tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958364579236943118.post7143290105172916578..comments2009-01-26T00:06:34.795-05:00Comments on EMS--Blogging from the Edge: FIELD NOTE: VISITING THE SALTON SEAsmudgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12049362367191357767noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958364579236943118.post-65170979297162190152008-10-22T19:37:00.000-04:002008-10-22T19:37:00.000-04:00"The most beautiful body of water in california?" ..."The most beautiful body of water in california?" And the bathe in this? With the thick foaminess and dead animals floating on top? <BR/>My question is why do they have to stay there?L. John R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09230578340424465348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958364579236943118.post-68644519391816151062008-10-22T01:20:00.000-04:002008-10-22T01:20:00.000-04:00These images seems very tragic. Old rusted 50's tr...These images seems very tragic. Old rusted 50's trailers, dead fish, filthy waters, old road signs...it almost seem like a wasteland. This media exposes the real-life environmental problems we are facing today as global warming increases due to various human activities. I was wondering why are these people still living there? Do they receive help from the government while living in these conditions? When I watched the documentary, the residents seem to have limited access to things they need to survive- like stores, recreation centers and restaurants. Why couldn't the government help these people? Does the EPA notice about the environmental problems in Salton City and the Salton Lake? The local residents seems very unhappy of what they see and experience living in a town that looks like a wasteland. The smell of decaying bodies of fish and dead birds , the dry gray dust that was once soil from the agricultural farms, old rusting 50's automobiles that hasn't moved by man for past four/five decades ago shows a representation of this "ecological time-bomb". People communicate about the things they experience would relay the audience attention because, local residents tells their personal stories about what their community use to be a utopia paradise in California before the disaster and the aftermath. Overall, I believe this documentary serves attention to the people who are concern about the environmental problems we are living in today and how can we solve this issue and restoring resources and habitats.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958364579236943118.post-37536170221507794512008-10-22T00:20:00.000-04:002008-10-22T00:20:00.000-04:00To an extent, I understand why a lot of these peop...To an extent, I understand why a lot of these people, specifically the older people that have clearly been there for some time, still enjoy the town. My grandmother lives in Percival, Iowa, now a town of less than 100 people. But at one point it was a lively/booming place to live. The town was built because of the railroad. The tracks and passenger train station created a border on the eastern part of Percival, with the bluffs in the horizon. Then when the highway came through, it created a border on the western part of the town. My grandpa owned a lumber yard there as well. But, with the decline of passenger trains, and the construction of the interstate (less than a mile away from the town), the train station was bulldozed, the elementary school closed, all stores, bars and restaurants closed, the gas station deteriorated, and my grandpa sold his lumber yard. Eventually even the post office shut down, leaving the town church which sustains itself by traveling pastors. Yet every year when I return I see the same people living in their same homes, doing the same things they always did. My grandparents lived in Percival their entire adult lives, and although it's just my grandma now, she is established in the community and her only source of communication to others is by phone and writing letters. For a lot of people in rural communities,mainly extremely small rural communities, the evolution of transportation and technology has left the predicament: Leave your entire life behind, or maintain it the best you can.Andrew Tatreauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12398998632846897281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958364579236943118.post-36247228893593217962008-10-21T18:25:00.000-04:002008-10-21T18:25:00.000-04:00I was really shocked by the video, especially the ...I was really shocked by the video, especially the old woman who was obviously still living in the past believing that Salton Sea is beautiful and that one can swim in it. I don't understand how people are living there, what do they do? how to they raise money and why don't they choose to leave especially if you have a child. I'm confused as to why the government isn't doing anything for those people or the land, it couldn't be healthy for those people to live there. I feel like someone really rich could buy that place and clean it up and set up the old dream again... or did i just miss something that said it couldn't be done...?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958364579236943118.post-55025940832505888902008-10-20T19:51:00.000-04:002008-10-20T19:51:00.000-04:00Although it saddens me to see such pollution, I am...Although it saddens me to see such pollution, I am not surprised. The image of the fish against the gravel struck me most. It is a perfect example of art+environment, in my opinion, solely because it is a completely natural situation but the photograph shows such an artistic representation of the environment. The grey quality fits the ideas presented about Salton Sea.