Climate Action Blog

“Johnny’s Garden” came about through a suggestion from my wife, Nancy, who saw a neat garden in an industrial/public area where you normally don’t see gardens. Jeff, the gardener at Johnny’s Service Center, was kind enough to take us on a little tour. The video is titled “July, 2009″ , when we actually interviewed Jeff in April.

What is really interesting about doing this series is you never know what the next subject might be.  For example, the latest video on green burials came about as the result of a call from Jeff Shaw at Davis Media Access to see if I could provide video for a studio program he was producing on green burials .    He wanted about five minutes of raw footage with no audio or titles.    I  jumped at the chance as I had heard about green burials but really didn’t know anything about them.

Green burials are not all that common, so I was disappointed to be out of town when the opportunity came to shoot an actual green burial service at the Davis Cemetary.    

Fortunately,  Jeff filled in at the last minute and shot the video himself.  His 21 minutes of raw footage has been edited to the two minutes you see on the current video.

(As a side note, the videos you see on this website are “in production’ and  subject to further editing  before a dvd is made and submitted to Davis Community TV  to run on channel 15.)

At the end of 2009, the twelve monthly updates will be made into a 28 minute documentary on actions  the community has taken in the last twelve months to help solve the climate change problem.  I wonder what the next segments will be about?

This segment came about via a referral through John Mott-Smith, a climate change consultant working with Brian Donnelly, a teacher with the Davis School District.  Hearing that I was interested in making video documentaries Brian invited me to cover the kick-off event for the Davis Green Schools Initiative, of which he is the coordinator.  This  first cut has no narration, although  I have a script written,  but now, watching the  piece, think it might stand by itself.  Then again, a music sound track and professional narrator, wouldnt hurt.  Grant anyone?

On this musical  note, we saw a terrific young singing group at the Pence Art Gallery the other night.  The group specializes  in environmental songs, i.e., “The Hydrologic Cycle”, “Nitrogen”, etc.  Science Rap?   Lots of talent.  Have to find out who they are and if they would  volunteer a background audio track.

The Electric Car segment came out of the blue.   I received an e-mail from Jonathan Kramer, an electric car enthusiast in Davis.  Interested in doing a video on his electric car, he  got my name through Davis Media Access.  One thing led to another and here’s the  rough cut.

Our current focus of attention  is producing a one minute video on the green economy.

By all accounts, a green economy will be key to addressing the global warming problem.  But what precisely is a green economy?  For sure, it’s an economy where jobs are based on sustainable sources of energy, jobs that don’t generate greenhouse gas emissions.   

 But there are different shades of green, what some are calling  “deep green”, “pale green”, and “green collar” jobs.   

 ”Deep green” jobs can be described as those that result in zero greenhouse gas emissions.  If you’re a bicycle repairman, for example, you have a “deep green” job.   A  person in a “pale green” job might be involved in building a hybrid car, a good step towards a zero emission vehicle , but still  dependent on fossil fuels.  

Not all green jobs are necessarily good jobs.   Thus, a  “green collar” job is one where an individual is in a good career track with benefits and a living wage.  Examples of “green collar” jobs include people working in research, engineering,  or administrative positions that promote energy efficiency.

Herein lies the challenge. In recognition of the green economy’s importance in solving the global warming problem, how do we cover the topic in a one minute video? Where do you start?  What are the key points?   What is the message?

Imagine for a moment that an advanced alien being has landed on earth.  The alien  has put out the word that it has come in peace to provide assistance in solving earth’s  greatest problems.   The alien  has a limited time , however, before it has to return to its home planet. 

You have been designated a representative of the City of Davis to explain, in a one minute video, what a  green economy is and why it is important to the city’s  future well being. 

This is the video we’re working on.

It was a simple idea:   get a camera and make a video documentary about climate change in Davis.     How tough could it be?   With the help of Davis Media Access (DMA),   our local   community radio and television station, I set   out to find out.   With a home video camera and more enthusiasm than   experience and skill, I quickly learned that, according to   The Documentary Film Maker’s Handbook,    a “real” video documentary,   one   made for theatrical release, takes an average of  three to seven years to complete.     I read that again:   “THREE TO SEVEN YEARS.”         So much for a quick project.   Then again, my thought was not so much to produce a documentary for theatrical release as it was to document the impact of climate change in one small town over a  long period of time.  

Discussing the project with DMA’s production manager, Jeff Shaw, I settled on doing a series of public service announcements (PSAs) on climate change.   Each PSA   would average   one to two minutes in length.   I could produce these stand-alone segments at a reasonable pace, say, one a month, over a five year period,  which would provide  the material necessary  for a  sixty minute   documentary.   So, that’s the plan:     On or about January 1, 2014, to produce a sixty minute documentary on the  climate change actions taken in Davis, California, from  2009 through 2013.

The first one minute PSA, the one you see on the home page of this website, is completed and will be aired on Channel 15 in Davis this month.     I’m now working on the next   segment which will be completed by February.  

One advantage of this seemingly slow pace is that it gives me time to learn more about video production and climate change.   For example, I’ve recently purchased a new video   camera, a Canon GL 2, and plan to take a course in video production in the near future.

Rich Sequest