Terra Blight 2012
Distributed by Cinema Guild, 115 West 30th Street, Suite 800, New York, NY 10001; 212-685-6242
Produced by Isaac Brown and Ana Paula Habib
Directed by Isaac Brown
DVD, color, 55 min.
Jr. High - General Adult
African Studies, Computer Industry, Environmental Studies, Ethics, International Relations
Date Entered: 08/22/2012
Reviewed by Patricia B. McGee, Coordinator of Media Services, Volpe Library & Media Center, Tennessee Technological University“Computers, machines for life… give promise of deep and far reaching change.” These portentous words contract starkly with a traditional Ghanaian classroom where the children are learning their lessons by rote, and where after school they scavenge in polluted electronic waste dumps for recyclables. Isaiah Attah started smashing up computers to separate out the valuable metals when he was six years old. Mike Anane, Ghanaian journalist, tracks the used machines that pour into his county—primarily from the United States and many with property tags still visible: Geico, State of Connecticut Department of Mental Health, US Government, Patent and Trademark Office, Washington Area Transit Authority. While Dell has a company policy prohibiting dumping of their machines, in practice non-working or obsolete machines readily flow into developing nations.
Terra Blight is film of brutal contrasts and profoundly disturbing conclusions. In Ghana a young metal scavenger has no idea of the purpose of the machines. Children in flimsy rubber flip-flops climb over mounds of toxic waste and broken glass, while Creative Recycling, an American company can reduce the machines to tidy boxes of materials ready for reprocessing. An American family has multiple machines, attends conventions where hundred gather to play on-line games, and is constantly on the lookout for the newest technology. Isaiah’s mother Elizabeth Awimbiha on the other hand admits that she doesn’t want her “son to go out there, but sometimes the situation here is so hopeless.”
E-waste is America’s fastest growing waste stream. The United States produces more electronic waste that any other country; over 100 million televisions and computer monitors are discarded each year. The manager of a CompUSA store touts the enormous value of computers yet confesses he has no idea where electronic waste goes. In fact the US recycles less than 20% of its e-waste although the technology exists to reclaim all the components of computers and televisions. Terra Blight forces viewers to wonder when conscientious Americans deliver obsolete electronics to “recyclers” on community waste collection days, where do those toxic wastes really end up? Why would any nation permit 21st century toxic waste to be managed by 19th century standards? Highly recommended and a must have for all programs dealing with environmental issues.