opinion: carbon calculator, week 6

 

Week 6 in the continuing series of what is missing from Carbon Calculators.  

There is a list of the things that those calculators don’t ask, thereby eliminating them from their algorithm. These are the things that are sometimes the meat of the matter, so to speak. By altering these things, you could affect your true footprint in ways unimaginable and truly make our planet sustainable.

 

THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

Most people are looking at this category and wondering how in the world does my watching Iron Chef America, or Desperate Housewives, or CSI affect climate change, aside from the energy use of your individual TV’s.  

This is a very wasteful industry.  And, while many industries are wasteful, this is one that you can directly impact its change.  While many people in the industry claim to be doing what they can to reduce their footprint, the fact is that it is not enough.    Of the 1500 current films and television shows in production, I know of three that are trying very hard to reduce the waste created by filming.  Many others use plastic bottles upon plastic bottle, with very little recycling.  The energy used with the lighting, air conditioning, travels to locations, generators, trailers, fuel trucks, and the list goes on, is unquantifiable.  If you want a quick example, please go to an article I wrote a while ago about the specific waste I witnessed first hand. 

And that is just for the television shows and movie productions.  Multiply that by the amount of commercials that get produced, news shows, sports programming, and much more.

Another area of the film industry that will hurt the environment is the purchasing of new televisions.  There is an increase in purchases with the new digital regulations. While many feel this switch is a good thing to keep up with the technology, the downside is the waste created.  Not only are thousands of perfectly good televisions being dumped in landfills, they are often getting replaced with plasma screens.  These televisions are made with nitrogen triflouride, which is a greenhouse gas with 17,000 times the heating power of carbon.  So with each television you buy, and many homes have multiple, you are contributing to climate change.

This is an area, in which all of us working together, has the most impact.  By turning off the television, you can change the amount of shows that go into production; the less tv shows, the less waste.  You can demand that the industry go eco-friendly by not watching those shows with a large footprint.  And finally, you can demand that the entertainment industry release data on the true carbon footprint of each production and studio.  Many claim to becoming carbon neutral… that is just a fancy way of doing the same old thing, creating the same old waste, but buying offsets so you don’t feel bad.

The truth is that the film industry is really suffering right now.  Shows are getting bad ratings, SAG may be striking soon, advertisers are not getting a strong return on investment.  Believe it or not, this may be a really good thing for the environment.

lights, camera, action!

I have written about the large amount of environmental waste created in making a movie. It has always been hard for me to reconcile my feelings about wanting to see a movie and being entertained and knowing what was damaged in the process of making that film or show. I have never been able to reconcile the amount of waste when it goes to making something that has no societal value (many of the current television shows)

That is why I was happy to read an article about the steps the movie industry is trying to make to lessen its impact on our home. In a way, it is about time. I mean with many of the celebrities being the face of environmental awareness, I have thought that it was hypocritical that it has taken so long. And, they are kind of called out on it:

“While celebrities have long been environmental activists, studios and production companies have been cautious about adopting the green philosophy as it applies to their business operations,” says Zahava Stroud, of iHollywood Forum

However there has been a switch and I see it as hopeful:

“There’s no question that shooting on location uses a lot of energy, and we’re looking at ways to reduce our impact… running tests with biodiesel fuel and solar energy to power our production equipment, and exploring new technologies such as more efficient LED lighting and using digital cameras,” said Jim Kennedy, a spokesman at Sony Pictures.

I think that it is time that many of these people walked the walk that they keep talking. I know, that in any industry, it is hard to change standard operating procedures. It is long overdue and I hope they embrace a new direction.

HERE is the whole article.

sometimes conflicted

Being endorsed by a celebrity has it’s benefits and it’s downfalls.

It is good that Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz and Darryl Hannah care about and are a voice for the environment. But there is an irony to it since their industry is one of the most polluting industries out there. I documented about it a few months ago, HERE.

I found this online today and very much agree with it. There is a certain level of ridiculousness that comes with the celebrity “green” movement. But maybe the ends justify the means. I just don’t know.

go HERE for the “Most Annoying Trends in Hollywood”

help wanted

As some of you know, I fancy myself a writer. I had changed careers from being a biochemist, to acting, finally landing on screenwriting. In my pursuit, I felt I needed to learn more about being on set, interacting with people to form connections and open doors. I am fortunate to have a friend in the industry that has hired me occasionally as her assistant to learn what I can about the “industry”.

When I started to pursue a career in this industry, I will admit that I was very naïve about anything concerning the environment. Yes, I knew to conserve water. And, I knew to run my air conditioning, when I did run it, at a high thermostat setting in “off” hours to not effect the power grid. But, I was not aware of what I know and believe now.

