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[nmurphy69]

The Rules of Engagement

Bidder 70 is a film about a man who did not sit idly by as encroaching natural resource exploitation threatened to destroy some of America's most pristine lands.

Tim DeChristopher entered an auction and outbid all other competitors for parcels of land that were to be leased by the BLM for natural gas and oil rights. With no intention of paying for the parcels he won, Tim committed a felony in order to disrupt the auction thus safeguarding the land. While this was a noble cause and I wholly agree with his motives, the outcry from environmentalists that erupted when Tim was sentenced to prison for his crime was unreasonable. Civil disobedience is immature and childish; a thing members of modern society should abandon once they're past the terrible twos as a toddler. Resources are wasted by law enforcement who have to wrangle hippies of the streets when an effective movement could be executed through reasonable public displays, advertising, and organization.

DeChristopher was in a healthy state of mind and in full control of his actions when he decided to break the law, and as such, should not be surprised to have to pay for his crime. If an ordinary citizen were to rob a bank, it would surprise no one when they were sentenced to prison.

The law is the law, whether environmentalists agree with what the law should be or not, we as society are expected to follow these established laws. The call to action of this film was to emphasize the importance to stand up for environmental justice, however I feel it was poorly delivered as there are better ways of being an effective activist when you're not sentencing yourself to prison.

[nmurphy69]

Farmers to Phantoms

In our modern world it is easy to forget where food comes from....

In the film Eating Alabama, film maker Andrew Beck Grace, scours his home state of Alabama in search of locally grown food. Andrew tasks himself to eat food grown only in Alabama for the entirety of a year, inspired by stories of his grandfather's farm. Immediately upon beginning his challenge, Andrew quickly realizes how much has changed since the days of his grandfather's stories. The romantic descriptions of small, rolling farms featuring a myriad of crops were challenged by the modern view of few large industrialized farms scattered across the state. Obtaining locally grown food in a part of the country with a rich history of agriculture proved to be much more difficult than Andrew imagined. 

With the help of friends and growing roots into the community, Andrew and his wife, also sharing his goal of eating locally, establish themselves as enthusiastic and charismatic entrepreneurs of an old idea- subsistence living. Growing their own crops, eating their own food would be the best way to exist eating locally grown food and cut down on the amount of travel required across the state to obtain a balanced meal. All was going well, but the question remained, what happened to all the farms? 

Andrew describes the mechanization and modernization movement that allowed farmers' sons, like his grandfather, new opportunities. Suburban life drew large amounts of young people from the farms into new homes, starting new families, and fueling a new economy. Though Alabama may not be speckled with gardens and blanketed in farms anymore, those farmers are mere phantoms of the past, Andrew shows that it is possible to persist on a locally cultivated diet.

From my own experiences I'm not at all surprised to find this is possible in a changing world. Spending time in other parts of the world one can quickly see subsistence living is not as sparse as it appears. That being said, in our culture where luxury provides a kind base of convenience for growing our own gardens, subsistence living is overly romanticized.

In the Philippines, for example, I've met may people who grow their own vegetables, catch their own fish, and butcher their own livestock. Yet these people do so out of necessity. Yes life is simpler, all day is spent putting food on the table, but what about the next generation? Living day to day does not offer the opportunity for many of their children to advance far in school, or hone skills to explore an alternative career. There is no guarantee of a successful day fishing as fish populations continually decline from the stress of so many nets. Natural disasters can ruin a season's crop leaving families hungry. These types of farmers will become a different kind of phantom of the past. One day at a time, they feed themselves and move forward, but one day at a time, the rest of society leaps two steps ahead. 

Link for more info about the film: http://www.eatingalabama.com/

[nmurphy69]

A Need for a Wave of Change?

Thursday, March 6th at the Unity College Center for the Performing Arts the film Shored Up was screened to expose the conflict throughout coastal communities that are faced by rising sea levels and increased strong weather events. 

Starting off there are scenes of a New Jersey neighborhood in ruins after Superstorm Sandy devastated the east coast of the United States. Following the story through the rubble, the film immediately introduces a struggle close to home, as the former denizens of the neighborhood return after the storm to find everything they owned washed away. 

The film transitions from the apocalyptic reality of post Sandy life for low income coastal communities to the glamour of upper class residencies on barrier islands off the coast of New Jersey. These neighborhoods attract hordes of tourists during the summer months, and thus have the support of the local and state government to promote beach reconstruction to prevent erosion from claiming multimillion dollar homes. The main idea behind the political processes driving these million dollar beach nurturing projects is that these areas create millions each year in revenue from tourists, therefore, they can spend millions on maintaining their dwindling shores. The inherent problem with the issue is that resource dispersal is biased towards wealthy communities who could, evidently, pay for their own beaches, whereas the lower class communities are fronting the bill and seeing none of the benefit. When consulted, experts unanimously agreed beach restoration was a wasteful uphill battle we have no chance of winning.

The film's attention shifts to North Carolina. North Carolina is a prime example of what not to do if you wish for a prosperous long term coastal community to thrive in a changing world. Politicians have the audacity to consult scientists, seeking answers to maintain their billion dollar barrier islands, then make it illegal for the answers they got to be correct. Well done North Carolina, well done indeed. It is truly unfortunate that the only time the eyes of society open to issues such as rising sea levels and their impacts on coastal communities comes after devastating events such as Katrina or Sandy.

The film takes an issue many viewers were already aware of and puts it in the dire context viewers need to see in order for the changes that are needed to occur. People need to see how irresponsible their elected officials are in regards to climate change and preventing or at least mitigating the effects of an eroding coastline.

[nmurphy69]

The Half-Life of a Small Town

Uranium Drive-In, a documentary film, captures the struggle of a tight-knit community in Colorado faced with the dilemma of economic growth or safeguarding the environment and it's people.

The story introduces a small town in Colorado struggling to keep its denizens from succumbing to economic despair by revitalizing its historic uranium production. The town is divided, with some calling for a return of the industry, others loathing the days when loved ones and personal sacrifices were lost to the production of a radioactive and fearing the return of the evidently toxic mills. The residents of the economically deprived town are eager for the opportunity of employment but are opposed by members of an environmental group from a near-by and economically privileged town.

Following the personal stories of the townspeople, Uranium Drive-In presents both sides of the argument and the raving effects good intention from both ends of the spectrum can have on a desperate community. It is the personal connection with the subjects of the documentary that really bring the viewer into perspective and shows how this isn't just an issue of industry versus environment, but a much more complex web of social, economic, and environmental  struggle.

A well presented film distinguishing more than the issue of right versus wrong, Uranium Drive-In is worth a watch to anyone concerned about the nuclear power industry, mining industry, or the social impacts a failing economy can have on small communities around the world. 

Trailer: http://player.vimeo.com/video/39856450