RichMichaelAnnotation11

“Energy Crossroads,” 2007
 * 1. Title, Director, Year?**

- the Industrial Revolution and the culture that was fostered because of it - seemingly endless possibilities - energy consumption (electricity, transportation) - our economy is based on fossil fuels
 * 2. Central Argument?**

- the idea that we have infinite resources - took only about 150 years to extract and consume the earth’s resources - the way we use energy - the “Frontier mentality” has led us to a reckless pattern of consumption - physics and efficiency of the automobile (not really all that efficient) - inefficiency in general - sizes of houses increased, making it more difficult to heat (the house is cold vs. I am cold) - suburbanization has increased the distance that people have to commute from work - some people are just not aware of where our fuel goes - energy used in the extraction of energy - cultural and psychological habits (drag racing, derbies) that have to be broken - dependence on petroleum/oil and the huge impact a small change on oil prices have on society, in comparison to the same change in the past and how it would have barely affected humanity - politics involved, resource wars break out to control such resources - our lifestyle is being emulated all over the world (should be setting an example) - climate shift due to pollution - melting of Earth’s ice, sea-level rising, threatening coastal zones - policy makers are trying to find ways to accommodate the demands instead of figuring out how to mitigate the need
 * 3. Sustainability Problems?**

- the reality of how we’ve abused energy and took it for granted - pretty cool how ice cores can tell you a lot about climate change/conditions - the realization that everything we do has a consequence - good connection to the need for slavery that was done away with - the Romans had methods of sustainable building - the need to use our natural resources more efficiently - state of the environment written from the perspective of an economist and it’s being more seriously considered than information from atmospheric scientists - green technologies are the way of the future - the New Belgian Brewery is an awesome example, so impressed - we don’t necessarily have to give up our lifestyles in order to figure out how to live sustainably - where the market is failing us, we need motivated elected officials to support these new rules we need to live by to survive sustainably
 * 4. Persuasive? Compelling?**

- the United States is the world’s only superpower? - not sure that separating trash will be as successful as is expressed, but still, it’s a step forward
 * 5. Not Compelling?**

- how come Europe is so much more in tune with sustainable methods? what are they doing that we could easily do?
 * 6. Info to Seek Out?**

- good general information - some background in the field makes it easier to understand and accept - might be overwhelming as an introduction to the topic
 * 7. Audience?**

- connections to Japan and countries and Europe - conservation measures were taken to deal with the energy crisis (car pooling, public transport, lowering speed limits) - “human beings are the biggest agents of change on the planet” - recognizing the problem and then dealing with it - smart transportation system, larger network of connection - wind energy, locating populations near the great winds (locating populations near resources to cut out the transport costs) - passive solar - photovoltaic energy - possibilities with ethanol/bio diesel use - hydrogen? renewable energy used to produce it - plug in your car to your garage with solar panels - separating the trash - looking into who is making that “crap” that can’t be recycled or composted - don’t go and find more energy, use the energy we have more efficiently - energy-efficient light bulbs, houses…last longer, better for the environment, better for you - closed-loop systems (New Belgium Brewery)
 * 8. Actions? Interventions?**

- would like to have more defined view of embedded energy and how to reduce the impacts of production - the solutions section is very widespread, but it’s a lot of speculation, this is what we have to do. there’s not much in the way of what has already been done
 * 9. Enhance film environmentally? educationally?**