GrowthBusters

It's tricky for the documentary filmmaker to put himself/herself onto screen, making the documentarian a focus of the film. Michael Moore has done it successfully. Dave Gardner tries it now, taking on the role of not just documentarian but "Growthbuster" in his crusade against too much growth.

"Growthbusters" plays on the name and trappings of the popular 1984 film, "Ghostbusters," with documentary filmmaker Dave Gardner as the lead "Growthbuster." Yes, it's a hook that's a little goofy and a little hokey, but when you're dealing with "the greatest failing of humankind," as Gardner describes our addiction to unsustainable growth, adding a little cornball humor helps us bear the extreme weightiness of the topic.

And not only are we acting unsustainably, Gardner says, "The proof is out there that we are in overshoot." The scale of human enterprise—population, consumption and the size of economies—has outgrown the planet. Yet humankind continues behaving as though there are no limits. He believes it's largely cultural reasons that keep us from seeing we're at the limits, and through "Growthbusters," he's spotlighting the roadblocks.

Gardner uses his hometown of Colorado Springs as a poster child for growth addiction. In the depiction of this south-central Colorado town, the viewer will quickly recognize most any town in the U.S.A.—one of urban sprawl, big box stores, other familiar chain stores of smaller size and massive parking lots to accommodate our car culture. Anchoring the story in his home base helps create the film's narrative, as Gardner takes on the issue as the "no-growth" candidate in his bid for a city council seat and explores the sacrifices we make based on the blind faith that growth will solve a community's problems and make it better.

The film features a wealth of interviews with the leading thinkers about sustainability, overpopulation and the impacts of too much growth. There's Robert Engelman of Worldwatch Institute and Eben Fodor, author of "Better, Not Bigger." Gardner also features anthropologist/primatologist Jane Goodall, former Colorado governor and populationist Dick Lamm, population ecologist William Rees, Bill Ryerson of the Population Institute and Madeline Weld of the Population Institute of Canada, among many others.

Stanford University's Paul Ehrlich, author of the seminal work, "The Population Bomb," makes one of the most important connections to consumption and population—particularly for those who beat the drum primarily about the consumption side of the growth equation. "If you manage, somehow, to half each person's consumption, on average," he says, "but you allow population size to double, you haven't gained at all, because, if you have half as much consumption, but twice as many persons, you're right where you started."

If you are someone who follows these issues, this is a film you will want to see. You can say, "This is what I've been talking about; thank you Gardner for framing this discussion!"

And if growth and overpopulation aren't something you consider as a problem, this is for you too. "Growthbusters" lays out the challenges and starts the discussion on solutions—something about which we all should be concerned.

I respect the upbeat approach of this film to make regular folk understand limits to growth and not "offend" them with too much negativity or graphical data.

For some of us it's a bit of a soft-sell, especially the idea that small-scale community activism is enough to stop global corporate momentum. I remain pessimistic because societies have historically waited for crises to take real action. The ratio of forward thinkers to apathetic drones may always be too small. If humans were really bright enough to solve this, you'd think more of them would understand the problem without being reminded.

The connection between oil production (energy growth) and population growth could have been stressed more, as Peak Oil might be our best hope for reducing growth. Far-thinking economists recognize that the 2008 recession was triggered in large part by a peak in conventional oil production and resultant price shocks. The lesson of costly oil hasn't really sunk in yet, with U.S. shale fracking creating a new mirage of plenitude.

Anyhow, I don't know of a better way to introduce the masses to this critical topic while not overstepping their limited attention spans. They kept the film short enough to deliver major points well. Pass it around.

I have to admit that I wasn't impressed with this film probably because I've just recently spent time on the gifted John de Graaf's outstanding books and films, especially the film "Affluenza," and can't help comparing John's bedrock ideals to the interests of those with more dilettantish persuasions. Besides, that film featured Joe Dominguez (a childfree, ultra-simple-living genius who wrote "Your Money or Your Life"), adding a welcome amount of authenticity and weight to any discussion about the environment.

Plus, I always research any group that asks for donations and concerns themselves with overpopulation in particular (my wife and I are in our 60s and childfree by choice), overconsumption, and environmental protection. I like to contribute serious dollars and my voluntary efforts only after peering behind the public façade to see if their talk is being walked.

And this is where most fail the test, which surprises me still after all my years dealing with activists, real and imagined. Two people living in a 5600-square-foot home, along with all the bells and whistles, is not my idea of low consumption. Apparently, giving up a certain lifestyle is difficult for those who spent decades catering to the corporate message.

Consequently, I'll be promoting and contributing to John de Graaf's extensive efforts: Take Back Your Time, Center for Humans & Nature, The Happiness Initiative, Earth Economics, etc. Since the 1970s, he has been living the message to downsize, to protect nature. Gravitas such as he possesses is sorely needed now.