DVD's You Must See

Here are the DVD's you must see. There is quite a variety here, from Children's animations to serious documentary, from Hollywood Disaster Spectacular to a subversive documentary on Corporations. Something for everyone. Obviously there are only a couple of works of fiction here. Generally Hollywood hasn't woken up to Peak Oil and Global Warming as themes for great works of fiction. Maybe it is all too real or all too scary. Is Hollywood for escapism alone?

The Turning Point - a return to community

The movie was made at the time of a conference at Findhorn hence their ability to attract so many great interviews. Heinberg & Hopkins just happened to be there. We learn about everything from edible landscapes to the appropriate breed choice of milk cow for the Scottish climate. You can even buy "cow-shares" with interest payable in cheese (8% apr). We learn that it is possible to achieve a transition. It is tempting to see Findhorn as a bunch of hippies living in some idyllic past. There are a few stereotypes walking around in the movie. For example we are not too sure about the "eco-clown" ("helps us explore difficult issues through the medium of laughter") and Joanna Macy waffles aimlessly about "rediscovering a sacred earth". The blurb on the back of the DVD talk breathlessly about this "multi-faith spiritual community, ecovillage and international centre for holistic education aspires to foster a new human consciousness". You what? It is sad that many people inside this transition still think that sort of talk is going to cut any ice or communicate to the rest of civilisation.

This to one side this movie stands head and shoulders above "In Transition" because it offers greater inspiration. The interviews with Heinberg and Hopkins are just classics. In "The Turning Point" we see the goal of our efforts. Whilst Transitioners elsewhere scratch around with art projects and stitching a few bags out of recycled materials, here at Findhorn the very basic essentials of life are supplied in a sustainable way. We hear both Heinberg and the local Findhorn baker talking about small scale local economics. Even the local cheese maker is conversant with the economics of our oil addiction. This movie is moving. Despite some of the hippy waffle this tugs more at the heart strings than "In Transition". This has a lot to do with the slick and professional editing and top-notch sound production and soundtrack. You can't help but be moved by this. Buy copies for all your friends... but prepare to get angry when they say "so what - the problem is all them immigrants". Some people simply won't get it. The hardwiring of the cheap oil system is difficult to untangle.

Many trapped in the fantasy of our current lives will reject this version of future living as being a romantic waste of time.
Essential viewing. Visionary and inspiring. Makes you want to get out there and start making it happen.

A Forest Garden Year

Below broadcast quality with poor sound and lacking illustrations.
This DVD is better than any of the books on the topic as you can really see a Forest Garden (in full colour) being worked.

The Age of Stupid

During 2008/2009 this film was shown in the British Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, the Scottish Parliament, the European Parliament, Dutch Parliament, the United Nations, the Swedish Parliament, the US President’s think-tank The Center for American Progress and Kofi Annan's Global Humanitarian Forum. We first saw it back on the 15th March 2009 when it premiered across Britain breaking a record for the largest simultaneous premiere. The event was lead by a solar-powered cinema tent in Leicester Square. This was followed by a global launch on the 21st/22nd September 2009 when more than a million viewers watched the film across 63 countries leading with the launch in New York.

There should seem to be no good reason why this movie should not have won a string of awards. However it was not quite to be. Despite some good write-ups from The Guardian, New Statesman, News of the World, The Telegraph, The Times, The Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times and more, the film got turned down by Sundance. Critical acclaim from the Indie-crowd seemed somehow lacking. Despite an early Grierson Award (their judges said “On every level, THE AGE OF STUPID is a powerful and unforgettable film ....[that]... the judges recommend everybody must see.”) there were slim pickings for AOS. Only the Birds Eye and Sunny Side awards followed - and who has heard of them? So, why the lack of enthusiasm? Despite occasional glimpses of utter brilliance the movie is overly long and Franny obviously struggled to edit it all down into a workable piece. The middle section is a little hum-drum whilst the end peaks too early. When you actually think about the major documentary sections they are all charming and insightful but strangely unrelated to each other. This is because the movie didn't quite start as a film about Climate Change... It started as a film about the Oil Industry called "Crude".

