A Snowmobile for George

The eponymous George in Todd Darling's documentary is the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush, and the snowmobile is a two-stroke-engine model that emits 27 times more pollution than an average automobile. The film—constructed around a cross-country trip Darling took to explore why President Bush halted a scheduled phase-out of two-stroke engines, and featuring interviews of fishermen, ranchers, reporters, and others encountered along the way—uses the snowmobile as the launching pad for a well-documented (if partisan) examination of the Bush administration's environmental record. The vehicle is a fitting symbol of corner-cutting recklessness under Bush (since it was allowed in national parks despite havoc on the environment), although it is only one example presented here of the Bush White House's indifference to public resources and public safety. Many others are also tied specifically to nature—most notably the death of the Klamath River's fish population—however, Darling also brings up the controversial post-9/11 clean-up operations at Ground Zero as further evidence of a White House with no interest in maintaining a policy of environmental hazard oversight and control. Although Bush is no longer in Washington, his legacy remains, and A Snowmobile for George offers a harsh inventory of the former president's actions. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)