The Adirondacks | PBS Program

A WNED Original Production. Through the varied perspectives of many passionate characters, the high-definition film THE ADIRONDACKS explores the remarkable history, seasonal landscape, and current state of the Adirondacks. ©2008. Produced by WNED and Working Dog Productions. For more information visit wned.org.

Major funding provided by the Kevin T. and Betty Ann Keane Family; The New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; and by PBS. Additional funding by: The Adirondack Council; I Love NY; The Lyme Timber Company; Ted and Lisa Pierce.

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Nonprofits & Activism

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• PBS
• Adirondacks

[bonkerrza]

I feel honesty is a virtue, and so I'll give my feelings on the real reality of the Dacks. We have gained a wilderness at the expense of another/others; I mean this in the regard I spoke of earlier with us depending on extra-Dakular resources for sustenance. It's similar to the naturalistic validity of central park in a sense. Until we achieve sustainability the Adirondacks will really be just a resort.

[bonkerrza]

For the record: The 'Dacks are staggeringly beautiful and hold a collection of amazing individuals who've experienced a life which is surely atypical for Americans and the world at large. I thought of taking my comments down, but I think truth should generally be spoken. I do feel that, unfortunately for now, the Adirondacks are actually a model of unsustainability, and not any kind of balance. Living in the dacks is, i'm willing to bet, very, very carbon footprint-heavy. 

[bonkerrza]

Your observations and aspirations are unfortunately aesthetic and not material. I bring this up because our world ecosystem is on the verge of collapse, and if everyone thinks "it's not me", then we are doomed. Those living in the 'Daks are dependent on globalization like the surrounding trees are on the sun. Your proverbial hand wants to lift the torch of triumph while the mind and eyes shy from the pragmatic reality of extra-'dakular dependence. Don't deceive yourselves or your children.

[bonkerrza]

I'd like to know how much wheat, rice, corn, livestock, etc these people have consumed since making this video. I'd also like to know how much of it came from the Adirondacks. I don't think local trapping, gathering, and brook trout could support more than a couple hundred people at most. The many thousands who live in the 'Dacks are deluding themselves if they think they are fundamentally separate from the masses. It's a nice though. But we have a long way to go yet.

[bonkerrza]

I'm from the Adrirondacks. I grew up in Saranac Lake. I hate to say it, but this man who (I'm paraphrasing) says something about the 'Daks being among the closest examples of humans coexisting with nature is not seeing things clearly. Wilderness survival was a subject of constant thought for we when I was younger. It didn't take long to realize that almost NONE of the food I ate was local. Staying warm would require the sacrifice of the forest. It's an artificial existence to a degree...