Human Footprint

visually impressive, lacking in substantial content
I teach high school science and 100 level science classes at the local university. I showed the dvd for both groups with a worksheet I made up for them (anyone in education knows that you must give the students something to work on relating to the movie they're watching, or else they won't pay attention). It was visually impressive to see the amounts of "stuff" we go through in a lifetime, and it's a good movie because students have no idea what these amounts really are; they cannot fathom how immense 43,000 soda cans is. However that's really all there was to this dvd-they show a product (or activity), explain (briefly)how it is constructed, or shipped, and then they actually display the amount with the number (literaly they laid out 43,000+ soda cans in a parking lot). There was no explanation of the impact or problems associated with the levels of consumption or waste. And after 30-40 minutes (the dvd is 1.5hrs) it gets well, kind of boring. So good for providing the visual...

Amazing Video
The "Human Footprint" was first aired on the National Geographic Channel earlier this year. It is a graphic portrayal of the quantities of stuff that an average American consumes over the course of a lifetime.

The criticism of our lifestyle is implicit. No one says what all this is doing to the planet, but it quickly becomes obvious that enormous quantities of stuff must be manufactured, consumed, and discarded in order to support the high standard of living that we enjoy. You only have to look at the herd of pigs, tons of potatoes, or football field expanse of bread to be amazed at what we consume.

The story is told with a sense of humor. The kitchen filling with fruit is funny. However, the question that comes to mind is whether we will always have the resources to keep this up. The inventory shown by National Geographic is food for thought.

Another interesting video on the subject of the consumer economy is the 20-minute "The Story of Stuff."...

First Fascinating...Then Boring....Then Irritating
This film tracks the life of a boy and girl from childhood through old age.

At various stages of life their consumption of various resources is examined in great detail.

The early displays of actual counts of what they use are at first fascinating and impressive. Gee...I thought... someone went to lot of effort to assemble and set up over 43,000 soft drink cans.

Then as the statistical bombardment continues, one begins to wonder are these numbers really correct. Each stat is accompanied with yet another visual display of what the number means. OK...I get it...I don't need to see the actual number of toothbrushes I will use in a lifetime.

Finally, the whole experience becomes irritating, if there is a point here the film is not making it clear (at least for me). Even small uses become large values over the 77 years of the average lifespan.

Are we supposed to apologize for being alive? That was the way I felt a few times...

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