This week is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. I remember as a kid watching an earth day TV special entitled “1985”, it went into grave detail about issues such as air and water pollution. This was a relatively new word in the 1970’s, I remember reacting with fear about the future. But 1985 seemed so far away to my little 10 year old mind, I’d be the ripe old age of 25 when 1985 rolled around, hopefully our advanced technology would take care of all of this air and water “pollution” I was learning about!
Fast forward to today. I am now the ripe old age of 50. Technology didn’t fix very much. In some cases, it made things worse. Its not just air and water pollution we are facing, we’re living on a fundamentally different planet now. We’ve got to deal with depletion of natural resources such as water and fossil fuels, climate change, a broken food system. Its a wonder I can sleep at night!
Although things seem pretty bleak, I’m doing my best to remain idealistic and optimistic. Part of the reason I feel this way is that there are a number of interesting and informative movies out there that will help get the message across that we need to get to work on these issues, now.
DIRT! Is one of those movies. Your local PBS station is screening this movie sometime this week. Check your local listings.
The Oscar nominated film, Food Inc makes it’s TV premiere this week on PBS. If you haven’t seen it, this is another very necessary film. We have to seriously consider the impact of our food system on the environment.
Last but not least is the No Impact Man. This movie, which is part of a bigger “No Impact Project, is holding Earth Day screenings across the country in partnership with Slow Food USA and 1Sky. Bringing people together to watch, discuss and act is a powerful first step. Click here to find a No Impact event near you!
