When the middle of this century comes around, Niobe Thompson doesnB次元官网网址檛 want his now-teenage daughters to look at a world made dramatically different by climate change and ask him, B次元官网网址渋f you knew, what did you do?B次元官网网址�

ItB次元官网网址檚 what inspired the Victoria filmmaker and his Australian co-director, Daniella Ortega, to make a film about the climate emergency that didnB次元官网网址檛 inflame the political polarization dominating the rhetoric about this scientific issue facing humanity.

That drew them to the thread running through origins of humanity, the Earth and much of the universe B次元官网网址� carbon. ItB次元官网网址檚 the element everyone loves to hate right now, Thompson said, but one thatB次元官网网址檚 woefully misunderstood.

So in the now-streaming CBC Gem documentary; Carbon B次元官网网址� The Unauthorised Biography, scientists such as Neil deGrasse Tyson break down the story of the element that makes humans and everything around them possible B次元官网网址� along with the life-building and destroying paradox of carbon.

B次元官网网址淚 think I have a much broader understanding of where carbon is and what she does for us,B次元官网网址� Thompson said in an interview.

The B次元官网网址榮heB次元官网网址� in this case is actor Sarah Snook, of HBOB次元官网网址檚 Succession, who voices carbon in the documentary, as Thompson said giving the element a personality was a key tenet of the film.

While scenes are shot all over the world, the pandemic reshaped the making of the documentary. While ThompsonB次元官网网址檚 presence at in-person shoots was mostly limited to Vancouver Island rainforests and other parts of B.C., that was enough to give him a different perspective on carbon bonds, as he touched the ancient trees.

B次元官网网址淎ll of that solidity is actually sucked out of the air and becomes these incredible cathedrals of carbon. I understood photosynthesis, but didnB次元官网网址檛 realize the forests around us are just solid manifestations of whatB次元官网网址檚 floating around us.B次元官网网址�

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ItB次元官网网址檚 that deeper understanding Thompson hopes the film conveys, through dynamic visuals and engaging experts.

B次元官网网址淚t was very important to bring spectacle and visual power and emotion to the story, just to wake us up to the wonder of this element.B次元官网网址�

While the film traces existence back to the carbon born in the hearts of stars, modern humanityB次元官网网址檚 interaction with the element has created an imbalance, pushing Earth toward tipping points.

Climate scientist Joelle Gergis says that scenarios experts have warned people of for decades are now unfolding and people are now having B次元官网网址渢o come to terms with these irreversible losses.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲e are part of this generation that are witnessing the destruction of the Earth,B次元官网网址� Gergis says in the film.

ItB次元官网网址檚 those darker moments that lend to the poeticism of one square on the periodic table, Thompson said. As the film shows, itB次元官网网址檚 a baby born of carbon, in a world where thereB次元官网网址檚 too much.

B次元官网网址淐arbon has enabled everything for our species and for life on Earth, and yet at the same time, this imbalance of carbon in the atmosphere threatens to undo it all.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a wonderful and horrible irony.B次元官网网址�

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