Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

By: Ashley Burdin

Frostburg State University holds an event on campus entitled “Focus Frostburg.” This event focuses on sustainability and the environment. There are numerous presenters and presentations that go on throughout the day. This year one of the presentations was a documentary film entitled “Home”, which was created by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. This presentation was sponsored by the Sierra Club and LGLG.

Before the presentation began students were chatty and sociable; however, once the presentation started all the students quickly became quiet. “Home” focuses on the beginning of the earth, how the earth was created, and what humans have done to the earth. This documentary is another version of how the world is created. This version does not include any god-like figure, nor does it involve a big bang. It involved the scientific reasoning’s behind how the earth is created. The movie argues that “minerals are the oldest part of the earth because minerals contain stardust, from when the earth was formed.” “Home” also says that the earth started out as a place filled with fire and volcanoes. Over a series of changes in the atmosphere, water came and down poured on the entire world. This created the rivers and water ways we have today. “Home” is a great movie for people who want to learn more about the environment which they live in today.

“Home” also examines what we as a species have done to the environment. The documentary argues that the earth is four billion years old and the human race is only 200 thousand years old. However, the documentary does say that when it comes to the beginning of life, “life is a mystery.” In those 200 thousand years, only the last 100 years has done extreme damage to our home. “In the last 60 years the population has almost doubled.” This is putting a strain on our environment. Our environment cannot maintain the resources we need to survive at the rate we are developing. This also brought up the issue of oil. “In L.A. the amount of cars nearly matches the amount of inhabitants.” The documentary argues that “the end of cheap oil is inevitable, but we refuse to believe it.” One of the main points the movie made was, “we are destroying a circle of life that was given to us.”

There are many other issues discussed in the documentary. The documentary has vivid, beautiful pictures which are stunning. The viewer cannot help but watch the screen. No matter who watches it, they will learn something they did not know.