Decorah EagleCam

This sort of eco-mediation would be useful for the general public and the rest of the world to view the eagles and keep track of them.  For my viewing, however, the eagles did not show.  All I saw was the nest filled with snow, with a few sticks lying on top.  The background noise was more interesting however.  At first, I just heard the wind blowing, but then there were sounds of cars and large trucks driving by on the highway.  I also heard a dog bark a couple of times.  While I was watching, an ad for MTV and Egg Beaters suddenly took over my screen.  This just goes to show that even things that are eco-helpful have to be funded somehow.

            The ads on the rest of the webpage were interesting.  One was for the Raptor Resource Project, which helps preserve bald eagles, falcons, and hawks.  The ad at the very top of the page was a link to “tips for a connected lifestyle.”  I find this sort of ironic because in a way, we are trying to stay connected to nature by viewing the EagleCam, yet in reality we are sitting alone looking at a computer screen.  The people chatting on the side of the page were having a couple different conversations.  One concerned the eagles – someone was asking for news and updates on them.  The other was about Decorah supposedly being a category on Jeopardy.  Also on the webpage were a few links to websites that have good information about bald eagles.  This would be helpful to people who don’t know much about eagles and want to learn more.  There was also a map of the eagle’s movements and travels.  This is interesting because it allows us to see where the eagle has been over the past few months.  The last important thing on the page was a summary of the nesting season last year.  This allows us to recall what happened last year and speculate if and when the eggs will hatch again this year.

EcoMedia Movie

Here's my group's movie!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfRUsxfKpD8

Even the Rain (Tambien la Lluvia)

I chose the scene where Belen’s mom asks for help from Costa, and he argues with Sebastian, but decides to help Belen.  I feel this scene not only tells us a lot about what kind of a person Costa is, but Sebastian too.  All Sebastian cares about is finishing the movie, even if a child’s life is in danger.  In this scene, we see a different side of Costa.  The fact that he decides to betray Sebastian to help Belen shows he is a very caring person and is not self-absorbed.  It is also a key moment in his transformation throughout the movie.  But it is evident that he struggles with this decision.  He has to choose between his responsibility – the film crew – and his heart – saving the child.  This is also a major turning point in the story line of the movie.  Costa and Sebastian’s film will no longer happen anymore since Costa decided to leave.  Finishing their film is what they have been struggling to accomplish the entire movie, and now there is no hope for that anymore.

When Costa first sees Teresa, walks up to her, and starts talking the camera technique utilized is shot/reverse shot.  When Teresa is talking, the camera is on Costa, so we are able to see his reactions to what she is saying.  Then the camera cuts to a view of Sebastian and Anton waiting to leave in the van, emphasizing that Costa has to choose one or the other.  We then get an “establishing” shot of Costa and Teresa, with Sebastian running up to them in the background.  When Sebastian and Costa walk away to argue, the camera switches from one side of them, where you just see down the street, to the other side, where you see Teresa standing there waiting.  At this point in their conversation they are talking about her.  After they are done arguing, we get a long take of Costa talking to Teresa again.  When Teresa tells Costa he is her friend, the camera lingers on his back a little while longer and then cuts to show his face.  This way, we are able to see the change in his eyes when he makes the decision to go help Belen. 

The Cave of Forgotten Dreams

From a documentary standpoint, I think that it is wrong for Herzog to exaggerate the truth, sometimes to the point where it is completely false.  A documentary is supposed to convey facts, not lies.  Even though the albino alligators were most likely not mutated by radiation, I feel that Herzog is trying to make an important point.  Humans have mutated, or evolved, also in order to better adapt to our ever-changing environment, like the alligators.

There is one distinct relationship between the main part of The Cave of Forgotten Dreams and its postscript: the animals.  The paintings in the cave are of animals – horses, lions, bison, and rhinoceros – and the animals in the postscript are alligators.  The animals also show this theme of evolution.  Some of the alligators have become albino, and a few of the animals in the cave paintings have evolved as well, such as the lions for example.  There is also a theme of humanity in both parts of the movie.  There is only one painting of a woman ever found in the cave.  We can then infer that animals were more sacred to the ancient humans since they were the majority of the paintings.  By adding the postscript about the nuclear reactors, Herzog is making a stab at humans today.  The radiation from the reactors and the reactors themselves are destroying nature and harming the animals.  Humans have evolved so much as to become ignorant of the harm we are causing to species that were once precious and admired.

My EcoSonnet

As I sit here on this beautiful day,

Letting the sun wash over my face,

A winter breeze compels my hair to sway.

I see an image I cannot erase.

A white figure cutting into the sky,

Majestically spinning around and around,

Suddenly life seems to be on stand by.

And the world is on the rebound.

Its blades spinning fast and never bending,

Capturing energy from the cool wind,

Its rotations always unending.

Turning it into power for all who’ve sinned.

This machine sits stoic among nature,

Allowing us to continue our adventure.

The Cove

This Eco-documentary about dolphins made see these creatures in a new light.  Before, I had always thought of them as loving creatures that enjoyed entertaining people in a place like SeaWorld.  Now, I see that it is not actually like that.  I learned that it is very stressful and hard on the dolphins to be held in captivity, and some eventually die from all the stress. 

            This Eco-documentary was filmed in a different sort of way, using elements of spy and thriller or horror genres.  Because of this, the movie had a different impact on me, in a good way though.  It showed me things that people usually do not see, such as the efforts of individuals coming together to try to free the dolphins.  Showing their nighttime missions, therefore being able to evade the Japanese fisherman and police, gave me a sense of how dangerous it is for them to be doing this.  But they are fighting for a cause - the dolphins.  The dolphins did nothing to deserve the treatment they are receiving.  Those who are not taken to be held captive in aquariums are taken to a secret cove and slaughtered for their meat.  Because of the way the movie was made, it made me more interested in what the people were saying too.  I think the element of the missions made it more interesting and exciting than just a plain old documentary.