This explains the Jordanian and Nigerian sections. Other sections look at Indian economic development, UK Wind Farms and a French Mountain Guide witnessing glacier melt. Probably 10 minutes of footage should have been cut. It all ended up a bit confusing. The right dots are all there but they didn't quite join up successfully. There are disjointed sections of animation that, whilst clever, fail to add coherency. Pete Postlethwaite is a trooper and his central guide character simply isn't used enough. Like a horse designed by committee you have bundle of good ideas here but all have been thrown in such that they drown out the original central theme. In the end, these are small points. The biggest flaw remains the dumb title which made it very difficult to market the movie. This is a great movie. Everyone should see it. It is better than "An Inconvenient Truth" but only because it is different. It is a call-to-arms brimming over with polemic - not science. An emotional kick-in-the-pants. Recommended. If you can get hold of the two-disk DVD then you should. On the second disk you get extended interviews with Richard Heinberg and George Monbiot. Heinberg's "The Party's Over" was cited as an influence for the movie but not one word of his interview made it into the movie. Also check out the short film "Wake Up- Freak Out" which, despite the dumb title represents another good call-to-arms in response to the avoidance of climate tipping points.

Slightly flawed structurally (but I am clutching at straws here!) Slightly over-long. Very stupid title for a movie.
I get more emotional every time I see this. Damn near perfect. A call to arms if ever I saw it.

In Transition 1.0

We first saw this movie in its downloadable "Beta" form via a web-cast in June 2009. At first we were impressed with the professionalism of the project. The famous Transition Handbook artwork sprang to life in animated form and the documentary featured actors from the near-future looking back on their childhood in 2008. In this fashion it bears a small resemblance to "The Age of Stupid" (which Rob Hopkins does give a nod to in the publicity) but there the similarities stop. The talking heads only appear briefly in the 49 minute documentary as most of the story is picked up by actual footage of Transition Initiatives in action. We also get to enjoy a small section of animation concerning Peak Oil which is equally slick (pun unintended) but somewhat lacking impact. This could be the project's shortcoming - lots of good ideas and material but not all of it is best used. What is starkly lacking is an over-all narrative. A narrator should be introduced for the next movie and some of the good ideas should be measured out through the film to break it up a little more because some sections do drag.

The movie is interesting if you work in a Transition Initiative. However, show it to your spouse/children/neighbours and you will quickly find your "focus group" getting distracted. It isn't snappy enough to hold an audience unfamiliar with the issues. Practical examples of local food projects do feature heavily but they somehow get let down by spending a little too long interviewing the organisers. (Some of the participants to come over as wide-eyed naive idealists.) Projects on Education, Transport, Local Money and Local Government also feature. The original section on 'Energy' has been deleted in favour of a more "ethnic" section from Transition Tooting - which is great because the original "Energy" section was very poor (a quick chat with a lady with an energy monitor). However a future movie needs to crank up the Local Energy input and push it out into the field of microgeneration, alternative home heating and Solar-Power Clubs. Currently "1.0" has NO Local Energy projects and this a terrible vacuum.

Don't get us wrong - we do like "In Transition" but it is not everything yet that it could be. Although it is intended to be shown to the "Community" it seems a little inward looking. It is made by the converted for the converted. The material is mostly fine but stylistically it is unappealing. The music is awful and makes you cringe. The editors need to get this shown to members of the public and see what the "real-people" think. In our view it needs tightening up presentationally to supply the compelling case for Transition as well as the story behind how the Transition Network came into being. It needs more of a 'story' and maybe a bit more of a "happy ending" to portray the vision of a post-carbon society. The production standards need to be high enough to make this look like a BBC2 documentary rather than material reserved for the Community TV Cable Channel. So.... Good work but there is more left to do.

