Edward Burtynsky's enlightening, at times shocking documentary, "Manufactured Landscape" explores both the obvious and the oft hidden consequences of industrialization.

Any citizen of this planet.

With a focus on China, a country rocketing toward industrialization (and to a lesser extent, Bangladesh), viewers are shown the disturbing, short- and long-term disastrous results of sudden explosions of industrial growth.

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This documentary made me realize that despite my earnest attempts to remain aware of the human impact on the environment, I've actually had blinders on.

I believe this video should be required viewing for every high school student. As a society, we are not used to thinking about the consequences of our lifestyles. For instance, seeing where discarded computers end up was completely shocking. Entire towns 'exist' in China for the purpose of dismantling computers, painstakingly removing valuable metal parts. Those who dismantle the parts are being poisoned, as is the town, as the rains wash the toxic metals into the water table.

America's desire to maintain our current lifestyle is harming the earth (and other people) in ways most of us do not realize. Our homes are filled to the brim with "things" we believe are necessary. The rise of storage businesses should have been our first clue that our consumer society is out of control. We've started thinking about the mountain ranges of landfills we create. Now we need to open our eyes to the full picture of a consumer-driven society. This DVD is a good introduction.

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Created Feb 05, 2009 at 1:25pm • Submit your own review...