Anyone who has been paying attention, knows there is a climate catastrophe underway. Ice on Fire takes viewers into the field and into the labs to show us how we indisputably know this. The science is solid -- it should be noted that ExxonMobil, Chevron, and other corporations (most notably insurance companies) have released statements that climate change is a real threat to infrastructure and national security, but this film takes it a step further and takes us to sites where governments and corporations are working to solve the problem of removing carbon from the environment. This is refreshing. Not only are solutions being found and are working, we get a glimpse on how a future economy will work and like all economies, the ones who invest in the future will be its beneficiaries, while those who ignore the problem and refuse to invest in the new technology will be left behind. Ice on Fire resists cynicism and works against dread even as scientists punch holes in the ice of an Alaskan lake and light the escaping methane from the thawing permafrost on fire. The film also doesn't give any airtime to the trite spiels of climate deniers, conspiracy theorists, or any of the naysayers who can only speak in logical fallacies. It didn't need to. We have been run ragged by them and know they aren't about finding solutions to the crisis, but exacerbating it. These people would have detracted from the film's purpose and lent credibility to those who don't deserve any. Ice on Fire is beautifully shot and edited. It hits the right balance between interview, narration, facts and tables without being boring. But its engaging artistry is all directed to show us if enough people contribute their voices to support these efforts already underway and support the research to discover as yet undiscovered solutions, we and many other living things will continue to exist on this planet, and the powerful play that is the human story will go on.
