Why it matters
“It was a thrill beyond belief to be in that sea of people”
4th January 2010
Q & A with Sven Huseby about his film A Sea Change, Copenhagen, and our future
Sven Huseby and grandson Elias on-location in California during filming of A Sea Change. Photo Courtesy of Niijii films.
As the skies fill with our carbon dioxide emissions so do the seas. And as they soak up a portion of our pollution the water slowly becomes more acidic, making it difficult for corals, shellfish, mollusks and other animals at the base of the foodchain to grow. The loss is more than aesthetic: all sea life is at risk.
Norwegian-American filmmaker Sven Huseby brings science to the screen with A Sea Change. He was in Copenhagen for COP15 to show the world’s first documentary about oceanic acidification – and to “bear witness” to the historical event.
Why make a film about acidic seas?
Climate change is an extremely complex issue, and those who are opposed to addressing climate change have been very good at using that complexity as a way of sowing confusion and apathy.
So my wife [co-producer Barbara Ettinger] and I were attracted to oceanic acidification because it actually isn’t all that complex – the oceans absorb more than 22 million tonnes of our carbon emissions every day, threatening the entire food chain. We face a future without fish.
It’s a simple, straightforward, powerful story that we think everyone, regardless of political persuasion, can wrap their minds around. Most people tend to stop thinking about the world around them at the water’s surface, but there is an incredibly complex world down there with more species than we find on land. But everyone is capable of identifying with the wonders of the sea, the complexity, the sheer beauty of it all.
What did you hope to achieve?
Barbara didn’t want to make a film for environmentalists, scientists or oceanographers. She wanted to reach a broad audience: everyone who cares about our legacy and about future generations. We wanted to bring the science to the public – and to help scientists understand how much they need to communicate with the public.
Do you think you succeeded?
There’s no question that awareness has grown among politicians, officials, and everyone else. When we screened our film at the Klimaforum09 alternate conference, the Q&A afterwards with the scientists was fantastic – it went for more than an hour because the audience was so enthusiastic and interested. It was heartening.
What did you make of the actual conference?
I went to Copenhagen with very low expectations – Obama came with an empty deck of cards, there were tremendous fault lines between rich and poor nations, and to be honest, I don’t think the UN’s process is up to the challenge. It just may not be a viable mechanism to deal with climate change.
But though the press labelled the conference an abject failure, I came away feeling good about what it had created: a huge gathering of world leaders and policy makers came because they truly believed this is a major issue. Just to get them to say, ‘we have to do something,’ I thought was phenomenal compared to where we were a decade ago.
And it was a treat to be in a country that made a decision thirty years ago that it was not in their best interests to depend on oil. [Denmark derives 20 per cent of its energy from wind power.] I was so impressed with the zero carbon island [Samso] and with the electric trains, the public transport system, and to be in a place where you don’t need vehicles to move around.
You were at the big march on the 12th. What did you make of that?
It was diverse, creative, peaceful, a thrill beyond belief to be in that sea of people, 75 feet wide, stretching back for tens of thousands of bodies, 100,000 people all there to bear witness. It was young, energized and at times angry. It was a real throwback to the 1960s and the anti-war effort.
It felt like older activists like myself were passing the baton. We met a lot of terrific young people in Copenhagen who understood where to find the leverage points for change. The more I see of that, the better I feel for the sake of my grandchildren.
Huseby and grandson Elias. Photo Courtesy of Niijii Films.
So you have hope for the future?
I do.
Really?
Yes. People ask how I can possibly have hope – but it’s easier to have hope when you hang out with young activists, young scientists, young venture capitalists, young engineers. And especially when you hang out with children. We’ve screened our film with kids many times, and not only do they know all about what is going on – from species extinction to climate change and the need to recycle – they are genuinely excited about being part of the solution.
It’s hard not to get emotional. It truly feels like we are facing a huge war – so seeing the enthusiasm in young people feels like winning at least one battle.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Barbara [Huseby's wife, as well as the film's director] really was the creative force behind this project. A life-long environmentalist, she slips away when it is time to do interviews that address any of the science issues. But without her vision, her knack for story telling, and her ability to bring together a good team and drive them all in the same direction, there would have been no film.
A Sea Change, directed by Barbara Ettinger and co-produced by Sven Huseby and Susan Cohn Rockefeller, is now available on DVD straight from their website.
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