Documentary reveals the false hope of so-called ‘green tech’
The energy produced from solar panels and a lot of other bright green tech doesn’t achieve the goal of replacing fossil fuels
BRIGHT GREEN ENVIRONMENTALISM IS AN IDEOLOGY THAT CENTERS TECH AS OUR ONLY HOPE FOR DEFEATING CLIMATE CHANGE. ‘BRIGHT GREEN LIES’ LOOKS AT HOW THE MOVEMENT TO SAVE OUR PLANET FROM CLIMATE CHANGE HAS BEEN HIJACKED BY CORPORATIONS WHO CARE MORE ABOUT PROFITS THAN REDUCING THEIR CARBON FOOTPRINT
“Forests precede us, and deserts dog our heels,” says environmental activist Derrick Jensen in a memorable scene from ‘Bright Green Lies’, a new documentary that challenges the received wisdom of the contemporary environmental movement.
His observation is underscored throughout the film, which documents the scars on the earth left in the wake of efforts to produce socalled renewables. We see images of massive mining operations for materials that make solar panels destroy landscapes and habitats. In another scene, clearcutting for biofuel leaves acres of exposed forest floor, with only a few giant trees left standing.
The film debunks the misinformation that has led the environmental movement astray in recent years, culminating in bright green environmentalism—an ideology that centers tech as our greatest hope for defeating climate change.
Written and directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Julia Barnes, ‘Bright Green Lies’, based on a newly released book of the same name, is a harrowing look at the consequences of life in industrialized countries. It chronicles the shift in the environmental movement from focusing on the planet to sustaining the status-quo through supposedly greener means. Its main message is clear: no amount of solar panels or electric cars can do enough to save the earth from climate change. In fact, many of the products touted as green solutions are part of the problem.
“So-called renewable energy both emerges from and supports the industrial system that is destroying life on the planet,” Barnes says.
The documentary unpacks the environmental movement’s misplaced trust in technology, examining how green tech is actually built. Viewers are transported to a mining site in China where rare earths for solar panels are pulled from the ground. It’s a brutal process, leaving large stretches of land completely barren, and creating a 19-square-mile lake of toxic waste.
Despite the destructive effect of solar panel manufacturing, the film reveals that many bright green environmentalists still campaign for broader adoption of the technology and subsidies for the industries that create them. Contrary to popular belief, this technology isn’t being used to reduce carbon emissions by offsetting the use of fossil fuels.
“The energy produced from solar panels and a lot of other bright green tech doesn’t achieve the goal of replacing fossil fuels,” Barnes says. “The energy that’s being produced tends to stack on top of what’s already being used.” The dilemma is known as the Jevon’s paradox, where the rate of energy consumption increases with each new energy solution invented.
Where “bright green” describes a misled sect of environmentalists, “deep green” describes those willing to make radical change in the name of the planet. Barnes drew inspiration for her documentary from fellow deep greens Derrick Jensen, Lierre Keith and Max Wilbert— the trio of activists and writers behind the book ‘Bright Green Lies: How the Environmental Movement Lost Its Way’.
“The bright green environmental movement is focused on tech solutions and a relentless faith in progress,” says Wilbert, who compares the ideology to a religion.
“It places its faith in things that have no real evidence of actually working. There needs to be more of a focus on reigning in consumption and making structural changes to the way we live.”
The documentary invites viewers to examine the difference between wants and needs. It concludes that Western society has grown too accustomed to what could be considered luxury.
“The reality is, the person who wants to buy a brand new electric car isn’t thinking about what’s been destroyed for them to have that car,” says Wilbert.
One symptom of this relentless faith in tech is that people are often pressured— or misled—into believing that consumption can somehow be green. In one scene, Barnes visits an expo dubbed as eco-friendly. She asks a salesperson promoting electric cars if he’s aware of how much pollution it takes to make one. His puzzled reaction makes it clear it’s a question he’s never considered.
The film is cautious not to give viewers a neat and tidy ending, illustrating that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the monumental challenge of reversing environmental destruction.
Barnes says she hopes the film will help pull environmentalists away from the idea that tech is the saviour and focus their energy on drawing attention to the major issues that plague renewables and other purportedly green industries.
“We have this big and impassioned environmental movement, but no matter how large it is, if it’s pushing for the wrong solutions, it’s not going to work. With life on earth at stake, we don’t have time to waste on false solutions.”