Let us hope that "In Transition 2.0" gets the message out in a form that the general public will find interesting and compelling. We would also implore the creators to work a bit more on the presentation of the DVD itself. It arrives without packaging, there are no downloadable JPG's from the film, no movie posters to copy, no model press release, no transcript, no backup documentation, no artworks, and no movie-synopsis. The Network needs to cover a few more of these basics if it wishes to break into the movie-marketting business. It's a tough world out there and we need all the help we can get. Maybe this is all in the pipeline but the only advice we have so far (Nov 09) is to show the movie, have some kind of a group exercise followed by a Q&A.... Yeah, great, but how do you get a cynical public through the door in the first place Rob....? The Network has not yet figured out how to sell this movie and this may be its second greatest weakness. It is of no use to anyone if nobody sees it.

Too home-spun and naive-looking to be compelling to the public. Some poor camera-work and lame soundtrack.
Excellent first try! This bodes well if they can broaden the appeal further and learn how to sell this movie.

The Powerdown Show

Created by "Cultivate Living and Learning Centre" in Ireland this DVD contains ten 20 minute "Powerdown Shows". Now if you wish to buy this you have to buy it off Rob Hopkins. Yes, Rob Hopkins of Transition Town fame. You have to go to his Transition Culture Blog and buy it from the web site. You pay via PayPal to Rob himself and the receipt has his E:Mail address. I can only imagine that the DVD was lovingly packed by Rob's own fair hand. I would have thought he was too busy. Indeed he has been a busy boy as he appears at length in what seems like every episode of the Powerdown Show. The ten episodes are "The Challenge Ahead", "The Power of Community", "It's all connected", "Rethinking Energy", "Getting around", "Deconstructing Dinner", "Shelter", "Energy Descent Pathways" (the Transition episode), "Global Citizen" and "Where do we go from here?". It is of no surprise that Rob has very much adopted these Irish documentaries - it is all about community transition to a post-carbon world. It runs like 200 minutes of Transition Culture propaganda - but good propaganda. As a documentary it is not very questioning or challenging of Peak Oil and Climate Change. Its mind is made up. On to action!

Each episode opens to some very funky animated graphics and a thumping sound-track. Each has lengthy intro with a lush female voice talking about the challenges ahead for communities facing Peak Oil and Climate Change. She tells us that oil supplies are already dwindling. Of course this is rubbish but the dogma passes quickly and each film manages to stay out of the crystal-rubbing hippy zone. Each episode's intro is initially slick and likeable. However, watch ten episodes back-to-back and it starts to look a bit repetitive, samey and damn-right annoying. The main body of each documentary itself is fine. A couple of episodes have aesthetic editing problems where certain topic-sections massively overrun to the point of tedium. This could easily lose an audience. To make up for it they do get to interview a who's-who of talking heads such as George Monbiot and Richard Douthwaite. Most of these fine gentlemen (and ladies) seem to be perched in front of a bookshelf showing all their favourite books. You can spot the ones you too may have read. Such fun.

You can giggle at the Kinsale Permaculture Teacher sitting in front of a bookshelf where Noam Chomsky rubs shoulders with Richard Dawkins and Douglas Adams. George Monbiot seems to have been interviewed in the pub. Some of the camerawork on location is poor with even some occasional static interviews being out of focus. However these errors are not too distracting. The great authority of many of the figures speaking lifts this out of the hum-drum. It is very watchable. Well, until the ending credits when there is a remarkably unfunny 2 minute "skit" which is so badly written and amateurish as to be totally unwatchable. I suggest that anyone wishing to show this to members of the public hit the Menu Button on the Remote Control before that section starts - lest it leads to excruciating embarrassment. You do wish somebody had took the Producers to one side and told them to cut it out. It detracts from an otherwise extremely useful piece of work. 20 minutes is very short but you can always group several together to make up a film show of almost any length you desire. It is probably best to show this as an opener to another movie. Useful. Recommended.

