A Farm for the Future

SUBHEAD: BBC Covers Peak Oil: A Farm for the Future, is now available on Google.  

By Chris Vernon on 20 February 2009 in The Oil Drum
http://europe.theoildrum.com/node/5120

 
Image above: Still from title sequence of film "A Farm For The Future" on Google. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4152340418943461860&ei=w_HNSYSoDZbcqAORtejyDg&q=%22BBC+Covers+Peak+Oil%3A+A+Farm+for+the+Future%22

Most would agree the subject of peak oil has not received the mainstream media coverage its importance warrants. On Friday the BBC will be broadcasting an excellent peak oil documentary; it focuses on farming. Presenter and co-producer Rebecca Hosking explores the importance of oil in farming and the potential impact of peak oil.

The film has a passionate narrative centred on Rebecca’s small family farm in South West England; can she make her farm fit for the future? The subject mater is top notch. Colin Campbell and Richard Heinberg contribute, permaculture, forest gardens, gardening vs farming, biofuels, biodiversity, industrial farming and no-till farming are all covered. It seems certain that present methods cannot go on feeding Britain as they are highly dependent on fossil-fuel. The film concentrates on the necessity to find a new way to feed the nation.

Above all, the presentation comes from the heart. It is sure to capture the imagination of many people who, not least due to the deepening recession, are primed for new ideas like never before. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this film is that it exists at all. Within the BBC, the Natural History Unit is one of the most conservative. The producers of 'A Farm for the Future' had a tremendous struggle getting this film made. BBC executives were not keen; the big global travellers even called the film "messed up propaganda".

However two years after I met with co-producer Tim Green at the inception of the film; it does now exist. The hope is that with the Natural History Unit producing a film with peak oil at its heart, the gates are now open to all the other departments such as News at Ten, Panorama, Horizon etc. to cover peak oil.

There is knowledge and understanding of peak oil within the BBC but also nervousness about reporting. Rebecca and Tim would like to thank the community here at The Oil Drum for providing much of the information needed to make this possible.

No comments :

Post a Comment