This week, I was asked to assist on location for a television program, and I accepted the job. About an hour in, I was already horrified and looked like a deer in headlights as I watched the abuse to our environment happen before my eyes.

First off, I will give you some numbers:
- 10 semi trucks
- 7 trailers
- 2 generators
- 100 or more crew, plus their individual cars
- 25 extras, plus their cars
- 4 transportation vans
- 2 catering trucks
- 2 port-a-potties
- 3 dumpsters
- One truck needed to deliver and set up tent
- 1 process truck (this is a flat bed that a car and all camera equipment sit on, while it drives around, so you can have shots that give the car the appearance of moving.
- 6 police officers and motorcycles
- All the food and water needed for catering and craft services
o I counted 15-20 bags of ice
o 25 cases of bottled water
o Plastic, non-biodegradable plates, utensils, and cups
And my personal favorite….
- a fuel truck

Maybe you’re in the industry, or maybe not, and you are thinking to yourself this may not be as bad as it seems. In fact, as film shoots go, this may even be good. But I want to give you more information than just the numbers.

For those of you who don’t know, when you are on location, you have a base camp and you have the actual location. In this case, they were about a mile apart. Base camp had been set up in a big department store parking lot, which was paved with black top. (I only bring that up because black top is much hotter than poured concrete lots.) The location was a nice little residential neighborhood, lined with sycamores.

The trucks starting arriving at 430am. There are big semi’s that hold all of the equipment (cameras, lighting, sound, etc.), which is then transferred to smaller semi trucks which are taken to location. The talent trailers and restrooms are the size of a semi truck, and as I said, we had seven of them. I am only telling you this so you understand the scale… we filled a parking lot with all of the trucks, trailers, generators, catering, tent, individual cars and dumpsters…. Ooh, and you can’t forget our very own fuel truck!

You may be wondering why a fuel truck was even needed. Well, first off, because the shoot revolved around a scene that takes place in a car… which, by the way, we had to have three of the exact same car. But, since driving is built into the scene, fuel had to be available. We also had six motorcycle officers, which meant we had to have fuel available to them. They drive along with the shoot and ensure there are proper street closures and protection from bystanders being hurt. We also had four transportation vans that went back and forth between base camp and set. And, because it was a street scene the 25 extras that were hired (but as far as I could tell were not even used) had to have their cars, as well. But, here is another reason that the fuel truck had to be available….all of those trucks and trailers and catering that I mentioned….they run idle all day long for upwards of 16 hours. Why? Well, the best answer I could get is that it is because the air conditioning needs to be running. And when I asked “why?” to that, the answer in return was “because that’s just what we do”.

Now, it’s one thing to have these running when they are at a site full of activity and people need to get out of the sun to avoid overheating or burns. But, all of these idling trucks were at base camp. While all of the 125 people there that day were a mile away filming, these trucks were sitting by themselves, with a lone security guard (who by the way had to sit outside), with their A/C running just in case. And, I literally mean “just in case”. Trailer’s are used by the talent and we had seven that day… trailer’s that is, not talent. We had three actors on set. The other four trailers were back-up…because you know… just in case! And, in all honesty, I don’t have an issue with back up. I think on a hot day, with 125 people, you need to make sure, for safety reasons, that if someone needs to be cool, we have the resources to make them cool. I do have issue with the fact that the back-up was up and running. It seems logical to me that you would have the back up there, just in case, and then let it sit idle when it is needed. But to have it running empty, all day long, is ridiculous.

As you would expect, I have to dedicate some time in this post to food. Catering served two meals, breakfast and lunch, at base camp. Craft services is available all day, on set, providing water or other drinks, and snack items as people see fit to give themselves a munchy. I am not sure where to start with this because, if you have read any of my posts, you would guess that it left a lot to be desired from my point of view. I don’t agree with the availability of candy and donuts and other sweet or fattening items, and the lack of availability of fruit. I am going to assume that falls into the category of demand and supply. However, to not have a healthy alternative is irrational and irresponsible in my opinion. I think the two things that stood out the most to me was the waste of food at lunch time and the abundance of bottled water.

All told, catering, unlike craft services, does a nice job of providing a well balanced, variety of food for the cast and crew. There is salad and fruit and other items that can help you choose to be healthful. However, as with many things, the opposite is available as well. The lunch menu consisted of grilled salmon, chicken and beef with sides of mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus and steamed vegetables. Of course, in order to have all options available to every single person, they have to cook an over abundance of each item. I am not sure what all was cooked and discarded because I only saw what happened to the beef.

