Sally Erickson and Tim Bennett‘s What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire (2007) is a homegrown documentary exploring the question of industrial civilization, and its answers.

Synopsis

Conceivably, WaWtG:LatEoE (or, whatgulateoe) is the most important film of our time. As other reviewers comment, it is not necessarily the most well-crafted film. It isn’t. The editing is flawed; the pacing, disjoint.

What it is, however, is the most ruthlessly honest film ever put to cinematography. From the earnest, poetically hushed script-writing and truth-yarned narrative delivery to the relentless, factual interviews with scientific luminaries, authors, and journalists, WaWtG:LatEoE weaves the sordid story of… collapse. From the weft of everyday intuition and despondency, it incrementally and with examined force unravels the mass predicaments of industrial civilization. In no order, these are:

• Peak oil. Global oil production peaked at 74.87 mbpd (million barrels of oil per day) on July 11th, 2008 — our so-called "Peak Oil Day," in hindsight.
• Climate change. (I don’t believe we need to discuss this one…)
• Biodiversity loss. Anthropogenic species extiction is roughly 10,000 times the background rate, at an estimated 100 species per day. By contrast, the sum number of distinct species on Earth is estimated at only 10,000,000 species. Do the math.
• Human overpopulation. The human population is currently growing at 94,000,000 humans annually. Human population growth has obeyed an exponential curve for the past 13,000 years: the “Holecene.” Unfortunately for the human population, their home is a finite planet.
• Economic depression. At the tail end of quarter one of 2010, gross sovereign debt of the United States of America is an estimated 87.3% of GDP. If you think this is a sustainable trajectory, I have a Nigerian banker who would like to speak with you.

In sum, the prognosis is bleak. If the 20th century was the Age of Exuberance, the 21st century will, with all likelihood, be the Age of Consequences. The unpaid debt of those consequences is coming due.