The Shadow of Progress

2/22/2025

How can a river possibly be declared a fire hazard? Did you know that when this was made there was an average of one car per family in Western Europe and one car per person, almost, in the USA? Those are the kind of fairly brutal statistics conveyed in this BP produced documentary that tries to remind us that food is the thing that connects us all and that mankind’s never ending expansion is only going to compromise the availability of that for ourselves and for millions of other living creatures. From polluted waterways upon which you’d not need to be Jesus to walk through to skies described as “sewers”, we are shown just how impactful our machinery is on the landscape and ancient habitats the world over. Water and air are the two resources that we can never actually run out of - but we c