Bad camera-work. Avoids really dealing with Climate Change and Peak Oil. Some sections tedious.
A great many highly authoritative figures get to be heard. Slick animated graphics. Mostly highly watchable.

How Cuba Survived Peak Oil

A 53 minute Documentary from the "Community Solutions" Organisation operating out of Ohio, USA. It is incredibly unusual to find a Documentary about Peak Oil. Indeed it is quite rare to find a Documentary that is sympathetic to Cuba. Here we have both. Often we see Cuba as a basket case. A dinosaur Communist Country in a World where Capitalism won. If this is your view then maybe this film will just change your mind. Whilst Cuba has suffered from an illegal and unjust economic blockade by the USA since the 1960's (not including the illegal military intervention and terrorist attacks) their world collapsed with the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1989. Suddenly their Oil Imports dropped by 90%. Due to their enforced economic isolation Cuba then became a model of what will happen when Peak Oil hits everyone else. Falling outside the neo-liberal models of the West they didn't cut the schools, universities and health-care programs. Cuba today has a higher-life expectancy than America does. It has higher literacy rates too. So how did they manage without Oil?

Well, they called in Permaculture experts from Australia. They made a million bicycles. They broke up the Universities and Healthcare services and based them in the communities. They introduced food rationing. They expanded public transport with ingenious measures. Oxen reappeared on the land. In short, their leadership responded to the crisis in a fashion right out of the Post-Carbon Living Ten Step Plan: - they organised, they powered-down, they recycled and substituted, they used the Community and stayed, invested and generated, they made do and grew their own food. It was a text-book example. People returned to the land and farming became a prized skill. They learnt to grow all their food organically - no pesticides, no fertilizers. 

This is a message of hope for all of us. We can cope with Peak Oil. Watch the faces in this movie - they are not the middle-class, muesli eating, Guardian readers, worrying about Climate Change. Global Warming is NEVER mentioned once in this entire documentary. These are people who's Communities responded to change with grass-roots activity. The people didn't wait for the Government to solve their problems. They voted with their feet. If you know anything about Cuba, its people or style of democracy you will know this is typical. At no point do any Government officials appear in the movie. It isn't clear how much guidance they supplied or whether any censorship was applied. However, it appears genuine. Cuba is a test-tube experiment and we must all learn from it. What is more - Cuba deserves our sympathy and help. To learn more about Cuba and Peak Oil go to www.communitysolution.org/cuba. You can buy your copy of this movie from www.green-shopping.co.uk.

The only down-point was the disappointing Pat Murphy book "Plan C" and Cuba's subsequent story.
Why on earth aren't there more films like this? Absolutely brilliant. Still the essential study that everyone must see.

A Crude Awakening

This hit the cinema screens at a few selected places in the UK in November 2007 and was hyped considerably. Unfortunately it was unable to top the "Crude Impact" work released around the same time. Coming out maybe a little later the Indy movie crowd had warmed up to Peak Oil as a documentary theme which probably guaranteed greater exposure for this lesser work. It obviously lacks much of the globe-trotting human element of its elder and wiser sibling. Produced and Directed by Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack this movie takes you to Baku, Azerbaijan to look at the origins of the Oil Industry with some great vintage footage. The movie is set to a specially written score by Phillip Glass but it is not particularly inspiring and it doesn't set this movie aside. You will get the usual assortment of talking heads - everyone from Colin Campbell to Matt Simmons. The usual suspects. However, there is probably just a little too much opinion and not enough graphics to make this generally palatable to a wider audience. Indeed, most of the extra material on the DVD just consists of extended interviews with these people. The general population is simply not going to sit through this.

The subject matter is handled in a straightforward and non-sensational manner. There is plenty of illustrative stock-footage to amuse the eye. Most of the movie is spent ruminating over Oil and War. We learn that one of the talking heads believes that the Bush administration sees "democratisation of the Middle East" as a way of liberating their Oil Supplies.... But then there is plenty of attention given to the shady relationship between Washington and the Saudi Royal Family. The documentary does make pains to tell the audience that American support for corrupt and un-democratic regimes in the Middle-East is the reason for their mass unpopularity in those parts of the world. That is putting in mildly. Some of the talking heads rather gleefully tell us that Oil comes from the places that are full of "terrorists". This is putting effect before cause. These subtle contradictions in the opinions, between the experts, will only serve to confuse the audience.

