most intelligent, informed, opinionated bunch of tv show fanatics there ever was…… Then Harry pops in with his juvenile puns (I love you Harry, just don’t tell my husband).
I loved STIV, it’s my favorite for numerous reasons (I even enjoyed the atmosphere inside the Klingon Bird of Prey….very cool). I think the humor and the fact nobody died made it easier to watch over and over again. All of the TOS movies were good in their own way…… I really appreciated the way they tried to do something different with each movie. After STII’s success, they could have just kept using that same formula like Hollywood tends to do, but the Star Trek TOS movies didn’t do that (I still have not seen the TNG movies, so I don’t know about them).
Janice B.S. (not Rand - she stole my name) out.
Let’s see…
Al Gore…”Mr. Environmentalist”, lives in a huge mansion, drives SUVs, flies in private planes, etc.
I drive an SUV (which I do need) and live in a much smaller house and I’m the perceived problem.
Look, the loudest environmentalist is the biggest hypocrite.
The best scam yet is the so-called “Carbon Credit”. Make a donation and all is forgiven.
…Hey McTrekkie!
Since you helped in the hiring of all the TSA screeners can you tell me why they’re harassing little old ladies with knitting needles and not profiling?!
90. mctrekkie said “………….And yes sir, your SUV is indeed part of the problem. ………………….. Do you really need that huge size?”
Hehe. I think you hit the NAIL (a very small nail at that) on the HEAD there. I especially hate Hummers, they are obviously trying to overcompensate for something they are lacking.
…and
When are we going to build nuclear power plants? The enviromentalists keep saying “it’s not safe”. Wind Power? Ted Kennedy said “not in my backyard”.
People, where the hell do you think most of the fossil fuels go? They go to fuel power plants that keep the Internet, this website, your iPod, iPhone, and your local Starbucks going!
Star Trek IV - One of my favourites, a much needed lighter film (with a great moral) after all the death and destruction of what went before.
Plus my two pence worth of the sub-thread showing here….
Well, I don’t know whether it is the Sun or Mankind or some other combination of factors which is causing global warming.
What I do not think can seriously be questioned is the fact that something is happening all over the world in terms of extreme weather and we as a species should do what we can to lessen the probability of a climate change which will most likely take hundreds if not thousands of years for our planet to put right.
We may not even be able to stop it, because we have already done too much damage or perhaps it really has never been in our control to make a difference.
The truth is nobody knows for a certainty what is happening or the causes. Scientists can look at the same data and come to wildy different conclusions, lies, damn lies and statistics anyone?
So what chance do the common man and woman have in figuring it out and deciding what action to take. As well as having facts and information obfuscated by those that have their own agendas?
If any of you are still reading this and want to hear my opinion, here goes…
I have always wanted to believe in a Star Trek like future, for as long as I can remember.
Do I really think it is going to happen? Not anymore. I have seen too many ugly facets of humanity to believe that as a species we can change our nature so fundamentally.
If anything could bring humanity together as a collective group, then it would have to be because of some form of external, world threatening event, like a natural disaster, asteroid impact etc. or and of course this is far, far less likely, an alien threat. Now before you start laughing, I don’t think I would want to see the result of our world shaped by the latter. But if the event was a natural disaster, we would probably lapse back into our normal, back stabbing greedy ways after the crisis had passed.
So the question is, can we, as a species, pull together to save our planet from a new ice age or worse?
Probably not, unfortunately, and it is our children and grandchildren which will pay the price for our short sightedness.
Am I a pessimist? I’d say a realist. But take it how you like, this is what I think. Perhaps that is why I like Star Trek so much, I want to believe in a brighter tomorrow, a better world, one we can all be proud to live in.
I can understand the head-in-sand appraoch from the climate change doubters. The scary thing is that global warming either means we see massive destruction of eco-systems, sea-rises wiping out cities all over the world and mass extinctions, or it means we all have to cut back our standard of living, slash consumption, radicaly change our lives and work on sustainable technologies to continue on into the future.
With the scale of what humanity faces, I’m not surpised people stick their fingers in their ears, close there eyes and yell out “Ner ner ner I can’t hear you, it’s not happening.”
I think we could power half the planet with the heat being generated in this forum!
Politics aside, I actually think of Al Gore as an American Mr. Spock.
Oh my God shut up everyone. that goes for the lefties too. you are all using self supporting facts and refuting non-confirming facts. standard partisan bullcrap. Isn’t this a star trek site? can we get back to star trek? there are other forums for political banter. we all definately have strong opinions on global warming, but this isnt the place. i think green is the best color in the world. anybody wanna argue it?
Thank You Mr. Orci. Finally a striaght foward post- which like Trek 4 -speaks volumes in such a short line. Thank you. Glad you are writing the new movie instead of some of these people.
Way to many political views here and too much flamming!
I’m surpried Anthony hasn’t closed this one yet?
Kigs
Thank you number 101! I second that motion!
Kigs
#84:”# 82: An anxious fantasy?”
Yes, exactly that.
It hasn’t happened. It may or may not happen. How scared you are that it might happen or convinced you are that it might happen has no bearing on whether it happens or not.
That’s pretty simple and self-evident.
And BTW, the issue of whether specific terrorist attacks may or may not occur at some point in the future has no bearing whatever on whether concerns about global warming are warranted and whether certain actions should or should not be taken.
Just a good movie, OK?
Does it really need to be much more?
Well said Paul B.!!
Dennis Bailey, you obviously missed the whole point.
# 1. Global warming is simply our sun heating up.
# 2. If we half as aware of our security as we are of the global warming fiasco then we’d be a very secure country.
# 3. If I choose to drive an SUV that’s my business, don’t try to legislate me from driving it and don’t berate me for driving. What is I said that the all the little websites, like this one and yours, consume too much fossil fuels and by shutting down these website we could reduce CO2 emissions from power plants that supply the electricity.
#107:”Dennis Bailey, you obviously missed the whole point.”
No, you didn’t make one. I just addressed that fact.
#100 - But Spock is at least half human. >;>}