I just watched THE ONE DEGREE FACTOR, a new film
by the Sea Studios Foundation in Monterey, CA. They are the folks behind the
epic and wonderful Shape of Life series. The film is part of a four-part series called National Geographic’s Strange
Days on Planet Earth that will air on public television in April. The film takes the issue of how we are changing the
earth (obviously for the worse) and breaks the matter down into four key issues, each of which gets a film unto itself.
The film I just watched was about global warming and how the increase in temperatures caused by man’s industry is
wreaking havoc around the globe. Ed Norton, the actor, but whose father Jim is deeply involved in environmental issues,
hosts and narrates the film. And he does a pretty good job. He’s got some green heft given his father’s role with the
Nature Conservancy and Ed’s role as an environmental advocate. Sadly, Norton wasn’t at
the screening. Anyway, the film is beautifully shot. The Sea Studios folks make these movies as if they are going to be
shown in the theater. Scorcesean camera moves and editing techniques are used to great effect. The images are
amazingly vivid and the stories that are told about (for example, a group of children coming down with asthma due to
dust from Africa) are convincing. If you are a fan of environmental issues, this is a film you’ll want to watch.