Oof, punch in the stomach time. Well that’s how I felt after watching What a Way to Go last night. I still have the phrase “There is no happy chapter” echoing in my head…

Initially I thought it was Yet Another Peak Oil Movie but it soon became apparent that it was much more. It’s like a two hour poem with a documentary sandwiched in between that covers not only (what we’re finding to be) standard peak-oil theory but also a great deal on climate change, population growth, water shortage and – this is where it’s unique compared to the other things we’ve consumed on the subject – it goes into considerable detail into the root causes of the problem and likens our collective denials of the evident problems to a herd-like hallucination.

I’m probably not explaining this very well so I’ll defer to a great review over on EnergyBulletin that puts it much better:

I have seen a number of films on Peak Oil, climate change and the other ills of our society and planet (yes, even Nobel Laureate Al Gore’s Oscar-winning “An Inconvenient Truth”), but none has moved me so much as this one. While it does include some facts and figures, it primarily deals with the human psyche—the emotional and spiritual pain experienced by those living in, or victims of, industrially civilized countries. The film builds a deep emotional and spiritual connection between the viewer and the planet on which we live, and the fellow creatures of all forms with whom we share life on this planet. It becomes clear that the suffering we experience as humans is shared by the entire biosphere. Because of the beliefs which have entrapped us, we are alienated not only from nature, but from each other and, indeed, from our true internal nature. What we have done to our planet we have also done to ourselves.

….

“What a Way to Go” is a two-hour poem of great power and beauty. It is the story of a personal journey, yet a journey that is also deeply universal. A journey that encompasses ignorance, awareness, fear, depression, denial, grief and despair. But when denial can no longer be maintained, and grief and despair can no longer be endured, there remain two options. Once is self-destruction; the other action. The narrator chooses action.

Action. There’s that word again. Soon we’ll finish the sitting on ass preparation phase of our coming  journey and get into action. I tell you it can’t come soon enough.

“If we don’t change the direction we’re going, we’re likely to end up where we are headed.” -Chinese Proverb

p.s. If you do watch it then see if you can spot the most unfortunate jumper ever. Trust me you’ll know it when you see it.