As our energy consumption grows, scientists, industry, and the
government are making hard choices about how to feed it. Charles
Wilkinson's doc is a long, hard look at our technological affluence and
its price. We hear from climate change experts, energy policy scholars
and business professionals, none of whom seems happy about the means we
must employ to sustain our way of living. The film opens with a
hauntingly beautiful montage of the city at night: darkness mixes with
florescent light from stores, street lamps and office buildings as the
filmmaker ponders the daunting necessity of turning most of them off.
Can
we do it.
According to this wide-ranging film, we'll have to, one way
or another. Hydroelectricity, fossil fuels, nuclear power--they all come
with a cost that's too high to pay, for the earth and for us. One of
the best ideas floated in the film is that of making hydro energy
companies actually pay for the water they use, in the hope of motivating
efficiency. But if the profit motive is our last best hope, we're in
deep trouble indeed. This is a generously inquisitive film, made with an
open mind and a fierce sense of commitment. It's these two qualities
that combine to make its conclusion so powerfully convincing.
As our energy consumption grows, scientists, industry, and the
government are making hard choices about how to feed it. Charles
Wilkinson's doc is a long, hard look at our technological affluence and
its price. We hear from climate change experts, energy policy scholars
and business professionals, none of whom seems happy about the means we
must employ to sustain our way of living. The film opens with a
hauntingly beautiful montage of the city at night: darkness mixes with
florescent light from stores, street lamps and office buildings as the
filmmaker ponders the daunting necessity of turning most of them off.
