Monumental: David Brower's Fight for Wild America

For someone like myself, who spends most of his time in movie theaters, the natural world may hold little importance on a daily basis. That said, there is one scene in this film where the tallest existing redwood tree is cut down for pulp that caused me to flinch as a human being. You never really know your connectedness to the living world till you actually see it being destroyed.

And that's where David Brower became a master of influence, by bringing Pres. John F. Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson (then pres. LBJ's first lady), and other influential politicians into the natural world. When part of the Grand Canyon was set to be flooded Brower immediately started river-rafting tours of the canyon to show people why it shouldn't be flooded.

And when the flooding advocates remarked that flooding the canyon would allow for boating, recreation, and easier access to the rim, Brower created the now-famous advertisement: 'Should we flood the Sistine Chapel to get closer to the the ceiling'.

This documentary incorporated decades of footage shot by Brower during his long reign at the Sierra Club including several excerpts from feature documentaries made by Brower do drum up public support for the cause. By the end of this film it's undeniable that the natural world is worth more to us as human beings than it will as shopping malls, wood pulp, and dams.

Check this out and be prepared - you may become an eco-activist when it's all over!