I haven’t written a post about beef and the factory farming, called Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO), associated with cattle. Needless to say, when I do, chances are you will stop eating it. To see the pile stacked next to the grill was horrifying enough. But to see it get thrown away, because they over prepared and they can’t do anything with it, was depressing. (For all those people who argue that we have to have industrial farming and agriculture because of “all the starving people” in the world, I really want to know how all of our over abundance is going to help anyone in a third world country when we throw it away!) The waste of food that I saw with my own eyes, and can only imagine the rest, is unacceptable. Not only because of the destruction the production of that food has done to our environment, but also because there are people who could have used that food instead of going to a local fast food chain. I do not know what the fix is in getting that food to the less fortunate, but I know it can start by not purchasing and preparing too much to begin with.

The second thing that stood out was the high volume of bottled water. If you are reading this, and have any notion of environmental impact, you know this is a small consumption that you can stop and would result in a dramatic effect to our planet. The volume of water bottles in our landfills is horrifying, made more so by the fact that they are plastic, therefore are not going to decompose. And, as I have already mentioned before, the leaching of the plastic has increased the amount of toxins in our bodies. But, the more significant aspect of this issue in regards to this film set is that there was not one recycling bin for all those bottles; which meant these bottles had only one destination…to join their friends at the landfill and sit there for centuries.

The first thing I want you to consider, after telling you about my experience, is that this same situation happens everyday, in many locations, all around the world. According to www.imdb.com, there are 650 films currently filming, with an additional 1,000 television shows. There are an untold amount of films in pre-production getting ready to start any day. They film in Los Angeles, New York, Canada, Australia, Europe… I doubt there is one country that doesn’t produce films. The show I was on is very small scale. A film set can be double or triple the size and can last for days and weeks. The environmental impact is undeniable and unquantifiable.

And, also, let’s think about this… what do we do it for? The show I was working on, I can, in all honesty, call it pure CRAP. It has no value to our society, at all. It doesn’t educate, it has no moral compass and, in my opinion, it doesn’t even entertain. So is the environmental impact and destruction equal to the value of it being made, aired, or watched? I think in many cases, the answer is an emphatic and resolute “no”. I think many of you would agree that you would rather not have the “Desperate Housewives of Orange County” or “Hannah Montana” in production and on the air; if in return, it means you can have a world that your children can grow up in, right? And, even if you argue that you watch some shows for entertainment value, I will argue back, when did being around your friends, or your children, or reading a book stop being entertaining? And, more importantly, isn’t it more critical to be a part of a community and a society where we are connecting with one another, as opposed to being a zombie in front of a television?

The last thing I want to mention to get you thinking is something I realized on Wednesday, when I was working. It may sound silly to you, but I got something about the television industry that I had never really comprehended before; 100% of television is paid for by advertizing. Television is not like film. To see a film, you the viewer pays for what you want to see. Television is paid for by Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, McDonald’s, Petco, and obviously, it can go on and on and on. My point is this: when you watch a show, I ask you to pay attention to the commercials. If you are someone, like myself, that does not want to support Wal-Mart, then we better not watch a TV show that has a Wal-Mart commercial, because they paid for that show. This is why the newspapers print the top TV shows for the week… advertisers want to know where they should put their ads for the most visibility. I have been watching television for a very long time, and I just got this, so it may not hit you right away like it has me… but, I really want you to grasp this fully. Television is paid for with the sole interest of us continuing to being consumers. It is not produced so we will be entertained. It is produced so we will purchase more, since that is the only thing our economy is based on; consumer confidence. So when we watch television thinking that the ads are filler for the show, I challenge that and say in reality the show is filler to show us ads.

Do you really want to destroy our home because Target wants to sell you cheap contact solution? Is our environment worth the $0.40 savings that the same product would cost at Long’s, a company as far as I can tell does not buy advertising space?

As always, I never am trying to tell you what to do. My only intention is to make sure we are the most active and aware consumers we can be. I want to make sure when you sit down in front of the television, you are just a bit more conscious and conscientious of how that show was truly made and what the impact truly is.

Now, I have a more important discussion to have with myself. I have been working toward a goal for a few years because I thought I wanted to be a part of this industry. Right now, I am faced with an ethical dilemma, which only I can answer for myself. I sit here and wonder how Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Ed Begley Jr. and Darryl Hannah can do it; do you buy offsets? Do you turn a blind eye? I know that my first decision is to watch only that which benefits society and to write what I feel contributes and not harms. I know this is an ongoing discussion and I will stay in the conversation to make the best decision for me and the ones I love, which is all I ever ask of anyone. Get all the information you can, and then do your absolute best.

I wanted to take more pictures, but it isn’t allowed because of confidentiality. Hopefully, these can give you some idea of scale of the largeness of this shoot: