Well, that was a first. It was the first time I have ever cried watching an environmental documentary. Perhaps it hit home for me because it was all so close to home for me. Austin, Barton Springs, Barton Creek, The Edwards Aquifer, The Texas Hill Country. My roots there pre-date the Alamo. My roots go back in Texas before there was a Texas, before there was The Republic of Texas. Deep, deep roots. Deeper feelings, or rather, emotions, about it all.
So, I just finished watching the documentary "The Unforeseen" (on the Sundance Channel), mostly about development, urban sprawl, growth and water in one particular area of Austin, Texas. It carries a much bigger message though, a broad and deep message about all that is facing us these days. It goes not to our standard of living, but to our quality of life. Not quality as in "how good is it?", but quality as in what is the depth, breadth, character, texture, taste, and feeling of our day-to-day lives as individuals, families, social circles, as communities, cultures, societies and nations.
Following are some things, key points, key words that stuck out for me. At the end of the post are some links for you to find out how to purchase or rent the DVD. Or, just be on the lookout for it and watch it when you can.
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Developers defined as the "classic American character", reshaping the future and getting rich in the process...
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On golf courses: "I find them repulsive, so uniform and so green, the earth whipped into submission for these men..."
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Developers, they know the cost of everything, but they know the value of nothing...
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A conservative lobbyist, speaking, apparently, on "liberals" who enjoy swimming and leisure time along Barton Creek..."these self-indulgences will catch up to you eventually..."
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"If the people will lead, the leaders will follow..."
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Robert Redford: "...quick return on short term investment, with long term damage...a scar is all that is left..."
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A private citizen on private property rights: "...don't want a bunch of sumbitches telling us what to do with it (our land)...."
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A private citizen shouting and waving a placard: "People are number one! Bugs and birds are at the bottom of the list...Save people first!..."
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Economists have set up this meter of economic activity...that all growth is good...that ANY economic activity that involves money changing hands is good for the economy...and does not take into account any down side or long term unforeseen costs...
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There should be honest accounting...the true cost...the long term cost...
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People are making choices that damage other people...that damage everyone...that damage nature and the environment...that damage the world...and humanity...
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We should be living in harmony with nature, not in opposition to it...
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Add quality to the housing stock, without actually expanding housing...housing for everyone...affordable housing...use what's already there...it's not all about size and quantity and gargantuan scale...improve the landscape until we run out of opportunities to improve it...
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Something about "the pursuit of the almighty dollar"...
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If you don't act on the gift (of the natural world), then you are part of destroying it...
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Growth itself is not the enemy...it is the nature of that growth...the quality and character within it...
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"...where all the land has not been consumed by intention..."
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We should have a stronger, more mature regard for the future, unwilling to leave a mess behind us...
I was struck by the title "the unforeseen" - that today, we are actually living and reaping the unforeseen consequences of multitudes of actions and directions - paths and choices - individually and collectively - both societal and economic. Are we evolving or devolving?
We are reaping the unforeseen.
The Unforeseen Film Site
The Unforeseen on IMDB.
The Unforeseen on Treehugger.com
The Unforeseen on PBS
Pre-Purchase the DVD :: Release Date September 16, 2008
The Unforeseen on NetFlix
Here's my original post :: On the universe, life and water :: The Unforeseen
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