This work should have been edited together in a more cohesive fashion to deliver a clear message. All-in-all this is just TOO tame to awaken Joe Public. Otherwise it is a pick'n'mix of vaguely related ideas designed to confuse the issue. It all ends in a whimper when we fade with the picture of some crofter digging her garden and herding her goats as the Wind Turbine turns in the background. When asked to consider life after the oil crash we cut to a short and pointless section on the Amish running around in horse-drawn buggies. This goes largely without comment and we assume the audience is meant to draw their own conclusions? This is really expecting too much. Then we cut to a talking head who tells us that we can't return to an agrarian existence because it would be against "evolution". On what evidence does he base this? I am sure the Romans thought the same way 2000 years ago. We are treated to a vague ramble through the hydrogen economy although no one properly points out the technological challenges that, as yet, remain unsolved. Likewise, bio-mass fuels are not given a proper review and we are left guessing whether they are good, bad or indifferent.  Too subtle by half. This movie has no end and no conclusion. A run-of-the-mill documentary. Obtain your copy from www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net or www.dogwoof.com. To learn more go to www.oilcrashmovie.com.

Nowhere near as good as it should have been. Will fail to connect with the pubic. Incohesive.
Heh - it's a Peak Oil documentary! How many of those are there?

The End of Suburbia

Since World War II Suburbia has become the American Dream which is why Peak Oil strikes at the very heart of that way of life. In terms of the word 'dream' this is quite an alien concept outside of the US as few countries have had the luxury (or short-sightedness maybe) to follow this model. It is a product of seemingly endless cheap energy and boundless post war optimism. The automobile replaced the community - roads replaced pavements. Ironically, whereas Europe was destroyed by bombs the post war American Urban landscape was demolished by the wrecking ball in what Kunstler calls the 'greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world'. Europe and Japan neither had the space nor the energy for this experiment. This 78 minute 2004 documentary is accompanied on the DVD by two whimsical 1950's educational films - interesting but hardly essential - and an audio commentary. The Director, Gregory Greene, started the project thinking he would make a documentary about 9/11. However, the more he studied the 'war on terror' the more he realised it was about Peak Oil.

Outside of the US it is hard to image why Americans are willing to close their eyes to the evil done in their name. Why is the American way of life non-negotiable yet everyone else's is? It is the myth of suburban life that is under the skin of the America. It is a living breathing cult. No one in the documentary is scared to say this. There is one architect who is trying to promote "The New Urbanism" in places like Denver and the documentary does steer clear of the darker side of Peak Oil theory. Food production is mentioned at length but the Directory describes this work as "peak Oil-lite" but at the same time said that this film scared his wife. If Peak Oil-lite is this frightening God help us all. The expert talking heads appearing in the movie is a who's who of Peak Oil guru's. Anyone who is anyone gets extended interview slots: Richard Heinberg, Julian Darley, Michael Klare, Colin Campbell, Michael Ruppert and James Howard Kunstler.

In fact the film-makers were criticised because all the participants were men. This movie is a far better introduction to the topic than Greene's later work but it is still too long. Some points are too laboured and it could have been edited down to a more punchier 60 minutes. However, it is all good and probably one of the best documentaries we have seen so far that should be shown to a general audience on the basis that it could hold their attention. All the main themes are there. All the characters are in place. It is still NOT Peak Oil's "An Inconvenient Truth" but it is half way there. It doesn't overly shock nor numb and audience. Buy this and show it to everyone you know. And hundreds you do not. The makers are so convinced of the cause that they grant open license. You can show this movie to whoever you want. They originally talked to major Distributors to finance the work but no one wanted to make the documentary in the form proposed. It was seen as too depressing. So the makers decided to make it independently. The world is a better place for this. Get your copy from www.powerswitch.org.uk/order.htm

Overly long but that is about it.
Absolutely perfect and essential. Tells it how it is. Has an open license so show it to everyone you know.

