Educational Media Reviews Online

For those who do not know of him, David Brower is described in this program as "probably the most prominent environmentalist in the world. Naturalist, expert mountain climber, film maker, author, publisher, crusader, harsh enemy of blind progress, for the past sixty years no one has fought harder to defend this Earth. Heir in spirit to John Muir, David Brower saved the Grand Canyon from power dams, he fought successfully to save much of the American wilderness from saws and bulldozers, he turned the once tiny Sierra Club into a powerful political force, then founded Earth First and the Earth Island Institute. He has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize." The fawning tone and overly adulatory substance of what narrator Scott Simon, host of National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Saturday, says through the rest of this video almost spoils it. Almost, because David Brower, who is interviewed at his home the week before his eighty-third birthday by Simon, emerges as a tireless advocate for his views, but also as a gentle, warm, and humorous change agent who has come to temper his actions with balance, realism, and reasonableness - a fighter who is not shy about trumpeting his victories, but also readily admits to failures with a sense of humility in the face of the enormity of dealing with the complexity of the environment.

For example, Brower notes that while he does not agree with the belief of some that the ecological damage that is being done today will be repaired by the technological advances of tomorrow, he will not engage in wholesale techno-bashing, as do some of his associates, since he is quite grateful for the advances that have led to things such as the pacemaker he depends upon. Likewise, he admits that he would be most unhappy if he had to reside in the wilderness and prefers an urban setting for his home - although he does not want the ability to be alone in the wilderness to be taken from him or others. (As Brower says "Wilderness holds answers to questions we still haven't learned to ask.") The program, which is technically excellent and appropriate for junior high level and above, ends with a discussion of Brower's current efforts at Global CPR (Conservation, Preservation, and Restoration) that stress the use of volunteers organized through the management expertise of the private corporate sector. Recommended for general viewing as well as in support of ecological and environmental studies.