|
***1/2
(1994) 64 min. $75, Knossus, Inc. PPR. Color cover.
If they made a movie about ecological outlaws - something along
the lines of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - one of
the outlaws would have to be the late R. Buckminster "Bucky"
Fuller who was building geodesic domes way before guys started wearing
hair down to their butts. In fact, Fuller was designing energy efficient
houses and cars as far aback as the late 1920's. His legacy lives
on, and Ecological Design: Inventing the Future, an overview
of new environmentally healthy design concepts narrated by actress
Linda Hunt, is a thought-provoking and occasionally eye-popping
look at what Fuller's heirs are doing today. Biologist John Todd
shows his viewers his "living machine" systems, remarkable
water tanks where contaminated water is filtered through a contaminated
water is filtered through a variety of organisms that eat yucky
stuff, eventually purifying the water without using any toxic chemicals
whatsoever. Inventor Paul Macready, having created the gossamer
airplane (an extremely light one-passenger plane fueled only by
human leg power), rolled out the GM Impact in 1990, a battery-powered
car that can go from 0-60 m.p.h. very quickly (just like the gas
hogs do). Some of the visionaries profiled in Ecological Design
haven't created anything per se, but they're nevertheless
making a huge difference: Jaime Lerner, mayor of the large Brazilian
city of Curatiba, for example, has a good deal going - he trades
food and tokens for recyclable garbage, and welcomes entrepreneurs
who collect from their neighbors and try to bring in the biggest
carload. Winner of a CINE Golden Eagle and other awards, Ecological
Design reshapes the way we think about the world - no small
feat in itself - and offers intriguing alternatives for the future.
Highly recommended.
|
