May 2013

Sand: an investigation into a disappearance. Shown last night on ARTE, the
European culture channel, this superb documentary by Denis Delestrac has
already made waves. It has also provided me with a great deal of pleasure and
satisfaction – last year, Denis filmed a long piece of yours truly holding forth
on the topic and extracted a number of choice selections for inclusion in
the documentary. So, last night, for the first time, I sat and watched myself on
TV……

The film also includes wise words from, amongst others, Orrin Pilkey, Professor Emeritus of
Geologyat Duke University, whose work I have highlighted
several times in this blog. The documentary can be viewed in its entirety at
http://www.arte.tv/guide/fr/046598-000/le-sable-enquete-sur-une-disparition –
in French, but it has been taken up by PBS in the US, so watch out for the
English version being broadcast. Originally titled Sand Wars, it does a
great job of raising awareness of an environmental issue rarely brought to the
public’s attention – the way that we exploit our unsung hero is not
sustainable.

Thank you Denis! SIGNATURE

Originally published at: https://throughthesandglass.typepad.com/through_the_sandglass/2013/05/index.html