Man is not going to change, and the sea is going to be dead
— a quote from The End of The Line
Rupert Murray's documentary The End Of The Line premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, 2009. The film is about the overfishing of the world's oceans, a subject I have covered extensively on DOTE (trailer below).
In the film we see firsthand the effects of our global love affair with fish as food.
It examines the imminent extinction of bluefin tuna, brought on by increasing western demand for sushi; the impact on marine life resulting in huge overpopulation of jellyfish; and the profound implications of a future world with no fish that would bring certain mass starvation.
Filmed over two years, The End of the Line follows the investigative reporter Charles Clover as he confronts politicians and celebrity restaurateurs, who exhibit little regard for the damage they are doing to the oceans.
I read Charles Clover's book a few years back. That book has undoubtedly influenced my writing. You can now watch the entire documentary at Hulu (1 hour, 22 minutes). I urge you do to so. You'll have to put up with some annoying advertising, but not much. Maybe you've got some free time today.
Why bring this up on the first day of 2012? Well, human destruction of the oceans is ongoing. This is not like that boneheaded "tree in the forest" philosophical conundrum. Just as a falling tree makes a sound even if no one is around to hear it, the overfishing of the oceans continues unabated whether or not anyone is paying attention to it.
As U2 sang many years ago, nothing changes on New Year's Day. I thought I would drive that point home.
This isn't a criticism, just an observation.
You were discussing lack of savings by the boomers the other day and pondering the poor prospects for retirement.
Today you discuss the coming (an not slowly) collapse of world wide fishing stock.
It would appear that saving for retirement in a world where massive environmental collapse is a real concern may well be a foolish endeavor.
I would welcome your thoughts
Posted by: John Ennis | 01/01/2012 at 07:15 PM