"What a Way to Go" - Meet the Filmmakers

[witsendnj]

Thanks for the tip!  I came to Rancho Mirage to protest the Koch Brothers! Maybe I'll watch it as soon as I get back home!

[TheOzdawn]

After all were not talking some multimillion dollar production that might need protection to recoup its costs. This low-budget, home-made documentary is so simplistic that anyone with half an understanding of video could have pieced it together as the majority of YouTube users do. All it appears to have cost the producers mostly was their time. Clearly, they went into this as a business and not a charitable campaign to save the world. If they truly needed $14, they would ask for donations.

[TheOzdawn]

What hypocrisy to claim to have all the answers that will save the world but then only make it available to those that can afford to purchase the DVD. If this information was truly meant to help enlighten all of humanity to save itself from itself - then why is it not freely available for everyone? Most people that are genuinely out to "save-the-world' do so voluntary out of their sense of duty, dedication and commitment to the cause yet these people hold from it from us for a $14 ransom.

[TheOzdawn]

Nice to know the answer to save the world from ultimate destruction only costs $14.95 + S&H - what capitalistic B.S. - the very cause the producers claim is the cause of all our problems to start with! Here are the film-makers' plans for the movie: "We plan to have a DVD for sale to the public on our website." Luckily - the YouTube users and other file sharing sites who took the time to post their own copies seem to care more about saving humanity than the producers themselves!

[binkiie4dictator]

if i were you, I wouldn't even bother replying to the trolls and skeptics. They just haven't woken up yet and will only serve to defend there prison from attack until they realize it is in fact a prison and people are actually trying to free them. Sit back and watch the show as well as doing the best you can to change your own life's habits. its all we can do until enough of us are aware enough to enact proper lasting fundamental change

[witsendnj]

If you really care, you should make this movie freely available on youtube and give embeds to other bloggers. Ask for donations - but don't charge to watch the movie.

[peakmoment]

@witsendnj, I think these filmmakers care very deeply - You'll see their caring through every frame of the film. They spent years of their own time and money to produce it, and have made the DVD available on their site for very little money, and many of the interviews are on YouTube for free. Isn't it worth supporting them to buy a DVD for $14?

[witsendnj]

@peakmoment

It's not a question of whether it's worth it. The issue is getting more people to see it before mass extinctions gain so much momentum that everything dies. Many people are just too poor to invest $14 in a movie that is fundamentally frightening.

I have been writing a blog about trees death and ecosystem collapse (witsendnj blogspot), investing every bit of spare time I have, plus paying for printed material to hand out to the extent I can afford. I want people to know.

[peakmoment]

@witsendnj, I understand your view. The two of us produce Peak Moment shows for free for the same reasons you do your work. And like you, we have to earn money on the side. Fortunately, some of our viewers value these shows and step up to offer financial support (tax-deductible and otherwise). Which, while I'm plugging it, can be done on the web at peakmoment (dot) tv/misc/youcanhelp.htm. ~Janaia (host)

[dwwolf2006]

@witsendnj it's on youtube in it's entirety for free. A good watch.

[billhuston]

Thanks for this... a great movie. It seemed a little pessimistic when I first watched it, but now with the Gulf spill this movie seems more relevant than ever.

[silje1979]

This trailer does not make the movie justice at all if you ask me. I adore this movie and probably have seen it about 15 times by now, but I`m not so sure if I`d be very tempted to see it if I`d only seen this trailer.

WAWTG needs a better trailer!

[radiospirit]

This is propaganda for the green movement...

Yes, of course there are huge environmental concerns for the present and future...

We are not running out of oil ... there is still huge quantities of coal and shale and natural gas out there

Cold fusion - nuclear energy

Yes, the Federal and State governments are bankrupt ... this is a most pressing concern...

The Western financial system has failed .... actually the entire Brenton Woods post World War II system has collapsed already...

[peakmoment]

Yes, we're certainly seeing a collapse of the financial system: the corporate-capitalist system requires profits which require an infinite-growth economy. But this finite planet has resource limits and cannot support that. The economic meltdown is just one of many collapses.

We are running out of CHEAP oil. Coal, shale, tar sands, are more expensive to produce/refine. Cold fusion remains a dream. Nuclear is so dependent on cheap oil that it might not be energy net positive.

[radiospirit]

The only reason they are jacking up the price of oil is because of the collapse of the U.S. dollar that is ongoing as we type...

Many LARGE deposits of oil have been found and will be going on-line in the next decade...

Just think of how many other huge deposits of oil ... especially around the North American continent ... await discovery and developement.

Going green is a propaganda machine...

[mollytherealdeal]

LARGE deposits of oil have been found, but we use three barrels of oil for every new barrel we find.

ANWAR has about 7 billion barrels. Another 3 billion barrels of offshore oil that are still off limits. US uses over 7 billion barrels a year.

The US peaked in the 1970's extracting about 10 million per day. We now pump out only about 5 million per day, but consume around 20 million.