            The way the movie was filmed, using the elements from a range of genres, does make me want to do something.  It made me see the importance of what is happening to the animals and the devastation it is causing their species.

Green Cement!

There's a company in California that is making cement using CO2 emissions.  Therefore, helping to reduce global warming! Yay! :)

 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Building-a-Better-World-With-Green-Cement.html?c=y&page=1

Underwater Sculptures

I saw an article about this artist in a National Geographic magazine.  He creates sculptures that are able to support coral and other creatures and then sinks them in the ocean to help the ecosystem.  Some of his sculptures even symbolize humans' lack of environmental awareness.  It's really cool! You should check it out!

http://underwatersculpture.com/

Wall•e

Wall-e is not only the name of this movie, but it is also the main character.  However, the name of the movie has deeper roots.  Wall-e deals with all the trash the humans left behind.  So we get the message that we have thrown away too much trash and destroyed our planet.  Yet we are not personally offended because the way this is dealt with makes it seem less significant.  If this movie had a different name, say “Robot Love” for example, that would change the focus of the story.  It would now be focused on the love story between Wall-e and Eve instead of the other more significant and important messages.

            The opening of the movie provides you with images of space and then wide, panning shots of earth destroyed and deserted with trash everywhere.  Then we see Wall-e compacting blocks of trash by himself.  This creates feelings of desolation, abandonment, and depression.  I feel the producers started with this tone so they could slowly change the tone to a happier one throughout the movie.  It also helps one better understand the impact of what has happened to Earth.

            The last images of the movie were of humans planting the plant and watering it.  Then it skips ahead and shows a lot of plants all spread out while the camera pans outward.  These images emphasize that no matter how bad something is, it can get better if you make an effort and try.  I think these last images are eco-inspiring.  They seem to be telling us to take care of the earth.  It will restore the earth and the environment and make everything better and happier for everyone and everything.

            The closing credits of the movie show hieroglyphic-like images of the humans recolonizing earth, such as discovering fire again and farming to grow food for themselves. The images also show humans and robots working together but the humans are mostly fending for themselves.  Then the credits show earth flourishing through paintings.  The last image is of Eve and Wall-e underneath the big tree that started it all – the plant that was in the boot.  All the while there is a happy, hopeful song called “Down to Earth” playing.  The closing credit story is opposite from the rest of the story that is played out in the movie because the humans are actually doing something and fending for themselves instead of the robots doing most of the work.  Whereas during the movie, the humans do nothing and the robots do all of the work.

            I feel that one of the important eco-relevant scenes is when the captain decides to override the autopilot and go back to Earth, even though the autopilot has orders to never return to Earth.  Seeing the plant and knowing that Earth can now sustain life makes him want to do something.  He escapes from the norm and starts walking in order to shut down the autopilot and achieve his goal.  All because of a plant.  I feel this scene has a strong impact and therefore clearly gets this point across. 

            If elementary students were watching this movie, they would be focused more on the robots instead of the overall message of the story.  But it would also teach them not to throw so much trash away.  A college student would focus on the destruction of the Earth and the important and somewhat hidden messages of the story.  Parents taking their children to this movie would notice the screens in front of the humans’ faces and how everything is electronic because they might feel that that is the kind of world their children are growing up in.

The Corporation

One claim the book makes that I found surprising was that “[corporate executives] must always put their corporation’s best interests first and not act out of concern for anyone or anything else…The money they manage and invest is not theirs” (50).  I just do not understand why the executives do not have any concern for the harm that they could do to people or the environment.  The money the corporation has is from shareholders.  I feel that if the executives wanted to gain as many shareholders as they could, they would have concern for the people.  This way people would know the company could be trusted.

            The passage that I chose about corporations and environmental concerns is about BP potentially drilling for oil in the Artic Circle where a caribou herd lives.  There is a representative from the Artic Circle that is speaking out for the sake of the caribou and for her people against BP drilling there.  The book presents her opinions and facts first.  Then it gives a statement from BP and some more facts about the caribou.  Ultimately, the book sides with BP and says they should take the opportunity to drill there.  I feel that the argument is pretty effective, given that the book backs up its siding with numerous facts.  However, the book does say that BP has no concern for harming the caribou or destroying the native people’s way of life.  The corporation is just looking for profit.  Once again, as I said above, I feel that the company should have some compassion for what and whom they could potentially harm just for their own gain.

Plastic Bag

What spoke out most to me in the film was the personification of the plastic bag and how it seemed to be immortal.  I feel that the producer made a good choice by personifying the plastic bag because we, as humans, are able to more easily connect with the bag.  We can relate our own feelings and lives to the bag’s feelings that are portrayed such as loneliness, sadness, and longing.  This, in turn, helps him get his point across to us.

Something else that the bag portrayed was that nothing could destroy it.  This is how it becomes seemingly immortal.  When it got thrown away and sent to the landfill, it did not decompose like the other trash did over time.  Plastic takes a very, very long time to decompose, but it eventually does.  I feel that  this is the point the film was trying to make.  We are more easily able to understand the bag’s immortality because the bag is personified, so we are able to hear what it is thinking and feeling.  At the end of the film, the bag says that it “wishes [his maker] would have created him so he could die.”  This is where we very clearly get a sense that the plastic bag is immortal.  It expresses that it wants to die, or decompose, but it is not able to.