JE #6 - Kilowatt Hours by Jeff Barrie

http://www.kilowattours.org/

Kilowatt Hours was a very interesting DVD to watch. I have witnessed the changes in the Appalachia landscape but was not exactly aware of what was going on as I have not had the pleasure of trekking off road in that region. Even though I have not witnessed it up close, these are mountains! You can't help but notice when an entire one disappears from the landscape, even if you are only riding down an interstate.

For someone who is local to the area and has deep routes in the area, I can only guess that they feel the same way I do when I fly back home and don't see the Trade Towers in the skyline. They are under attack and don't have much ability to do anything about it. I have seen a few billboards but some are so ambiguous that I did not understand their messages until watching this video today. Very enlightening! A particular point that was brought home to me was the Appalachian gentleman's response when someone asks if he has pictures of the area before their ruin, he comments that they were mountains and that he thought they'd always be there so why take pictures. I could not think of a more defining comment for the gap between his generation and my own. Because I DO have pictures of that area before many of the changes were wrought. Could it be that it was just a pretty range of mountains to photograph or is it deeper than that and as one who is studying history, I realize many things can change that you don't expect? I lean toward the latter as it's always in my mind, this desire to capture the "before" to be able to share with future generations because so many things have become relics just in my short time on this earth.

I have visited or traveled through many of the places that Mr. Barrie visits in this documentary so was very pleased to see that I am not the only one to witness many of the environmental catastrophes as well as the hope in solar and wind farms that are changing the landscape of our country.

The rest of the documentary in regards to energy savings was very educational. The bits about no plan for hazardous waste are still just as disturbing as when I first learned of their plans for the Yucca Valley/Mtn in Nevada as I have also traveled through that area.