Shale, coal, and natural gas will take decades to build and cost trillions.

We must change and conserve.

[SpartacusMoriarty]

Is that why they assert that Agriculture-the basis of civilized human life support-is inherently unsustainable? Is that also why they assert that no technology will be able to divert the mass die-off of humans that is coming? This isn't the dicaprio-gore bullshit, check out my channel

[radiospirit]

They are "fixing" the economics to make it difficult to sustain the Earth's population. They gave out $300,000,000,000 in government subsidies to farmers to not grow soybeans and other food products just last year. - Last Bush budget.

They are shaping the markets for shortage ... Ethanol and such.

It's a plan to short the World essential food stocks. There is plenty of food for now. Getting these countries self-sufficient is what needs to be done. The establishment is preventing this.

[SpartacusMoriarty]

Read thomas malthus or william catton-earth can only support a billion humans without fossil fuels-one need only look at a chart of population growth, every time it shifts up, a new type of fuel source was discovered. And if earth has tons of oil and its easier to drill it from the ground and saudi arabia has the largest supply-then why are the saudi's focusing on off-shore drilling? You see i disagree with the green movement, because civilization is not sustainable-period. Await mass die-off...

[radiospirit]

No, we're fine. We need to get rid of these fucking elite filth that have hijacked our government and want to create a tyrannical world government. God will deal with these people.

Apart from that... We have plenty of undiscovered natural resources to take care of the population of the world. We need nuclear power plants and more desalination plants.

I am truly amazed at the ineptitude of people as a whole. The populace is a disgrace to the Living God.

Abundant supply of everything.

[SpartacusMoriarty]

Yes, your right-God, the holy mother, krishna, and the easter bunny will save us-Listen to yourself "we need nuclear power plants"-for what? to continue this dysfunctional and psychotic way of life. millions of years of evolution so we can buy shit we don't need and sit in front of tv's to fill the void? disgusting! We are wholly disconnected from the earth that gave birth to us-it's time to ask, what are we doing here? And if the answer is "not much": then let's pull the fuckin trigger already

[radiospirit]

That is not for YOU to decide...

You stay here and do God's work until you are DONE.

It is not up to you to play God or be a proponent of that system.

People have always had toys and objects that they bought with some sort of barter or money.

Saying that a caveman sitting in front of a fire collecting weapons and makeshift items for entertainment is any different than me sitting in my gas-heated home playing Nintendo is ludicrous.

Yeah, lets starve 5 billion people to death...

[SpartacusMoriarty]

Agriculture is unsustainable-period end. apparently you dont understand the dynamics of soil depletion- in a nutshell it takes 1000 years to replenish 1 inch of topsoil-we've sacrificed long term survival for short term prosperity-primitivism is likely the only sustainable way of life for human beings

[radiospirit]

Once again, not for you to decide.

There is lots of undeveloped land suitable for agriculture on the planet. They are making advances in horticulture every day...

[SpartacusMoriarty]

I cite thomas malthus and william catton-you cite God. I've got two words for you: cognitive dissonance. Your probably a christian, though forgive me if you believe in some other equally unsophisticated form of spirituality that does not take into account reality in any way-the culture of civilization is killing the biosphere-this is a fact-btw on the 8th day God created chryslers, computers, and condoms-it's in the gospel of "i live in a make-believe world"- if you've got facts cite them

[nota2cdtime]

@SpartacusMoriarty After examining Earth's limitations relative to mankind management of it (even the God invoked management), I now must understand the spin of media. It's just incredible how people are in such denial or given to miraculous hopes.

[Hopeful71]

@radiospirit

"We are not running out of oil"

Peak oil is not "running out of oil" but reaching the maximum of newly discoverd oil while demand is still increasing. When it happens things will change very quickly. It will destroy economies based on cheap oil; eg the western world

"Cold fusion"

Doesn't exist, nor will it. It is an impossiblity. Please understand things you claim.

[polyzygote]

i think that the green movement could actually learn a lot from the open source movement in software and the creative commons movement in copyright law. to make a long story short, if they gave it away for free to as many people as possible they would stand to make a lot more money from say, sales to universities or other institutions, as well as through speaking engagements and other services which are potentially a lot more lucrative. this is how many open source software companies operate.

[peakmoment]

I think this is a fine idea, and one we ought to consider for Peak Moment Conversations. They're free here and on many community-access TV stations. The income we generate is from DVDs of presentations, not these Conversations. However, sales to universities and libraries haven't touched the cost of producing these programs. I'd be interested in your thoughts for a business model for our project.

[polyzygote]

i'm going to make copies and pass it out for free. a kind of chain letter. i encourage everybody to do the same.

[peakmoment]

Part of why "What a Way to Go" isn't free is that the filmmakers need to make a living. Your making copies and distributing them doesn't help them out -- not everybody can work for free! They are working on a less-expensive version, and possibly online too. Go to whatawaytogomovie (dot) com.

[polyzygote]

it's a tough one though isn't it?

i mean, potential enlightenment towards saving the planet, versus a handful of people's economic well being, as very deserving as those people may be.

[peakmoment]

Just got word that they're making DVDs for $14 (+ S&H) so the price is almost half of what it was. At whatawaytogomovie (dot) com.

[Sammythesupersnail]

Its one of the best documentaries ever produced on the most important issue of our generation. It dosen't sugar coat the sour truth like other documentaries do, so we can actually wake up from our hypnosis.

The only draw back is that its too expensive to buy and not available everywhere. Infomation like this should be mass produced and sold like the 11th hour narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio for $5 at Virgin records and Barnes&Noble if not free!!!

[polyzygote]

i agree with this, it is completely ridiculous that it is not free and plentiful

[jlgrounds]

I have felt like this like the filmaker for YEARS. Born in 1956, I debated population in Salt Lake when I was in high school in 1971. I live a good life without needing a bunch of crap (like at Christmas) that took me 25 years to convince even my family to not buy me things (they contribute now FINALLY). I don't live in a cave, have a great life in a cute small house with dogs and a big yard and stores less than a mile and plans for big garden, etc. Get grounded-you will be happier

[hkindt]

Thank you - I'm both delighted and relieved to find you and have signed up for your e-mail list...I've been trying to get the S.F. Chronicle to initiate some public discourse on overpopulation, to no avail. To me,the complete silence and evident lack of concern on this is appalling and bordering on the criminally negligent. par course for our so called "leaders". (HELLO?!? Washington???)

HK

[hkindt]

When can we begin a serious dialog about overpopulation? the petri dish is rapidly becoming overfull and the agar is nearly gone!

THE single most significant thing anyone can do is to refrain from producing offspring (children). Yet not ONE political candidate has even mentioned the word, and you don't see it in the media or hear anything about it. We need to be discussing it and forming strategies for change- and the sense of entitlement around breeding and having babies needs to change also.

[peakmoment]

You've landed on the central crux of the whole situation: overpopulation, overconsumption, eat up the biosphere. We touched on this a bit in Peak Moment episode 60 "The Elephant in the Peak Oil Living Room." It begs for far more discussion. But of course the power-holders want population growth to feed economic growth for short-term profits.

[hkindt]

I think what is rather astounding is that, even though it's basic math to figure out that we CAN'T continue to grow and expand continually in a finite world,our entire culture and society is based almost exclusively on that idea! Isn't this just blatantly obvious to ANYONE with even a modicum of intelligence? Then WHY the lack of intelligent foresight and leadership? The overwhelmingly obvious thing is that the core problem is overpopulation. Yet.. no one is discussing this. We need to begin.

[SubtUtiles]

Dominion over the Earth didn't mean to leave this pillaged and smoking. Awesome.

[hizbollahkatyusha]

This is an important film but it is pointing us slightly off course. Its not enough to change to longlife lightbulbs and change the warming of your house to solar power. In the western world it is our responsibility to stop the murder of the world. Dont get off the train and into the boat, fight the train personell to the death to reach the emergency brake! at least we are inside the train, not like the masses of the third world...

[Zachmozach]

I disagree that I don't think the film suggests that as a fix. I believe it suggests we have to write the chapter of getting out of civilization ourselves together. I think more effective than fighting the culture is to create a new culture and provide people with another way to live.

[PratimokshaABC]

If you listen to the whole interview, you'll notice Tim talks about how there is no happy chapter in his movie, no "ten quick steps to save the planet". Basically, the film offers no way out. It just explores what's wrong and forces you to think long and hard about what it sees lying ahead.

[swirlingturtle]

CONTINUED: read up on it. you need to know about it. it's not only severe and tragic, it's every very real. more species have died today (maybe as I've typed this) because of this culture. i wonder why you don't believe it? the earth is primary. this is a dying culture. face it. do what you can. we haven't got time to put our heads in the sand.

[swirlingturtle]

Orangemage42: you have no idea how much I wish you were right. But civilisation, this civilisation has devastated every corner of this finite planet, raped and pillaged it, murdered the people who do not fit the mould, do not comply.

[Orangemage42]

This movie is terrible and anyone who believes a word of it is nothing less than an idiot.

[NickDanger0001]

Have you seen the film?

[babarji]

we showed the film in our village last night. Very moving. It is a film best not watched alone. It was a while before people could talk afterwards. We all need to talk to each other about this.

[peakmoment]

I urge everyone to buy the DVD, to see the film "What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire." It is the most no-frills, hard-hitting film about the reality we're in: peak oil, climate chaos, mass species extinction, and population overshoot. whatawaytogomovie (.) com.

[mason104]

Agree or disagree, Peak Moment has some interesting videos.

[jojo808]

very no frills informative info for laymen . Janaia did a awesome job here , I really like the teleconferencing .

[DFORCE1969]

The US collapse will be worse than that of the USSR;Which had a well developed public transport system

and the ability of many citizens to fall back on subsistance agriculture;It was also socially much more cohesive.