<BR/><BR/>I agree that a visit from This American Life would be beneficial. I love this program, I listen to it every week and have watched the television series as well. It's a good point that more media coverage might help.Svea Holmvighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15868178313323229808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958364579236943118.post-43029484206269204802008-10-20T16:52:00.000-04:002008-10-20T16:52:00.000-04:00I would like to comment on the 4 images posted tha...I would like to comment on the 4 images posted that were taken during the visit to Salton Sea. I was astounded be the description of the town being so polluted and under developed. I felt that the imagery as a source of media best portrayed the description, and also the 4 images chosen really gave me a sense of the town. The imagery plays with the beauty of the environment from a far, and then the dirty pollution from up close is depicted very clearly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958364579236943118.post-69906600338088999392008-10-20T00:32:00.000-04:002008-10-20T00:32:00.000-04:00The footage and photography of stagnant waters, fi...The footage and photography of stagnant waters, fish corpses and dilapidated, rusted 1950s trailers and architecture is so visually striking! What I find most fascinating about the film's use of local narrative to combat the Salton Sea's greater metanarrative is how it combats it aesthetically; in focusing on its broken-down mid-century trailers and buildings the film is directly beating back the imagery of the Salton area's heyday-- replacing the prevalent mental image of star-studded, gleaming 1950s architectural scapes with rotting, post-apocalyptic, post-deco decor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958364579236943118.post-76858603936362768882008-10-19T01:18:00.000-04:002008-10-19T01:18:00.000-04:00I think that the video by John Waters is an excell...I think that the video by John Waters is an excellent way for visual artists to combat existing metanarratives that are detrimental to the difficulties facing small communities. His video communicates the reality of the people who actually live in Salton Sea, elevating their personal accounts on living in the area as the ones that should be payed attention to by the government. Also it brings the problem of a local community outside its natural boundaries, enabling it to transcend these and reach people across the nation or further away. With the knowledge imparted by videos such as these, people can take a stand for communities such as Salton Sea and not be so easily misled by governing metanarratives. In my opinion, if the situation of these people is prioritized by the state or brought to their attention by people who experience videos such as these, something significant can surely be achieved so as to approximate Salton Sea with that of a healthy community.<BR/><BR/>I really think these local narratives could be useful in bringing the local reality of small overlooked communities that are out of site to people all over the world. It would certainly help a great deal in third world countries where many poorer regions are overlooked in favor of the much more established and domineering higher class.bmthSandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07191067700088512020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958364579236943118.post-29615589446226404182008-10-17T19:55:00.000-04:002008-10-17T19:55:00.000-04:00Wow, this really takes me back to history class......Wow, this really takes me back to history class... Let's not forget about the other places that were severely affected by the water diversion. Mexico has been struggling for years while LA takes over the water supply for the entire region. The really amazing part is the way that the water tables have shifted. Environmental scientists have been studying the effects of LA and San Diego's water consumption on the water table, and the results are scary. The water cycle is not such a quick renewable thing. It's a little hard to document vividly enough to show the populace how their showers, dish washers, lawns and other useless water consumption have affected the ground they live over. Not to mention all the chemicals that head into the water stream from these events. Amusing to note that America has "seas" even though (from the Midwest at least) we think of America as a nation of fresh water(not to mention as a "civilized" nation of clean water).<BR/><BR/>These photographs are beautiful and shocking. It's so easy to forget that California was once lush and fertile, but now only salinated ground remains. Is California also exhibiting the pictures of these people? Are they present at the wine groves? Are the pictures on display for Hollywood's most important? Or for Hollywood? We not are aware of these happenings, but what of those who aren't, who are directly effecting it? A real shame. These people have a right to live where they'd like, and they, like the rest of this country, have a right to clean water and a safe environment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com