A Sea Change

“I wish I was a fish,” says young Elias when he and his grandfather Sven Huseby visit an aquarium. But as this documentary's subtitle—”Imagine a World Without Fish”—suggests, being a fish today is not exactly a winning proposition. One of the current banes of fish is carbon dioxide, which the oceans are absorbing in increasing amounts, creating an alarming rise in acidification. What this means is that the basic chemistry of the seas is being altered on a massive scale, at a rate that doesn't allow species to adapt; in fact, the humble pteropod (sea butterfly), which occupies a low rung on the oceanic food chain, is already being severely affected. After Huseby, a retired educator who owes his life to the sea (his parents met at a fish market), read about this dire situation in a magazine article, he began to worry about the world his grandson would inherit, and decided to embark on a journey of discovery. A scientist at an oceanography conference bluntly asks, “Are we screwed”? Well, according to director Barbara Ettinger's A Sea Change the answer is “maybe not”: the science exists to combat the problem—in the form of sustainable technologies such as solar and wind power—but what is lacking is the political will. Yet the future generation offers reason for hope. In one of the final scenes, Huseby addresses graduates of Vermont's Putney School, where ground is being broken for a new “carbon zero” structure. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (J. Whiting)