Money as Debt

'Money as Debt' would not seem to be a title of immediate relevance to Peak Oil or Climate Change. We were put onto this by the people behind the UK Transition Towns Project so we were intrigued as to its relevance. It is a 47 minute animated documentary - which, at first, sounds dreadful. However, give it a minute. It is relevant to the flawed paradigm of infinite growth. It shows, through simple illustration, how our money supply has been conjured out of thin air and is only serviced by Debt. If there is no debt then there is no money and our Financial Institutions would collapse. The entire monetary system only perpetuates itself because a small number of Loans actually foreclose to inject real world capital into the system. This all seems counter-intuitive as we personally experience an increase in our fortunes when we pay off our loans as it gives us more money. However, for Central Banks and the Governments who entrust our Economic welfare to these centralised systems, the system only works if we keep borrowing money. This means that the economy cannot be static. It keeps having to grow to service the debt and make the money that makes the world go around. This pushes the paradigm of endless growth.

Endless growth pushes the requirement to continually extract more and more mineral resource from the Planet, ie, Oil. Oil is specifically illustrated if only briefly, with a Peak Oil graph. Hence the entire house of cards comes tumbling down. We cannot grow infinitely on a Finite Planet hence the monetary system cannot continue to exist in its current form. At this point several alternative systems of money are discussed. We were previously aware of the fiscal weakness of the system as it has been illustrated in a couple of works on Peak Oil already. Continual expansion of energy supplies continues to pump up the Economy and Population. This is unsustainable therefore it has to come to an end one day. It all brings Money together with Peak Oil and Climate Change into some "unified theory" of everything. The reason we have struggled to tackle the problem is that we had no idea what the problem even was. Long ago we simply made a mistake in the way we engineered our economic system. We did it to allow the system to grow and, for most of the time, it was harmless. However few foresaw that it would end up driving exponential growth and that, when it hit the buffers, we wouldn't be able to stop it. It is like Frankenstein's monster who, having served us loyally for hundreds of years, is now running amok as a serial killer. However the townsfolk remain blissfully unaware because nobody understands that their loyal servant is a monster so no one imagines anything could be wrong.

If this all sounds like some kind of Marxist conspiracy theory then stop right there. The producers of this DVD sprinkle in liberally with quotes that back them to the hilt. The quotes are from some of the World's leading Bankers and US Presidents - all of whom openly admitted that the system could not be sustained and would be - someday - in need of reform. To learn more go to www.moneyasdebt.net. This DVD is only available from its artist & videographer in Canada - specifically Paul Grignon at the above web site. The animation is not for kids. You may not like it. It isn't for all tastes but it delivers the message very well and is sometimes amusing.  **In 2009 Paul Grignon released a revised version of this movie which he packaged in a double-DVD set the new "Money as Debt II - Promises Unleashed". The revised version is still 47 minutes long but several short sections have been changed with new commentary. The changes are not easy to spot but probably relate to weaknesses in the arguments used in the original production. Therefore Paul has tighten-up the ideas he presented and made the arguments more water tight. All flaws removed. A recommended addition if you purchase it with MADII.**

Way too complicated and sounds like an anti-capitalist conspiracy theory.
Astonishingly eye-opening. An obscure topic of mind-blowing consequence to Peak Oil & Climate Change.

