Home Place: Inside-Outside

Environmentally speaking, man has had--and I'll use the technical ecological description here--a "turd in the punchbowl" effect on the myriad ecosystems which combined together make up the ecosphere, our "home place." In considerably less scatological terms, host J. Stan Rowe advances this point in Inside-Outside, the final episode of the 4-part series Home Place. Opening with beautiful footage of ground squirrels, Rowe describes himself as a relatively insignificant player (as long as he stays still) in the ground squirrel's environment, while--to Rowe--the ground squirrel's antics offer some measure of enjoyment and appreciation. Unfortunately, species and systems cross, and the effect is often disastrous, particularly in the case of homo sapiens. We have--if we're honest--long looked at Earth in much the same way that my son looks at the task of mowing the lawn; i.e., "what's in it for me?" Resources that were useful to humans were used--often quite piggishly so--while resources that were not specifically useful to particular humans were often summarily trashed. Drawing on examples from Canadian topography, the program emphasizes the interconnectedness of various systems, and even though it occasionally feels like an "Environmental 101" lesson that many of us know by absolute heart, the situation is presented effectively and the film well-made. The other titles in the series ($495: series price) are: Going Home, Partnership and Life Cycles. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)