Expanded from a report back written for the Pasadena Post Carbon Group

I thought Fuel was very well-made, important, and informative--there's a lot to absorb. I don't agree with every point of view expressed in the film, but I realize the movie has to communicate to diverse people.

My only criticism is that it doesn't seem to address fundamental changes which (I think) are necessary in our lifestyles. Many of the ideas seem to deal with how we can maintain something resembling our current way of life. (Although, at one point the filmmaker mentions that we need to reevaluate our place in nature and to stop thinking of Earth as an object but as a living organism--but I think this needed more emphasis.)

In my opinion, even IF we can deal with global warming significantly, and even IF we can implement alternative fuel sources, we collectively would continue our wholesale assault on the environment in so many other ways—unless fundamental changes are made to our lifestyles.

I also disagree with various speakers who say that the U.S. was once great and can be great again. Sure, the U.S. seems to have inspired European countries--but not always in benevolent ways. Our profoundly evil history of genocide against indigenous people was, I'm sure, a wet dream for Hitler (he was inspired by our forced relocations of the Navajo and Hopi of the 1860s (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs2DXHUKASA). And our foreign policy has always been genocidal(1), and racism, which has has always been with us, remains alive and well.

Still, the movie features a lot of provocative ideas like vertical farms (skyscraper-like farms that would exist in the middle of cities and other places where space is scarce), and there is some great historical information. For example, details of Rudolf Diesel's sudden and very suspicious death is discussed as well as the long and insidious history of Standard Oil (which was broken up 100 years ago but is now reunited as Exxon-Mobil)(2). Also, a compelling case is made that Prohibition was really about stopping a car that Ford put out that ran on ethanol. As soon as Ford gave up on this car, Prohibition was lifted.

The movie made me even more nostalgic for the Jimmy Carter era. There's footage of the ceremony where the--very short-lived--solar panels are installed on the roof of the White House, and Carter's incentives for fuel efficiency is contrasted with the Reagan era. (I'm not trying to say that Carter was a saint--had he manifested much saintliness as president, I don't think he would have lived long.)

I was glad to see depictions of monorails in the film (though they're never discussed). I think they could be a solution to some of our problems (at least until our population crisis is dealt with--if it is ever dealt with), as they have been in other countries for a century. But sadly, I don't see them being implemented in this country outside of theme parks and resort areas. The opposition to them is massive and ruthless--as was demonstrated in Seattle circa the '90s/early 2000s when an extensive monorail system was planned there. Still, I don't think the concept should be abandoned.

I don't how much longer Fuel will be playing here in So Cal. At the time of this writing, it has already left Beverly Hills but is still playing at the Sana Monica Promenade (see: http://thefuelfilm.com/). It will be opening in other parts of the country in the coming weeks.




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(1)Just one of the seemingly countless examples is, of course, the 200,000 Guatemalans who died so we could have inexpensive bananas (vis-a-vis United Fruit, now Chiquita).

(2)I feel like I'll never stop learning of atrocities committed by Standard Oil/Exxon-Mobil throughout history, from its role in dismantling trolley systems in this country to the numerous interventions in other countries, many of them documented in Eduardo Galeano's book The Open Veins of Latin America.

The Director of FUEL, Josh Tickell, will be speaking at our Los Angeles Greens meeting March 18, 2009

See our website
http://losangelesgreens.org/

or

See calendar item here on la.indymedia for details

The Director of FUEL, Josh Tickell, will be speaking at our Los Angeles Greens meeting March 18, 2009

See our website
http://losangelesgreens.org/

or

See calendar item here on la.indymedia for details

It was much better than the usual review in Rotten Tomatoes or the LA Times.

The upbeat, inspiring and empowering ecopeace movie, "FUEL" has just been phenomenally held-over by popular demand at AMC Broadway on Santa Monica Promenade!

"FUEL" is the compassionate, graphically detailed intervention that the people require, the environment requires, and what national security requires to break American addictions to oil and war.

Teachers are giving extra credit to their students for going to see "FUEL." Some people, after seeing it are "fueling it forward" by donating tickets, especially to students, farmers and others impacted by "environmental diseases" so they can see "FUEL." This in itself is a testimony to power of this movie and restored power of the people who see it.

Although the connections between racism and genocide and war are not highlighted in "FUEL," its courageous inclusion of well respected leader Scott Ridder's documentation about what the war on terror really is; Cheney's secret energy meetings, during which Iraq oil field maps were used, held six months before 911; another segment about the real cause of millions of people starving to death each year; and the 3-trillion ("With a capital 'T'") dollar cost of the Iraq war are eye-openers for most viewers and to be highly commended.

The final scene and words in "FUEL" boldly compassionately demonstrate the need to ponder global racism and its relation to energy and abundance available for all of humanity, not just some.

Most "FUEL" viewers report that it is the best documentary they've ever seen. This is consistent with its Sundance Film Festival Best Documentary Audience Choice Award and unprecedented 11 screenings there at Sundance with a standing ovation after each.

Although this isn't a vertical farm, as depicted in the movie Fuel, this "vertical forest" in Italy seems like a way to provide some habitat for certain species.
http://designtaxi.com/news/352578/World-s-First-Vertical-Forest-Now-Under-Construction/

However, IMO, deforestation remains a fundamental problem--one of many fundamentals problems humans are causing. I'm glad to see projects like this, but I hope humans can collectively address environmental issues at the roots. Anything short of that will not stop these crises in the long-run, IMO.