Money as Debt II

The new movie is more sophisticated in its examination of the system and goes a long way to answer any criticisms that may have been raised by MADI. Although beautifully constructed in the same style as MADI the new movie is overly-long. Whereas MADI does manage to lose the audience about half-way through MADII succeeds in losing the audience on several occasions. This will be a problem for a public showing. It has lost some of its 'snappiness' and some of its impact. This is a shame as this movie is essential viewing. After "The End of Suburbia" this may even be one of the most important movies you will ever watch. It is utterly profound and does its damnest to explain the most complicated of topics to ordinary members of the public. Frankly most members of the public will view this as a very dull school-education video and simply won't "get" it. This probably matters less if you can get someone to watch MADI.

However MADII completes the big picture. You will understand nothing if you only understand Climate Change. You will understand something if you understand Climate Change and Peak Oil. However you only get the whole picture of you can understand the burning need for Monetary Reform and Decarbonisation. They are, if you pardon the pun, flip sides of the same coin. The exhaustion of resources for waste or energy is all a result of an economic system that CANNOT SLOW DOWN OR IT WILL COLLAPSE. That is what Bank Bailouts are all about. We will destroy everything we hold dear just to perpetuate something that cannot be perpetuated other than by an infinite amount of debt that will NEVER be repaid. Not until we drain the last Oil well and filled the sky with Green House Gasses will we realise that collapse is the only option. We must come off the Debt system in order come off the Carbon energy system. Do this and you stabilise the population and economy to a zero growth of deflating system. The system has to deflate to fit inside the straitjacket of this planet's finite resources. No choice, no get out of jail card. The DVD release come packaged with a revised edition of MADI. Recommended.

Overly long and bordering on the unwatchable. Very dull and confusing.
Certainly one of a kind and represents the "advanced level" course for those wanted to know more.

You can buy this Movie over at the High Wycombe Transition Town web site www.transition-wycombe.org.uk and here:

The Great Warming

Much like Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" this documentary relies upon Celebrity for its appeal and makes no mention of Peak Oil whatsoever. Keanu Reeves and Alanis Morrisette provide the commentary voice-overs. It is clear that it is not quite their forte but they make an adequate job of it. It does make a very good job of showing how bad Global Climate change could get and it also paints a stronger moral and ethical overtone than you will have previously seen. This overtone comes from the strong involvement of several North American Church Organisations (primarily Evangelical) in the production. Their involvement is hardly mentioned for the first half hour before it slips in under the radar and starts to dominate the whole show. The involvement of American Evangelicals sounds very scary on the face of things but any secular viewer would be enjoy this movie. The only irritation in the church's involvement is that they can't quite put their finger on why Global Warming is a very bad thing. They wax lyrical about what Gods tells them in scripture and rarely voyage back to the real world where real people are really suffering.

They talk about God's creation in entirely abstract terms without recognising that this creation is full of Human Souls who will suffer a dreadful torment for lack of food and water - whatever god they worship. This torment will be made worse because mankind will not fairly share its resources in a compassionate fashion. The chief prosecutor of this crime was the then US regime (George Bush Jnr 2001 to 2009) who now held the reins of power through the votes of the Bible-Belt. There is no irony. No apology. No concept of Global Justice or acceptance that a crime has been committed. What are we to make of this? They are Republicans through and through. They do recognise this and it is this very point that makes this significant. When the Bible Belt believes in Global Warming George W Bush is in trouble. Of course the American Churches are not monolithic and its does have its fair share of good people, but even these reflect shades of opinion that suggest that the Apocalypse is coming therefore they need do nothing about the suffering of mankind. They also freely confess their enormous distrust of environmentalists because a "tree hugger" loves trees more than God.

We appreciate that they have finally come to the right conclusion but their underlying 'logic' seems at odds with enlightened rational thought. The rest of the movie remains a good walkthrough of the facts about global warming. There is little science not covered in "An Inconvenient Truth" however we get lots of new examples and a great section on New Orleans filmed before the Hurricane struck. Not as good as Gore but watchable. The end concludes with some quite fantastic inventions such as a machine to suck Carbon Dioxide out of the atmosphere. They claim it is better to build these than Wind Turbines. No it is not. Not if you want electricity. Wake up. There is way too much faith in technology here. Powerdown an option anyone? The DVD comes packed with entire extra hour of featurettes that, together, make an entirely new documentary all by themselves. They were not short of material! To find out more and order your copy go to www.thegreatwarming.com.

