This is a guest post from our friend Angela Alston. Angela is the Outreach Coordinator of A Sea Change, https://aseachange.net. She co-founded Moca Media with her sister Gwen to develop and implement outreach and distribution strategies for social-issue documentaries.
Imagine a world without fish. Barbara Ettinger was really not in the mood to do that. She and her husband Sven Huseby had just spent three years making a film. They were ready to take a six-month break, after going full out day, and sometimes night to shoot Two Square Miles, their documentary about a proposed coal-fired cement plant in Hudson, NY.
But Sven and Barbara read an alarming article in the New Yorker magazine about a little-known by-product of human-made carbon emissions: ocean acidification. Pondering the facts raised in Elizabeth Kolbert’s “The Darkening Sea” caused Sven to begin research on the issue online. But alarming as ocean acidification sounded—it’s been called the “wet underbelly” or “evil twin” of climate change—very little information was available.
The effects of climate change aren’t limited to global warming. The sea is being affected, too. Seawater chemistry is being changed by human-caused carbon dioxide. Excess carbon dioxide is dissolving in our oceans. That makes the seawater more acidic, which in turn makes it difficult for tiny creatures at the bottom of the food web to form their shells. The effects could work their way up to the fish 1 billion people depend upon for their source of protein.
Barbara and Sven determined ocean acidification was a threat they couldn’t ignore. They began research, then production on A Sea Change, which debuts on US TV Sept. 26. The film was completed after two years, thousands of miles of travel (all offset through Carbon Planet), and hundreds of hours of editing.
Sven had grown up in several of the places where groundbreaking research is taking place on ocean acidification. So Barbara decided to shape to shape the film through personal history. Sven is the means by which the audience encounters the problem of ocean acidification and begins to understand the issue and its possible solutions. He meets some of the scientists whose research is in the forefront of the race to understand ocean acidification. And he talks with entrepreneurs exploring clean technology which may help turn the tide on ocean acidification.
Sven’s family has always been linked to the sea and to fish. His five-year-old grandson Elias is part of the story. So it’s not all doom and gloom: we get to laugh sometimes.
A Sea Change’s festival premiere at the DC Environmental Film Festival had a record, standing-room-only audience. It’s won multiple awards, including Grand Prize at the FICA Film Festival in Brazil and Best Green Film at the Kosovo Documentary Festival. This is the first chance to watch A Sea Change on US TV.
You can watch A Sea Change on the Planet Green Network, Sept. 26 at 8 pm EST.
https://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/reel-impact/sea-change.html
Plenty of people don’t have cable or satellite (or even a TV!), if you do, will you host a house party? We’ll give you a free DVD to say thanks. And your party can be public or private, just as you choose. https://aseachange.bravenewtheaters.com/
After you watch, we hope you’ll take action. How can we turn around ocean acidification? By aiming at that special number: 350. Scientists at Oceana say that, at 350 ppm or below, there’s a possibility for preventing the massive die-offs which could result from ocean acidification. So any action you take for 350.org is an action of support of life as we know it in the ocean. 350 has a bunch of great suggestions for actions on and leading up to Oct. 24, the International Day of Climate Action. And some folks are screening A Sea Change. There are three screenings in Hawaii on Oct. 24, on Oahu, Maui, and Kahuai. Partnering on those are NOAA, the Bishop Museum, Maui Ocean Center, Save Our Seas, and Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument . Just let us know if you’d like to set up a screening https://www.aseachange.net/upcoming_screenings.htm
But listen, don’t take my word for it. This is my job, right?
Here’s what some other folks who’ve watched A Sea Change have said:
Reviews of A Sea Change
“Like Sven and many others in A Sea Change, once I learned about the problem of ocean acidification I have been able to think of little else. The dire message of ocean acidification is beautifully conveyed in the film and it does a wonderful job of highlighting the duty of us all to become educated and called to action.”
—Jess Reese, The Climate Project Presenter
"A Sea Change follows ex-history teacher, activist and grandfather Sven Huseby as he travels to visit various scientists to learn more about the impacts of ocean acidification and tries to find ways to explain the problem to his 5-year-old grandson, Elias. I completely fell in love with Sven and the extraordinarily bright Elias. The people in the film are very real and approachable and the ocean footage is stunning. Optimistic, with a whole section of solutions at the end. Broad appeal for all ages."
—Dr. Cat Dorey, Sustainable Seafood Advisor, Greenpeace International
“Ocean acidification is the flip side of global warming and if you have children, grandchildren or any investment in life as we know it continuing on this planet, this is a must-see film.”
—Marin Maven
"A Sea Change offers a searching, emotionally powerful look at ocean acidification. This problem is sometimes called the "evil twin" of climate change, and many of us regard it as an existential threat to the future of fishing. The story is full of heart, scientifically accurate, and lyrical. It also offers good reason for hope, which is indispensable in the face of such a huge challenge."
—Brad Warren, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership