Collapse

Film evenings begin with optional potluck refreshments and social hour at 6:30 pm,
followed by the film at 7:30 pm, followed by a discussion after the film.

Collapse
by National Geographic Channel

This National Geographic Channel film about the collapse of civilizations is based primarily on Jared Diamond’s and Joseph Tainter’s monumental scientific works on this subject. Nat Geo, following Diamond and Tainter, talks of the upcoming collapse of our own civilization not just to be negatively sensational but to make a straight forward comparison between our current society and that of the Romans, Aztecs, Anasazi, and others. Nat Geo reminds us that we have been burning ancient sunlight – oil and coal – for 120 years with little regard for the limits of these resources or the consequences of burning them. Nat Geo includes interviews with Jared Diamond and Joseph Tainter — major collapse scholars — and James Howard Kunstler in this film to add to its scientific authenticity.

Today it is well to remember older civilizations that collapsed because their civilizations, like ours, were unsustainable. The Roman civilization, for example, as well as the City of Phoenix of the Aztecs overshot the earth’s carrying capacity for them. They depleted their resources, including water. Politics and short-term decisions trumped long-term sustainability considerations. War and territorial expansion took priority over food, sustainable living, and even health! This film tells us that, as a species, we humans are genetically equipped to deal with short-term crises, but unable to plan ahead for long-term needs and limits. The film shows that each culture left a footprint of its short-term thinking in denial of climate change, food, water limitations, and transportation constraints.

Wheelchair accessible around the corner at 411 28th Street

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