Unexciting, run-of-the-mill, uninspiring and utterly forgettable. Far the much "faith" & faith in technology.
Covers all the bases and certainly worth showing widely. Gives the North American Church view-point.

The Oil Factor

However, to an American audience this is probably subversive stuff. There is a surprising combination of characters interviewed including Zbigniew Brzezinski, Noam Chomsky and Gary Schmitt. Sadly Noam's contribution is too short whilst we get to hear quite too much of the new world order fantasy of the Director for the "Project for the New American Century (Schmitt). "Taliban" author Ahmed Rashid appears as does someone called Karen Kwiatkwoski who used to work at the Pentagon. If you want to make sense of the endless wars being waged across this planet then watch this. If you despair of the mounting body bags flying home at midnight and it makes you angry then show this movie to your friends. Recommended but it isn't that punchy or exciting. You can order yourself a copy at www.freewillprod.com/Order.htm and read more about the movie at www.theoilfactor.com.

Overly long and has the wrong mix of interviewees.
Covers the political factors behind Oil Wars. Professional and informative.

Wind Power in the UK

How serious is climate change? Why do we need wind farms? How economic are wind farms? Are wind farms a risk to birds? Are wind farms noisy? Presented by Country-issue TV Presenter Kate Humber this DVD Documentary runs for about an hour and was created with the help of various organisations including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and World Wide Fund for Nature. It includes interviews with various members of these organisations and other experts (including Sir Jonathan Porritt CBE) to answer the questions everyone asks about Wind Turbines. The picture is positive. Wind Turbines are quiet and people more often fall in love with them rather than learn to loath them. You may obtain your copy from www.windpower-dvd.org which is administered by the British Wind Energy Association.

Sadly, at the point of writing, you cannot order or pay for this on-line. Instead you have to download the order from, print it, fill it in and then fax it back to the BWEA (if you have access to a fax machine). Surely they can do better than this? The production is quite slick and workmanlike. There are no special effects or fancy graphics but it is easily watchable and will be well understood by most people. It is pitched at the vast majority of the population so if you are really keen on wind turbines, in your environment, then there is not much here that you will not already know. However we recommend that every Pro-Wind Campaign group get hold of a copy and show it to their neighbours. An invaluable tool in promoting wind energy for all our futures.

Brief & thrills-free.
Workmanlike, slick and presses all the right buttons. An invaluable tool.

Ice Age II - The Meltdown

Yes, it's a kid's movie! Or is it? Sure it is the modern brand of Computer Animation like "Toy Story", "Monster Inc" or "Robots", which makes it top-notch family entertainment. However, and almost bizarrely, this is just a little subversive. If you want your small children to become used to concepts of Global Warming or species extinction then this is something you should make sure is in your child's collection. Our Milla will watch the opening sequence with Scrat transfixed to the spot. Adults will enjoy its quirky tale. Fans of the first movie will remember how it ended - with a Sid throwaway line about how he was tired of the Ice Age and how he looked forward to Global Warming. That one throwaway joke has turned itself into an entire sequel. Sure there are no cute babies in this one and some may not think this as good as the first movie. However, like all good sequels it is very different and should be treated in its own right. The oddest moment of the movie is when the mini-sloths kidnap Sid, worship him as their Fire King and then throw him into a volcano (don't worry kids - he survives!). Their leader makes a brief and intelligent speech about the reasons why Global Warming was happening. Sid replies that he thinks that TOGETHER they can work out a solution. The mini-sloth leader replies: "We have one - sacrifice the Fire King." With that they push him into the lava... I think there is a subliminal message their somewhere about our own inappropriate actions when faced with disaster. Maybe we should all do what our Fire King says as well.....

It is a kids movie.
It is a kids movie. Hussah! Talk to your kids about extinction afterwards.