The first time I heard about someone lobbying to tear down the Elwah
Dam, I was skeptical (this was in the early 1980s). I guess that times, AND
my perception, have changed over the last few decades.
This
informational and entertaining documentary is an encapsulated history of
dam building in the United States. It contains the pros and cons, so we
see and hear the rationale for them in the first place: a need for
hydro power and flood control, plus provide water for agriculture and
recreation. On the other hand, we learn all of the devastating
statistics about salmon, the in-breeding of hatchery fish, broken Native
American treaties and lost habitat.
Of course everyone wants to
have his or her say. The politicians are the most boring and the lively
woman who explored Glen Canyon (before the dam was built), often in the
nude (with spectacular pictures to prove it), is by far the most engaging. The
activists are funny, brave, profane and creative. I love the crack the
"Earth First" fellow painted on the face of one of the dams, and the
scissors (with a dotted line!) on another.
There are amazing
statistics, e.g.: There are over 75,000 dams in the U.S., 250,000
gallons of water flow through the Grand Coulee Dam PER SECOND, and
Richard Nixon signed The Endangered Species Act (snail darter,
anyone?). We see astonishing evidence of the resilience of the salmon
and its ability to come back when given half a chance. One fellow says,
"We don't have to do a thing; just leave them alone!" Another says, "We
ignore the genetic diversity of wild salmon and use hatchery fish. It's
like we overlook Bach, Beethoven and Mozart in favor of Yanni, Yanni,
Yanni!"
This 2014 Seattle International Film Festival entry from the United States is fun and informative. No preview, sorry...