SullivanPatrick10

Sullivan Patrick Portfolio

Blue Gold, Sam Bozzo, 2008
 * 1. Title, director and release year?**

Water is a vital resource for life and in many countries it is very scarce. The increased privatization of water resources is increasing the price of water for people and shipping it from places that it was once plentiful.
 * 2. What is the central argument or narrative of the film?**

Shortages of natural resources for populations. Resources are used to make profit rather than to help people. Resources are allocated in unfair and inefficient ways. Pollution is destroying natural resources. Inefficient use of resources. The government is not creating the right motivation for people to be more efficient.
 * 3. What sustainability problems does the film draw out?**

I was surprised by the fact that water shortages kills more children than malaria or aids, and putting this in the beginning of the film helped me realize how important of a problem this is. I also thought that pumping water out of the ground was sustainable, but we are currently pumping 15 time more water out of the ground than is going back into the ground. It was compelling the see the sinkholes in land that are caused by over-pumping from the ground. The scene about how the farmer was actually motivated to use more water than to use less water was very surprising. This government was actually preventing farmers from being more efficient. Hearing this directly from the farmer made the argument stronger as well. I did not realize that most water supplies were owned by private companies. The film did a good job of humanizing the need for water and making the viewer angry at the idea of profiting from this resource. I liked the example of the community where a private company took over the water resource mostly because of a political leader who got money from the company. The town eventually kicked out the private company, which shows a great example of people fighting back and actually making a difference. I also really liked the part about the shipment of water from one place to another. Shipping water from a fertile place will ruin the ecosystem there. Bringing the water to a desert will allow people to live there and grow things but the water will just run off into the ocean and that area will still be a desert. The example of China importing water to grow apples for cheap, then shipping the apples away was a very good example of using the least expensive method of production rather than the most efficient.
 * 4. What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?**

The part about how countries can make clouds rain over their land before the clouds travel over other countries was confusing. This appears to be a problem but the film does not explain enough about how it works or if it even does work well. I was not convinced that it would work well so I didn’t find it to be a compelling argument.
 * 5. What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by?**

This film makes me want to find more about where water is currently being transported and find more about local water collection laws. I know that it is illegal in Colorado to collect rainwater even on your property because that rainwater technically belongs to California or Nevada. I find this to be ridiculous and I want to find more examples of unfair laws.
 * 6. What additional information does this film compel you to seek out? Where do you want to dig deeper and what connections do you want to make with other issues, factors, problems, etc.?**

This film best addresses people who live in dry climates who have grass lawns, while the surrounding landscape is all deserts. This film should help them realize how unnatural their lawns are and hopefully find an alternative to grass.
 * 7. What audiences does the film best address? What kind of imagination is fostered in viewers? Do you think the film is likely to change the way viewers think about and act on environmental problems?**

This film suggests that you be more efficient with your water usage. It also suggests that governments should give more of an incentive for people to use water more efficiently. It suggests that water should not be used where it is not natural and if you live somewhere that grass does not grow naturally, you should not grow grass on your lawn. There should also be a limit on population growth in desert areas. This film also suggest that you go to these camps where they dig holes to capture water so that it will seep into the ground rather than just flow back into the ocean.
 * 8. What kinds of action or points of intervention are suggested by the film?**

There could have been a statistic about how much of the earth’s water is polluted and how much potable water there actually is in the world. There also could have been more about what was polluting the water.
 * 9. What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental educational value?**