What if in the future, says, 2149 A.D., you're living in a world where you have to wear mask every day because the air you breathe in is almost poisonous? And the city you live in is so crowded due to the overpopulation of the Earth, and there is not a single plant in sight? So how do you solve it? Replanting of the forests? Issuing an act which calls for extreme family control? Or just suffer till we die? What if you found a rift/tear in the space-time continuum that enables you to travel back in time, says 85 million years ago, so that you could save humanity once and for all?
Well that's what happened in Terra Nova, a new U.S. TV series debuting this fall, or in Malaysia, this monsoon season (I would love to live in New York for once). The series follows the Shannon family as they travel to the past, however, alternate timeline, to join the community of Terra Nova to rebuild the future of humanity. Yes, it's a much better world to live, although they have to share it with dinosaurs. And that raises a question in mind: why 85 million years ago, why not after 65 million years ago, when all the dinosaurs were extinct? That way, they won't have trouble defending the colony from dinosaurs, as what happened in the third episode. Not only that, they also have trouble defending the colony from their other enemy: their own, by the name of the Sixers (because they arrive at the Sixth Pilgrimage). However, since this series is still new (debut: September 26, 2011), I don't have a lot to tell about it, but the theme of the show does raise several important issues in mind.
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One of the theme of the show is environmental degradation, which is the reason why the family traveled back in time to save humanity. When I was a little kid, there used to be a durian tree in front of my late grandmother house (from my father side), and it was so big that the shade of the tree was enough to cool down the house. But now that the tree was cut down, it felt hotter ever since. And I didn't like it. And that's the reality of the world we lived in. Logging, deforestation, dwindling clean water supply, overpopulation (U.N. estimates that we could reach the 7 billion mark by October 31), global warming, etc. It seems as if we are creating our own Apocalypse, and no wonder 2012 will be the end of us. Just take a look around us and you'll know what I'm talking about, nature-wise.
Looks like it's too late to save the planet, but then again, who says? You can still do something about it, i.e. every time you go out, turn off the fan and the lamps, even when not in use. Some of my friends left the laptop open for days, which is damaging to the laptop as it is to the environment. I don't have a laptop (except a broken one), but still I know how to shut down one when not in use. Sometimes in campus I walked, but not because I don't have any transport, but because I wanted to reduce my carbon footprint, and walking is a form of exercise, so you'll get healthier, along with the benefit of enjoying the nature. Many opted to use motorcycle, even for a 1-mile ride (which is why many Malaysians are SO obese).
Each day I'm trying to be a good son to our Mother Earth, protecting her from all of our wrongdoings. But it just upsetting to see friends throwing garbage everywhere right in front of my eyes. And I told them to throw it at the right place, but they won't listen. So I guess we'll be damn. However, I believe there's still a ray of hope for us out there. My father plants a lot of grass, the tall one, specific for goat to graze at. And in place of the durian tree, my mother plants banana trees, and several other vegetation. Not quite the big tree I expected, but still, it's a start. And I'm thinking of planting one on my own, maybe another durian tree. So we could all eat durian under the cool shade of the big tree.
Chiaoowwwww...
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